Hi everyone, i know a lot of you saw my last post about getting our new cat Barney (& how over emotional ive been with him!) But to try and ease another worry of mine id like any advice on this please;
At the moment if me or my OH go out, we keep barney in the dining/playroom (which is a huge space) but keep the door closed so that he cannot get into the hallway to the front door as we're paranoid he'd try to get out. He stays in there if both of us are out, but if one of us is still home then once the other has left and the coast is clear then we let him back out. Now our front garden is tiny so we're quite close to the road and although its not a main road i still panic about any cats getting onto any roads!
So our routine at the moment works, but we cant keep shutting him in there everytime we come and go.. can we? Its far too soon for him to be going outside yet anyway and because he was a very friendly stray we'd like to keep him in for a long time so he gets used to this being his home first before we let him wander. But when we do come to want to let him roam the whole house when we're not in, any suggestions on the best way to make sure he cant get out the front door when we go in and out?
Am i just over-thinking this and being too paranoid again!? :P

I had this same worry when I got my two! They're both 6 months old (4 months when we got them), they are indoor kitties (and will stay that way!) and they've always had free roam of the house.

I leave the hall light on so I can see them easily now that it's dark when I get home (won't bother in the summer) and I open and shut the door very quickly with my bag almost touching the ground to avoid any attempted escape attempts

No one has got out yet!

__________________
Basil & Sybil

We have a door from the hall to the rest of the house, which we keep shut, so hte cats cannot get to the front door. The handbag trick works very well, too. Use it to block the cat's way and to shove it back inside, should it try to get out.

On the whole, I find the back door to the garden a far greater problem, especially in summer.

__________________
Jiskefet & the mognificent Dutch bunch

My little angels at the rainbow bridge

I had that problem and the only thing that stopped them was letting them out the front to settle their curiosity.

However, I am lucky in that I can let cats out the front or the back without an issue.

I wonder if getting a harness and taking the cat outside would settle its curiosity..although it had the opposite effect on mine.

I think its probably just easier to keep a door shut so you dont have to worry.

I also have this worry with mine who is now almost 6 months old. She has managed to get out of the front door a couple of times, she goes so fast i just couldn't stop her. As soon as she heard the door she was there waiting and it's wood so i couldn't see her. We have a drive and then it's on to the 'road' which is on a close with 8 houses so not busy. She ran straight under my car and didn't try to go much further, however was still a struggle to get her back inside. She hasn't done this for a while now. I think possibly because, back then, i would only let her through to that area if i had popped out for a couple of mins, otherwise she would have been shut in her 'play room' now she gets a bit more run of the house. If she is settled on the sofa or bed i leave her there as long as i'm not going out for longer than an hour. I think now she's allowed to stay out of her room more she just isn't bothered. It's no longer a novelty to be allowed in the house by herself so she just relaxes and not waits by the door. She doesn't run to the door when she hears it open and usually is still laying exactly where i left her. It seems to have settled her curiosity for now.

I have this issue with Seb now that he roams freely inside. My older boy Frankie is an outdoorsy boy and has the cat flap to come and go as he pleases. I put the flap on in mode only so if Frank is out he can get in but not back out and stops Seb from escaping. Frank doesn't seem to mind if he can't get back out, when he comes in he'll spend most of his time sleeping.

The issue with the front door does scare me, we don't live on a busy road but rather he went out the back when we do let him out when he is old enough. If he is downstairs when I'm going out the front door I'll distract him by throwing a toy into the dining room, then sneak out. When coming in, I'll look through the window in the front door to see if he's around and then sneak in again. If I've been grocery shopping or have a few bags, I'll leave them in the car or outside until I've locked him in a room that he can't escape from.

Seb's getting very curious of the outside world, he does sit at the cat flap meowing and has tried to get out of the front door.

__________________

Monty is my escape artist! He appears out of nowhere and puts on a tremendous turn of speed to rush out the front door when I open it. When I am coming in I use the 'block the door gap with the handbag' technique. However if I am putting rubbish out etc he does quite often get by me. It is actually very funny to see him galloping at full pelt into the gardens alongside of me. He never goes further than 2-3 gardens so I mostly let him have a quick sniff before I retrieve him. I am training him to come for a treat when i whistle, and he also cannot resist a feather waggle stick, so with these two weapons I can get him back pretty easily.
It's a bit of a catch 22 though....if they are NEVER allowed out that door then they would not know what to do if ever they did somehow get locked out there. The one time he escaped without me noticing I was alerted by the loud and pitiful meaows coming from the outside of the door, so he knew where home was!
Some cats just have a fascination for any closed door....all my oldies had free outside access mainly through the back door, one of Paddy's jobs was to do a quick patrol outside whenever I came home through that forbidden front door. Once he was satisfied that all was under control he would trot back in happily.

__________________

Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

We have got 2 Persian kittens ( 100% indoors )

They have never seen our front door open.

When we go out we put them in what we call the 'kitten room' - it is just a room which has their food, beds and cat litter tray. We can't let them have run of the house due to the house alarm.

If one of us wants to go out, then we certainly don't play the 'risk' game. We put the kittens in another room and close the door, which leaves the front door totally free to open and avoids kittens attempting the big escape.

We absolutely cannot risk them running outside - who knows that might be the last we see of them They are just too precious to take risks with.

Our cats are outdoor cats but they are still not allowed out the front door, only the back where there are lots of gardens to explore. So far they haven't really gone for the front door, but we do make sure we are very speedy or use bag-based blocking techniques. We went in and out lots at the weekend and I was quite surprised that Zarco just sat in the comfy chair and watched us though.

__________________
Our lovely cat family: Zarco, Lily and their mum, Jess.

When ever I take #2 son to school, her ladyship bombs down stairs, she has seen outside, but from a distance. I pick her up and plonk her back on the stairs. I am always aware of where she is.

When it comes to going out the door, I open the door while keeping an eye on her, #2 son goes out and then I follow quickly.

Fortunately its not so much of a problem getting in coz she's usually upstairs and by the time she's down the door is shut.

But bending down with hand at cat height has been a tried and tested method for all my cats in the past and I have also become adept at a cat rugby tackle.

__________________


MY FAMILY

Caramel (ginger girl) Harry (oldest son) Nick (Youngest son)