She let the cat out. Now it ALWAYS wants out.

Posting for a friend (I have a dog and don't have such problems).

My friend has a cat, almost 1 year old. She has been taking it out on a leash and collar, letting it wander around their apartment complex. It's really quite cute.

She does this once a day, usually in the evening, but now the kitteh ALWAYS wants to go out with her, like when she's leaving for work and has no time to play around.

She's complained about this enough that I'm bringing it to you guys (after days spent trying to convince her to join POTD herself). So how do you let a cat know when it's time to go out, and when it's not? The cat looks so sad, meowing, wanting to go out with her. How do you train it?

Just consistency - maybe keep a couple toys in a bowl by the door, and when she's leaving and kittie cannot go with her, she can toss a toy for it to play with. Make a habit of it, and it will become part of the cat's routine eventually.

Once you give a cat the taste of the outdoors, it's going to think, and rightly so, that it can go out whenever it wants. If your friend wants to keep the cat in permanently, then as Karen said, she has to be consistent. The cat will carry on for a while but it'll soon learn that it's in to stay and will eventually get used to the idea. Tossing a toy for her to play with before your friend leaves is a good way to get her away from the door or making sure that she's in another part of the house, not isolated but not having access to the door. Don't be surprised if the cat becomes a door darter.

Sorry I never got back to you. Thanks for the answers.

She doesn't want to have to throw a ball to distract the cat; she'd rather it just not want to go out every single time. But I guess that's not in the cards, eh?

She and I have an ongoing debate over who has it better -- the cat owner (her) or the dog owner (me). Looks like I get a point. :cool:

I bet two minutes after the door closes, kitty is off to explore something else, eat or nap!

Perhaps she could give kitty some lovin's goodbye far away from the door - and ignore the cat when he/she is right AT the door. Kitty will get bored pretty quickly if it's not getting attention! :D