Member

Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 12-09-2003 05:52 AM         

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ok my cat has been tryying to get out of the house. we try everything we can to get him to stay in but sometimes he does get out. then we have to chase him around, crawl under cars...the whole nine yards!! is there anything i can do to show him this is bad behavior. usually after he gets out we put him in the bathroom for a "time out". is that ok. (this is my first cat. and i dont want to start something that could cause problems later on ) some times i think about putting him in Trikes crate. but i dont know how cats react to that sorta thing. i would never ever hit him. ( 1, because i dont feel its right and 2, he is very aggerive and remembers!! plus i dont want him to think hittin is good behaviour. you know, if i hit then he can bite, and i dont want that. but agian i dont know if cats think that way) so i guess my question is, is the time out thing ok? or is there a better method of teaching him the outside is a no no.

i feel so bad but its for his safety! maybe and thats a BIG maybe!! if i lived in a house out in the cournty he could be an indoor outdoor cat, but i dont. i live in an apartment close to my college. its totally not safe out there for him. to many cars. i just dont want him to be mad at me for not letting him out he use to be a stray. i think thats why he always wants out. thanks for anyhelp! lotty trike and jack the black cat

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Member

Posts: 80
From:Vancouver,WA. USA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 12-09-2003 09:09 AM         

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I don't see why putting your cat in the bathroom for a timeout would be a bad thing. How long have you had him? You mentioned that he used to be a stray, and they do tend to want to wander within the first month or two of moving to a new place. Hitting is definatly a bad idea, so you're on the right tack there.
Jenny

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Member

Posts: 260
From:MO, USA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 12-09-2003 09:13 AM         

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Well when I come in and out of the house I wiggle my keys when I walk in or shopping bags and that seems to make them scatter.

I have a cat who is really bonded with the dogs. Every time the dogs go out to potty he thinks he needs to follow. Someone suggested that I put foil down in front of my door. Something about the foil is soppose to scare them.
I havent tried it yet, so I cant promise it will work. It might be worth a go.

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Posts: 260
From:MO, USA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 12-09-2003 09:14 AM         

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Well when I come in and out of the house I wiggle my keys when I walk in or shopping bags and that seems to make them scatter.

I have a cat who is really bonded with the dogs. Every time the dogs go out to potty he thinks he needs to follow. Someone suggested that I put foil down in front of my door. Something about the foil is soppose to scare them.
I havent tried it yet, so I cant promise it will work. It might be worth a go.

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Member

Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 12-09-2003 09:57 AM         

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I have had jack for almost a year now. ( one year in feb.) but he is the first cat i have ever had. so i dont know much about cat training.

i might try that foil thing. sounds like its worth a try!! thanks ya'll!!

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Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 12-09-2003 10:40 AM         

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If he wants to get out nothing will stop him. I don't think you will be able to keep him in since he has been out and knows what it is like out there. The best thing you can do is teach him that he can go out with you, but not without you.

I had a problem with one of my cats wanting to go out. He got to the point where he would dart out. Whenever he did that I picked him up and put him right back inside. When I saw him sitting by the door I would take him out on a harness. Now he sits by the back door and cries when he wants to go out, he doesn't dart out anymore.

If it doesn't work for your cat to just bring him back in you might need to use time outs. The best place for time out is a room without windows. I have used dog carriers and cat carriers for time outs b/c I don't have a room without windows. Just leave him in for 5-10 minutes. After that let him out to wander the house. A little while later take him out on the harness. He will make the connection pretty quickly.

A couple of suggestions/ideas:

-a harness is better than a collar for taking them outside b/c they can't squirm out of it.
-my neighbor takes her kitten out on a harness and ties her to a tree or something. Maybe you can get to where you do this with Jack so he can roam a little bit without getting away.

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Posts: 123
From:Vancouver, WA USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 12-09-2003 10:44 AM         

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I put my cat on timeout in the bathroom too when he does something really bad. I don't think theres anything wrong with it. I was critisized for it once on this board, but I still think its the best way to go. Some people think you shouldn't punish a cat in any way, but I don't think thats realistic. In your case for example they would say to reward him when he comes back indoors so he associates indoors with a treat. That doesn't work if your cat doesn't like treats and in my opinion would lead to him thinking that its the act of coming inside that warrents a reward, so how does that keep in from going outside? With the timeout, he associates being outside with being put in the bathroom. And he is not hurt or in danger.

When I first brought my kitten home the bathroom was his "safe room" and it has his food and water. I don't think its the confinement that is really the punishment, but being removed from the "action". I think that me going into the bathroom and closing the door is just as hard on him as when hes the one inside.

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Posts: 123
From:Vancouver, WA USA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 12-09-2003 10:48 AM         

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Also, I tried the foil idea for a while. Didn't work.

I put it around a plant that he had been climbing on and on my counter tops. It didn't deter him one bit. Its shiny and light enough that he can bat it around. He thought it was a really fun toy, tore it to shreds and made a big mess. I don't know if he ate any, I was worried about it at the time with as shredded as it was. He suffered no ill affects that I could see, so I decided not to worry about that.

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Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 12-09-2003 12:13 PM         

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I am coming to understand that nothing is going to stop him. he does back off of the door for a few days after the bathroom or crate thing happens. and its not like he always wants out. just sometimes. he howls on the deck when i walk trike, its the saddest thing!!we can hear for like a mile it seems, he just wants out so bad sometimes! i dont knwo i just dont want him to get hurt. check out my pics hes the sweetest looking thing! and he has a great homelife. poor baby justs wants outside.

footsie!!! i guess you have a cat that doesnt like treats either! its so crazy both my dog and my cat are so picky about their treats. they would rather go without! its so funny. but yeah that treat thing wouldnt work what so ever. he usually acts like his to good for treats!!

lotty

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Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 12-09-2003 02:06 PM         

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You are right he wants to go outside, and you wont be able to stop him. If you can teach him to go out with you on a leash, then you can walk him. Eventually you could walk him and the dog at the same time.

Time out is good and has a valid purpose, but it is over used. People use it for everything with their kids and or pets and it doesn't work for every misbehavior. Time out should be used when a child or an animal needs to be removed from a behavior in order to calm down or stop. A good example is when a kid is fighting with another kid over a toy. You remove them from the situation so they can calm down. A bad example is when a kid forgets to give you a phone message. Time out wont do anything. I am a firm believer in time out for kids and animals as long as they are used correctly.

I think you can very easily teach Jack to go outside on a leash. He wants to go outside so he will be motivated to do anything that will let him go out. Try what I did with my cat and see if that helps. Try it without time out first. Bringing him back inside might be enough of a deterent.

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Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 12-10-2003 06:27 AM         

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Thanks fleafly, i have but a collar on jack, so if he does get out and someone finds him, they will know he belongs to someone. next step will be a name tag. but i dont know, that might take longer!! he hated the collar! so i also have tried to walk him on a leash a couple times, he hates it, but i am sure he will get use to it soon! thanks for all the help. lately he hasnt even tried to go out. strange. but maybe he is getting over he outside thing. plus it is very cold so maybe that is stopping him too... thanks again lotty

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Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 12-10-2003 04:19 PM         

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You can get a collar with his name and your phone number stitched onto the collar. There was some discussion on the dog message board about the jingling tags being bad for their hearing. Plus the stitching on the collar wouldn't bother him like a dangling tag would.

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Posts: 173
From:Murfreesboro, Tn, USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 12-11-2003 06:08 AM         

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Thats a great idea! Do you have any ideas on where I can get one? LIke do ihave to order it or are they avaible through petsmart or something?

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Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 12-11-2003 09:40 PM         

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This is the thread where they were talking about it: http://www.auspet.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001416.html

It has some links in it. I think that I have also seen them at Petsmart. Sometimes vets offices sell them too. If I find anywhere else that has them I will let you know.

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Posts: 944
From:Columbus, Tx ,USA
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 12-12-2003 09:37 AM         

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Well, all the cats we've ever had were inside/outside cats. We live way out in the country so its ok.
THough Tom is not allowed out side yet, I'm sure Smokey will try and eat him and Char will give him a run for his money. So until he's healthy and a bit older, and the dogs learn Cats are a no no, he's gonna have to be inside.

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