Firstly, I have lost two cats in the past to feline leukemia so this is a big concern to me. I have a cat who tries to escape everytime I open the door, my other 3 cats are not interested. I'm afraid this cat will get feline leukemia or something equally nasty and bring it back to the other cats if I allow him to come and go- they have been vaxed against it but my vet said it is like 60% effective :( Any suggestions how to calm this cat's urge to go out? (he has been fixed so it's not THAT LOL)

What about taking him out on one of those cat leashes? I know someone whose cat always wants out and she takes him out in the yard with one of those. He really enjoys it. It doesn't really solve the problem and I don't know, it may make him want to get out more, but it's something to consider.

we tried to use one of those kittyleashes on my moms satankitty, who would always try to escape...

once outside while on the leash, he freaked out... dropped to the ground bug eyed and fluffed up tail

he just needed to experiance outside to know that he really didnt want to be out there

good luck with your cat
Caroline

keep a squirt bottle by your door and every time the cat tries to go out, zap him with it. if that doesn't work, buy a Super Soaker 2000.

Kpickell, Do you really do that with you're cats?:D

I tried using a squirt bottle with Tuffy, but the little brat loves it! He prances around and mews. Silly little guy. :)

SilverC , It sounds like you have a funny little cat, My cat likes to go in the bunbun's cage but it's not really funny when he gets stuck thought
then the bunbun gets annoy-d and pops out the cage ( It looks like my cat's giving birth to a bunbun)

If your cat doesn't mind being squirted with water, add a little apple cider or white vinegar to the water to increase its effectiveness as a deterrent.

White vinegar smells funky

Exactly.
My cat doesn't try to go outside, but yes, I used a squirt bottle to teach my cat not to jump up on my kitchen table. Now I just leave a squirt bottle on the table and that's detterent enough for him. ;)

Originally posted by scareyvegan
once outside while on the leash, he freaked out... dropped to the ground bug eyed and fluffed up tail

My cat hated the leash, too, but it never occured to me that, once out in the world, the cat was simply overwhelmed, which makes sense considering how easily cats are freaked out by changes and new surroundings.

I take my cat in rides in my car. She sits on my lap and looks out the window and purrs. I did this with my foster cats too. They love it. But I've heard that some cats don't like cars, though I've never met one that didn't.

my moms and my sisters cats hate cars

they cry and hiss and screech
they also release that odor from their anal glands... which is a quite terrible experience

petting them, soothing music, talking to them - nothing helps

they are definitely a million times worse if they are both in the car, one or the other isnt quite so awful

Caroline

yeah mine used to try to sneak outside all the time, even when we lived in an apartment building he'd try to get out into the hall. so i let him once, or picked him up and brought him outside, and he'd do the same thing, crouch down, look around nervously, and bolt back into the house/apartment. he doesn't even bother trying now at this house, he snuck out once when we first moved in and didn't even make it to the end of the top step

Driving with pets free to roam in the car is dangerous. It can create distractions for the driver and, in the case of an accident, result in greater injury than if the animal were contained in a carrier. It may not seem nice, but it's the safest way to transport an animal while driving.

I don't mean to imply judgment, kpickell, but I felt it important to share the facts. I happen to have worked as a traffic violator school instructor, and I became aware of the danger then. I even taught this in my class. Just yesterday, I saw a woman trying to make a left-hand turn with a dog in her lap, and she could barely get both of her arms to the steering wheel. I can't imagine that left-hand turn being safe.

Be safe.

Epski is absolutely right. It is as unsafe to allow your pets to roam free in the car as it would be for the kids and adults to be un-seatbelted. My cats HATE the carriers, they cry the whole time they're in them (hence me acquiring some mild sedatives if the trip's going to be long), but they're non-negotiable for me. I just try to minimize taking my cats anywhere.

My dog has a seatbelt harness that he wears when we're in my car - he hated it the first few times we went out but he's starting to get used to it. Loose, if we had an accident his 85 pounds would rocket straight through the windshield and I'd never forgive myself. When we drive my husband's pickup truck we anchor his crate in the truck bed and he rides in there.

I know that it's a huge pain in the butt, but please try to contain your animals in your cars. I grew up with the cats and/or dogs crawling all over the car, and thought it was perfectly normal. But it really can lead to tragedy.:(

Best thing to do if kitty really, really wants to go out is get a harness and take him/her outside. In the summer I'll put a stake in the ground and attach a long piece of rope to her harness. She's quite content chomping on grass and laying in the sun. I never let her outside by herself though..

My cat Bailey hated his harness he tried to wiggle out of it and was always chewing on it but know he's used to it and walkes around in it like it were'nt there.:o

My cat Tarwater gets excited when I take out his harness. So does Monzo, his brother. Our youngest two haven't been outside since they were kittens a few years ago (and then we took them out with harnesses) ; they get overwhelmed with the noise because our house is on a busy downtown intersection in a small city. The yard is relatively quiet, but there's a lot of activity in the area, so they get spooked outside. Our last adoptee was kept outside 24/7 by the woman who'd adopted him from a pet store. He's generally pretty happy indoors and even thinking of getting a harness on him would likely result in a cat bite. :)

I guess the only tips I'd have are to keep life interesting for him and make sure that he gets plenty of exercise. Put away certain toys for awhile and take them back out again after a week or two. Leave little tartar control treats in locations in his reach in your home. Outdoor cats have all kinds of grasses to nibble on outdoors; consider growing cat grass for him, if you haven't already. If he's the only cat in your home at this time, consider getting him a buddy to keep him occupied. Engage in interactive play with him so that he gets burn that energy that he wants to burn.

Also, don't forget that you could always build a run for him to go outside. The materials you'd need would be fairly inexpensive. You'd just have to ensure that it was sturdy and big enough for him to explore.

my buddy (cat) was leash trained as well. he's very scared of people though so mostly we walk late at night. now he doesn't need the leash, prefers without it, just stays along. he's kind of doggish in that if i run, he'll run to catch up & we take turns chasing each other. like kpickell's cats, he sits on my lap or on the back shelf when he drive, he gets way too stressed otherwise and we spend an hour in the car once a week.

oh right, the question about cats that want to go outside (mine goes outside mostly supervised) but since you're guarding against leukemia - i've heard pennies in a popcan work good.. shake it when you're near the door (worked ok for my roommates cat) - cats hate loud noises. my cat knows "sit" and "stay" so i don't have to worry. :)

i can see why you are scared to let your little one outside, but i must say...

JUST LET IT GO! If the others wanna stay in, but this one wants out, then let it live!

it will be a happier cat!

isn't its quality of life the most important thing?!

i know it's terrible losing animals and it affects your life and decisions for pets in the future, but i really think you may even be hhealed a little, and pleasantly surprised if you let this one run free a bit and then he doesn't die and then you will sigh and smile and shake your head and thank the lucky stars and wonder what you ever worried about with this one!!!

just a thought!

umm if it goes outside and gets sick or gets hit by a car how do you suppose that affects the 'quality of life'

my mom's cat has been trying to sneak outside but she's declawed (by previous owner) so to let her out would mean putting her in a position where she couldn't defend herself against other animals in a fight. and cat fights happen a lot in that neighbourhood, seems to be a lot of roamers

it does depend on the cat though. our old cat used to go outside and she wouldn't wander too far out of the yard, mostly just next door, and would mainly just sleep in the sun or dig in the garden. so that was fine, but a neighbour of ours had a cat that they let outside all the time and he'd take off for days and come home malnurished and with most of his fur matted or torn out and covered in scratches. one time he left for weeks and came back with a big notch torn out of his ear and huge patches of fur missing. at one point a neighbour's dog beat him up so bad he was unrecognizable but they kept letting him back out and he'd run right back to that dog's yard to pick another fight. they only had the cat for like a year or two, i'm not sure if he took off for good or if he ended up put down after another serious fight.
some cats just shouldn't go outside no matter how much they want to

LadyFaile,

good point! i suppose where the cats actually live does affect this decision, i may have been a bit hasty there.

i do know that i once lived in a flat in the city and our poor cat was miserable because we were so scared of her being hurt or lost or whatever...

but in the end she lived in a different house on a highway and had no problems...

then again, i lost a pet cat when i was a kid because i lived ona busy road and it broke my heart...

still, it seems the cat should be given a chance outside, even just in little periods of time at firts to see how it goes...

keep an eye on it for a while, watch it's movements, then take it from there...

let us know how you go,. or what you decide!

yeah it does depend on where you live too. but also, as i've mentioned before on the boards, i saw a cat get killed by a neighbour's dog that broke through it's fence, these 2 dogs are normally very calm and friendly, it was just a fluke 'wrong place at the wrong time' sort of incident. but things like this make me really not want to let my cat out unattended. especially knowing the owners of that cat might still be waiting for their pet to come home unaware of what happened. i just couldn't go through that.
stuff happens. i tend to see pets as family members, like children, and i wouldn't let a child run off outside unattended either, especially if i wasn't sure how the the child would react to his/her surroundings, if they'd be able to find their way home etc or if they couldn't defend themselves against potential dangers in the neighbourhood.

i think if i lived in a more secluded area with lots of property i might consider it but even then i'd be worried about wildlife so i don't know. i've just heard and seen too many horror stories to risk it. i'd rather think my cat might be annoyed at not being allowed out than have something bad happen to him

plus if they're allowed to roam they have more chance of picking up fleas, mites, ticks, and a boatload of illnesses. nah i'm fine having mine stare longingly out the window instead

I remember (as a kid) finding my cat outside on our patio wailing and screaming so I picked her up to see what was wrong and her guts fell right out of her stomach and her intestines came unwound and were hanging down to the ground. Aparently a neighbor dog had sliced her stomach but she was still alive.