Does anyone else with indoor cats know this fear?

[Kirsten]

Sometimes I think I'm getting paranoid, but often I really have problems leaving my apartment. I live in the constant fear that one of my girls could slip out with me, and I wouldn't notice. Especially when I know that I'm out all day (i. e. for work), I need to be sure that they are still inside.

I have started throwing treats or toys in those corners of the apartment where I can see Luna or Lily from the entrance door before I go, and I only leave when I see them the very moment I close the door. Sometimes it won't work and I have to repeat the procedure, so this can become really nerve-wracking.

Am I just paranoid, or does anyone else know this fear?

Kirsten

[catnapper]

I used to have that fear. I couldn't go to bed at night unless I counted tails. I finally overcame it when I had 9 (my own plus fosters) this past summer. It was too much to count 9 tails and I felt rather silly hunting down 9 cats! I'm glad I overcame it because I realized it was starting to become and obsessive compulsoive act with me. I could have seen Abby five minutes earlier, but since I didn't see her right before I rolled into bed, I would irrationally fear that in the past 5 minutes she somehow snuck out.

Try this - get a plastic cup with a screw-on lid and fill it with hard treats. Shake the cup and when the girls come running they'll get a treat. After a few times, they understand REAL quick that this means food. So when you leave the house, leave the treat cup by the door, shake it as you're about to leave then offer a treat to both of them right before you slip out the door. They'll come to you much faster than if you simoply offered them a toy.

[Laura's Babies]

Mine never go near the door when it is open but I am always extreemly nervous when someone is leaving and stands there with the door open talking... Grrrrrrr!

[Felix]

OMG im like that too.When I leave Felix is usually near by.To make sure he never slipped out I close the door and knock on the window till he is in my site.Hubby says im teasing him,but I just need peace of mind while im gone.Sometimes he wont come in my view and I have to go back inside to check,he is usually just around the corner,I think hes paying me back for all the times i do it to him.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

You are not the only one, Kirsten! Eveytime I leave the house, even for a short errand, I do a head-count!! As long as I haven't found where all 4 are, I will NEVER leave!!
It is not paranoid, it is being a responsible cat-owner

[furrykidsmother]

I am the same way. I won't leave the house until everyone is accounted for and if I get up during the night to get something to drink or use the bathroom, I won't go back to bed until I have found everyone. Sometimes by the time I accomplish that I am wide awake and can't get back to sleep, but I feel better knowing I have found everyone.

[Catsnclay]

I never worried about leaving them until once when I had an overnight guest, and we were gone all day the next day.

I always keep our guest room door closed (try to have it a kitty-free zone). We came home from a very long day to only have 2 out of 3 cats greet us. I started getting concerned, then my guest went into her bedroom and out zoomed Lucky! He was locked in her room ALL day long! Good kitty though, didn't do anything wrong, but the second he was let out, he ran to that litter box and pee'd and pee'd

We have also had kitties locked in a pantry, closets, etc. I must be slow & blind in my old age, or those kitties are quick, I don't know how they get closed in there!


Now, every night, and every time I leave the house, I do a head check!

That will teach me!!

[Lizzie]

I do a quick check around to make sure I didn't shut one of them in a closet just before I leave, and I do look down to make sure one didn't squeeze past me when I stepped through the front door. I consider that very practical since I have had cats that dart into closets frequently, and out the front door on occasion. My Artful Dodger was quite capable of shooting through a door and up on to the roof in the blink of an eye. I once glanced back at the house to see him up there and, since he used the top of the door to get up and down, he would have been up there all day (a hot day) if I hadn't noticed. I agree with catnapper, that you should stop the re-checking now before you become tied to it.

I do tend to over-check on making sure appliances, etc. are all turned off. My fear is a fire while I am at work. The thought of driving up to my home to be faced with the fact that my cats perished in such a horrible way does haunt me. I could never, for instance, leave a television on while I was out of the house.

[lvpets2002]

Yup sure do know this fear & I used to worry all the time.. But with my house now I come in thru the garage in which has a direct door to the kitchen & if a girl slips thru she will just be in the closed gargage & then comes back in.. But I do still count heads before bedtime..

[kb2yjx]

Kirsten, you are not alone in your fears!!! I do a head count at bedtime for all 8 cats. I have signs on doors to alert people that these are indoor cats and they DO NOT GO OUT despite how they might behave!! We recently had the township tax reassessor at the house. He WAS told about the cats and to close doors quickly. As he was leaving, he was talking with the kitchen door open. and Norton took advantage and flew down the steps to the basement!!! I inform workmen, telephone repairers, EVERYONE that we have cats and if they are in my house doing work, they, too, are responsible for the safety of the cats. Most are cat folk and understand completely! My greatest fear was when we were on vacation on Cape Cod. I was so afraid that one of the cats would get out. We would still be on Cape Cod if that was the case!!!
Sometimes when Barry and I go out, I put treats down for each cat on the floor. They are so busy eating that they do not notice us leaving.
Our fault is we love our cats and would not want anything to happen to them!!!
PS: One fear is that if someone breaks into the house and leaves a door or window open....you know what will happen....All have breakaway collars with ID's and are microchipped(still my mind does not rest easy)...

[K & L]

This happened to us! I felt terrible cause I went to take the garbage outside (it was dark) and when I walked by the driveway I see a cat. I bent down and said "hi kitty, who are you"? Lo and behold it was Olive! I don't know how long she had been out, or how she got out. I grabbed her up fast and have been paranoid about this since.

[sirrahbed]

This thread is very interesting and like heidiv, it is rather comforting to know that many of us are this way. I don't know if it is paranoid or not - maybe - but it seems to be pretty common I see

Now that I have six cats - I also want to see everyone before I leave through the door, and count tails in order of the way we adopted everyone (starting with the first residents and then counting down)

I cannot leave without looking down and watching the door close. Lizzie and Robbie like to be near the door Emily, Eliot, Robbie and Lizzie never seem to be near an opening or closing door.

I have to find everyone regularly throughout the day. When I have to leave - I say goodbye to them and leave the radio playing for them.

Oh and I MUST find everyone before I fall asleep, though most of the time - they are in bed with me and Eliot will be in his bed on the dresser.

Kirsten - it sounds like you are just a caring and careful meowmie. Luna and Lily are your girls and you make sure life is safe and happy for them. They are your family

[Kirsten]

if anyonegets really worried, they can always put child gates around the door,

Actually, I did, sort of... I made this thing when I moved in here:



I only set it up when I plan to go out... It cannot hold them back, but I should notice when they pass this "gate". It was much easier in the old apartment. There, you first entered a tiny little hall, and from there, you entered the rest of the place. Pretty safe.

Kirsten

[Miss Z]

Well, when we had Brando (Zsa-Zsa's late brother ) and Zsa-Zsa was fit and healthy, they both loved the outdoors, travelling about the park near our house and having a good stroll throughout our neighbour's gardens. Brando used to have a gentleman's lounge with his friend Yoda, a cat who still lives and belongs to one of our neighbours, and Zsa-Zsa used to love climbing along fences and generally being in the warmth of the sun (when we did actually have sun!). So i was never paranoid then, the cats clearly enjoyed having a little independance and free-time. Well, old age began to set into Brando, so he began to venture no further than the garden, although Zsa-Zsa would still venture out. But then, just after Brando passed away, Zsa-Zsa went blind. I daren't let her go outside save for the garden now in fear of losing her. She could become disorientated and lose her way, get attacked by dogs as she wouldn't see them coming, wander into a road... the possibilities are too much to think about. But i swear that even though she is blind she knows when the front door is open, as if anyone comes to the door she's there and attempting to get out. We thought about getting her a collar with a tag stating that she's blind in case she did ever get out, but being a very dignified lady she won't have it. So yes, i do get a little paranoid now she is blind. I never doubted her sense of direction before her disability, but now i would tear myself up thinking about her if i let her out.

[Kirsten]

But i swear that even though she is blind she knows when the front door is open, as if anyone comes to the door she's there and attempting to get out.

Oh yes, I'm sure she can sense it because the sound is different, and the scents, too... It's definitely better to be careful!

Kirsten