rolanni | Adventures in Cats

As those who have been playing along at home may remember, young Scrabble, our calico-of-all-work, came to us through a work-study program sponsored by the local animal shelter. Scrabble had been on temporary assignment as Assistant Manager and Night Shift Supervisor at Animal House pet supply store when we met her, and

kinzel was so taken with her self-possession, efficiency -- and let's be truthful -- the neat turn of an ankle in spotless white tights, that we brought her home.

Before the outplacement, Scrabble had been a Cat of the World, having apparently gone walkabout at a very young age, and lived by her wits for an unspecified period of time before coming under the care of the kind folk at the shelter.

All of our cats are indoor cats. We explained this to Scrabble when she first came to us, and, indeed, the people at Animal House reported that she stayed as far away as possible from the door. She came to us in a November, showed no interest in the Great Outdoors all through the winter, except to observe it through the windows. Came spring, though, and she took to darting out the door and racing around the front yard until

kinzel and I captured her and brought her in. We had a few weeks of this, and then she lost interest in the outdoors again. I should mention that Scrabble has had The Operation, and so should not be seeking male companionship.

This year, Scrabble has broken out at least half-a-dozen times, last night being the worse instance yet -- because we didn't know she gotten out. When

kinzel stepped onto the deck to commune with the stars directly before we went to bed, as his is pleasant habit -- he was nearly bowled over by a Calico Streak: Scrabble, tearing back into the house.

We were horrified, but relieved, thinking that perhaps this adventure (it had rained off and on last night) had cured her. But -- no. This morning, she was out the door again, and led

kinzel a merry chase before being captured and carried ignominiously
inside, where she is currently In Disgrace.

Anybody have any ideas how to keep this cat inside?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You might try a radio collar. That wouldn't keep her inside, but you could track her with GPS and plot the adventures on your mapping program...

(Yeah, I'm not helping.)

Sort of related? I've wondered if the gadgets for wandering kids and briefcases that make a sound when the wanderer goes too far would be useful for cats and dogs. NOT the electric shock variety of "invisible fence" which I think is disgraceful, but simply making a loud noise might make the cat or dog skittish about going further (and provide the attendant human with an alert that someone is out wandering)? I haven't seen such a gadget, but then I haven't got pets right now, so I haven't been looking.

Airlock?

An airlock would be nice. I'd love to have one. We can't, by dint of the old-fashioned government mortgage we have, simply add an airlock. Looks like that'll have to wait until we pay off the mortgage...

maybe instead of an actual airlock, a small fenced area with a gate around the door area?

If she were a dog, I'd say she's bored and in need of excersise. Would she be amenable to going on walks with her humans? It'd get her outside time and excersise and maybe then she wouldn't want to run wild.

I'd second this. Leash train her and take her on walks when she's wanting outside time.

Doc

Handcuffs. Leg irons. Vigilance. That's about it.

Saw the leash training idea, that might work. I had a sick kitty who really loved to spend time outside, and tried always to get out. We bought a used cat playpen, and she would happily spend hours in it. This could provide Scrabble hours of safe outside entertainment. This option would involve some financial outlay, but not as much as cat versus vehicle incident. We found ours used, but Amazon has some. Was looking at

Oops, kitty helping type, we hit post by accident...please forgive duplication.
Saw the leash training idea, that might work. I had a sick kitty who really loved to spend time outside, and tried always to get out. We bought a used cat playpen, and she would happily spend hours in it. This could provide Scrabble hours of safe outside entertainment. This option would involve some financial outlay, but not as much as cat versus vehicle incident. We found ours used, but I was looking on Amazon. One example to check is:

Revival Animal Health
Midwest Cat Play Room
ASIN: B00020DHU1M
Dimensions 36"W x 24"D x 48"H

Maybe this would help with the escape aspect. Good Luck! Shawna

I used to have a cat like that. It sometimes seemed that she came flying out of nowhere to go out the door. The only solution I ever found was to know where she was before opening the door to go out and back out rather than going out forwards, thus preventing her from doing anything I couldn't see.

My current escape artist doesn't try to dart out the door. He prefers a more slow, stealthy approach - usually lurking near the door and following at my heals, squeezing through before the door closes all the way. He also opens doors on his own, so they have to be locked to keep him in.

The only thing I can advise is to locate the cat before you open the door, and then keep an eye on her until you get the door closed behind you.

Adventures in Cats

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Containing Scrabble

Containing Scrabble continued

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