Oh no! Now what do I do?

[Taz_Zoee]

A few days ago I wasn't paying close enough attention and Jax walked out the door while I was waiting for the dogs to come in. He only made it to the corner of the house and I caught him.
Keep in mind, I would be in the bedroom and just leave the door open while I was putting away laundry so the dogs could go in or out. Jax never ventured near it, really.

Well, tonight I figured he wouldn't go out at the same time the dogs were coming in. I WAS WRONG. He went out the door and around the corner of the house. Under a row of HUGE bushes. I got the flashlight and kept an eye on him and kept telling him to come here. He was just slowly walking around near the house and meowing. So I patiently waited until he got to the end where I could go in and get him.

Now he is at the glass doors meowing his head off!!! He wants to go back outside!!! This is horrible. I don't want a door darter. But it looks like I might have one now. :( He is getting curious at all the doors. Even the garage door that I accidentally shut him in a few months after we got him. He never went near that door after that until just recently.

Any suggestions on how to keep him from darting out doors???
This is going to sound bad, but I don't know that I can trust Bruce to be careful and pay attention to where he is when going in and out doors. :confused:

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm not really sure what to tell you to do except that maybe to try to put something near the doors to help block them so he won't dart out. I've only had one door dasher and that was Sky. He was found as a stray so he was used to being outside. Luckily he couldn't get very far because my front door leads into a hallway. I put up a baby gate for a while so that if I was carrying something he wouldn't be able to door dash. It worked a little bit. Luckily over time he became used to being an indoor cat so now everything is fine. Good luck.:)

[Karen]

Yes, a baby gate will slow down the human long enough to realize there is a door-darter lurking, and hopefully prevent escape. Does he wear a collar? Putting a bell on it may help keep track of where he is ... Eventually he may give up if he has no success, or you could try a leash and harness so he can have "restrained" outdoor time!

[jennielynn1970]

Can you put something jangly on the door knob enough to startle him??? I'm having kind of the same problem with Calloway. I can tell he was an indoor/outdoor cat before, and the minute I leave the door unguarded, zoom!!! Out the door he goes, and I live in the city. So, I'm trying to get him to come back down the sidewalks, not go under the cars... sigh. It's frustrating and scary!!! I do have 2 entry way doors, so now I just have to remember to keep one shut before I open the other!!

[kittycats_delight]

Vixen used to have outdoor time on leash on in arms. She never door darted. She got out once cause someone (not sure who) didn't make sure the door was locked and Artica opened the door. When the guy upstairs seen the door open he closed it so Vixen got locked outside. Vixen was outside about a half hour. When we got home there she was sitting on the step waiting for us. She raced me to the door to get back in.

Phoenix is an occasional door darter. She has a curiosity about outside. She doesn't wander further than around the steps though.

None of the others have any interest at all.

I am with Karen on trying the 'restrained' outdoor time. If he knows he can go out with you then maybe he will be satisfied as he is getting what he wants. The baby gate idea is good too. At least it gives you a chance to see if he is lurking. My suggestion for Bruce...stick to his butt like white on rice and keep at him about watching. He will get tired of you telling him and will be more attentive.

[Freedom]

Water squirt bottles, set handy at all the doors, to stop him the moment he approaches.

My first cat, Amber, was a stray I brought inside. He was not pleased at this. SO we compromised. I got him a leash and harness, got him used to that, and out we went. I was living in the apartment complex back then. We HAD to walk around the building, every day: sun, rain, snow, ice, cold, heat, did not matter. When it was time (which varied day to day), he would stand at the door to the hall and MEOW! MEOW!

I had an extension leash, and it had to be fully out, so he was 10 foot from me. When we walked through the parking lot side of the building, sometimes my sneakers would make a noise on the gravel. HE would stop and look at me over his shoulder: QUIET BACK THERE! I ended up calling our walks his "jungle cat in the wild" time, lol. He'd pretend I wasn't there, and poke about, checking under bushes and shrubs, peering around things, having a grand ole time. LOL

[catmandu]

My Found Cats would be door darters if I had not enclosed the front and back porches!!!
:eek:
Juke Joint Joseph :love: was especially good at escape, but then he would want back in in an hour or so.:D

[Taz_Zoee]

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I'll respond to each without quoting them.

Tracey, the only thing about putting something by the doors is that is a pain when we let the dogs in and out so much. Plus that would be another thing I'd have to teach Bruce to deal with. :rolleyes:

Karen, a baby gate wouldn't work on the sliding glass doors. PLUS he could jump over that. And again, it would be a hassle with the dogs. He does wear a collar. He was afraid of the bell when he was a baby. I do have his name tag and another Harley tag that clink together, but not like a bell would. I could try that. I also do have a harness and leash for him. I've put it on him a couple of times but we've never ventured outside with it. My only concern there is he will ALWAYS want to go out if I begin to let him have outside time. I don't think I want to do that. :( I think Bruce might agree with me on that one too.

Jennie, that is an idea. Get something that would startle him and keep him away from the door. Although, I thought the dogs would do that last night. :rolleyes: This boy isn't afraid of much. The vacuum, the whole house fan and when I turn the shower on are all that I've noticed startles him.

Michelle, luckily when he does get out he doesn't dash away. He calmly walks and the first time I was able to catch him before he got under the bushes. The second time he was a little faster. But he leisurely strolled under the bushes sniffing and meowing. And luckily when I did approach him he didn't run. He let me pick him up. However, I'm afraid if this happens too many times he'll realize that when I go to pick him up that I'll take him back inside and he'll start to run from me. Oh, and I will (and did last night) talk to Bruce about Jax. Told him to be EXTRA careful when going in and out and letting the dogs in/out. I will continue to do this everyday!! In fact, I think I'll call him later to remind him. :p

Sandie, we tried squirt bottles to keep him off the kitchen counter. It worked the first couple of times. After that he would just stand there and squint his eyes while we squirted him. GOOFY cat!! :D

Gary, I wish we had enclosed porches. That would be soooo nice!!! :)

Again, I am concerned about the outside time. I'll discuss it with Bruce and see what he thinks. I mean, it is why I got the leash and harness in the first place. For now, I will try stomping my feet at him to get him away from the door. Last night I just picked him up when I let the dogs in.

Thank you all so much for the ideas. I will discuss all of them with Bruce and see what we can agree on. :D :D

[Taz_Zoee]

So last night I just picked him up a couple of times when letting the dogs in/out. Then I thought.....let me try something. So I was going to let the dogs in/out and he was right there at the door. I stomped my feet at him and he ran toward the bedroom door. I was able to let the dogs in/out without worrying about him. So I'm going to just keep doing this and MAYBE he'll learn. Will he learn?? LOL

[kittycats_delight]

So last night I just picked him up a couple of times when letting the dogs in/out. Then I thought.....let me try something. So I was going to let the dogs in/out and he was right there at the door. I stomped my feet at him and he ran toward the bedroom door. I was able to let the dogs in/out without worrying about him. So I'm going to just keep doing this and MAYBE he'll learn. Will he learn?? LOL


I do the same thing when any of the cats or even the dog is too close to the door when I want to go in/out without having them nosing about. Artica thinks an open door means she is going out even if she just went back in. She even goes back out if the door isn't closed fast enough. This works well for me. But if Jax is a smartypants then he may caught on and decide to stay close...let's hope that's not the case. I also sweep my feet & legs through the door before and after I pass and they all tend to stand back for this as they don't want to get bopped on the noodle.

[cassiesmom]

Jax, lovey! Your meowmie wants you to be an INside kitty! She will help you enjoy the outdoors through the windows. I'm glad you moved away when she stomped her foot. *kiss* because you did good!

[Taz_Zoee]

Well the foot stomping seems to be working! :D I did it again last night and he stayed out in the hall until I was done letting the dogs in. Then I went and gave him some pets so he won't become afraid of my feet coming toward him.

[Medusa]

My RB Boo never learned and he was nearly 20 when he went to the Bridge. He's really the only one I had to watch. He never ran very far and if I stayed calm and walked towards him in a normal fashion, he didn't run any farther so that I was able to pick him up and put him indoors. I don't have any suggestions for you. Some cats are darters. :)

[Taz_Zoee]

My RB Boo never learned and he was nearly 20 when he went to the Bridge. He's really the only one I had to watch. He never ran very far and if I stayed calm and walked towards him in a normal fashion, he didn't run any farther so that I was able to pick him up and put him indoors. I don't have any suggestions for you. Some cats are darters. :)

I know some cats are darters and I've been so lucky with Taz and Paizly. And for over a year with Jax. But I think I've figured out how to handle him. And I keep reminding Bruce about it too. He had a friend over last night and the friend smokes so they sometimes stand outside and leave the door open. I made sure to remind him in front of the friend so they would both be aware. This guy is a cat lover too, so he understands. :)