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Keeping cats or kittens indoors
September 6, 2007
Hi,
We had adopted an adult (formerly stray) cat from an animal shelter a while back. He was an extremely sweet, loving boy, but was constantly waiting near the front door, waiting to make his escape. We had pretty much managed to thwart his attempts, but one day he pushed himself through the window screen while we weren’t home, was hit by a car, and ultimately died. I want to adopt a kitten- I am thinking if they start out young as indoor only, it will be more manageable. However, we do have an older cat who comes and goes. Do you have any tips on keeping cats indoors? Thank you,
Lana
Sorry to hear about your cat that got out. Unfortunately pushing through the screen is a common problem and it doesn’t sound like there was anything you could have done.
You are right, if you start keeping a cat indoors only when it is a kitten it will be a lot easier as the kitten will become conditioned to it. However, there are some cats that no matter what you do they want to go out.
Some things to keep in mind, if you want your cat to be indoors only, keep it only indoors. Simple, right? Well this includes little trips out on the back deck or screened in porch, the once in a while trip into the yard because it’s a nice day, etc. These little trips can cause more problems then they are worth because it’s a confusing message to your cat. They won’t know when it’s OK to go out and when it’s not. Or which door is OK to go out and which is not. Especially if they like it out there on those short/supervised trips. So it’s best to never let them out.
As for the cat that comes and goes, is it possible to have this kitty be an indoor cat too? That will be less confusing for your kitten. If not, then to prevent escapes by your kitten, make sure to close off any cat doors and limit the access in and out your other cat has. When letting the other cat in or out there are a couple of things you can do. You can either pick your cat up and be the one to walk it in or out (thereby limiting the amount of time your door is actually open, which will help prevent the quick escape) or hold the kitten when the other cat goes in/out, or lastly when the cat goes in/out make sure that the kitten is in another room.
Fortunately cats are really smart and learn tasks like staying inside or off counters, etc. easily. Unfortunately cats are really smart and learn ways to sneak out when we’re not looking easily too. Just keep at it and if your kitten does get out try and bring him back in as soon as possible with a stern ‘no’.
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