Help, cat tries to go outside

Ok my husband decided he wanted another cat(whoa was i shocked, i had to beg for kirra as it was) we adopted a pretty 9 month old girl wensday. She is a very good girl, but anytime someone goes to the front or back door she charges over there and than if you walk away from it(like i went to my backdoor last night to throw something on the backporch really fast, never went out out) she will stand there and cry. I am guessing her last owners let her be an indoor/outdoor cat. She was adopted previously from the humane society in september last year but was surrendered on th 9th of this month cause they claimed they couldnt afford her. Her nails were soooooo long though, they curled under back towards the paw pad even when extended, i would think an outdoor cat wouldnt have nails that long. So i am not sure if she was an outdoor cat or not, but i need help figureing out how to get her to understand the door is a no no. Kirra will go up to it and even walk 1 foot maybe 2 onto either porch, always sure to keep the door in her sight but will run back in fast if she is spooked. I dont know Tiffy enough to trust her and even my husband said he doesnt trust her either, she tries to bolt to fast to just wanna look.

HELP.

I had exactly the same problem with both of my kittens, and I live in a smaller apartment. Every single time I walked in and out of the front door, they would run out. While I thought it was interesting at first (the building has a fouier so they didn't get outside), it got old pretty quick.

Go to home depot and pick up an empty spray bottle and fill it with water (set the sprayer to mist). Whenever you come back into your house or leave your house, have the bottle with you. Open the door just a crack and give them a spritz if they are waiting for you to open the door fully so they can run out. They will most certainly hate this, and will make them run away so you can get in.

Try not to intentionally spray them in the face, all you need to do is send a cloud of water above them, or on their body and they will get the picture. Also remember to clean and change the water in the bottle regularly, if the water does get in their face, you don't want them to get an ear or eye infection from nasty water.

After about a week of doing that, neither of my cats will run out anymore. It takes a little patience to break them of the behavior, but nothing is more effective.

that wont work on ms Tiffy, she LOVES water, we have to keep the toliet lid closed, she tried to join my 3 year old in his bath last night and she plays with the water from the faucit. If she was like Kirra and just noisey but ran back in right away i would be ok with it, but i just dont trust Tiffy, course she has only been here since the 10th so maybe she just has to figure things out. We have strays in teh house next door to us (abandoned house) and when i went to dump my cooking oil yesterday i noticed 2 of em out watching me, they never show themselves, so maybe she smells them. I am just not sure.

I would still try it.

Cats do like water, but they like it on their OWN terms. Both of my cats will usually jump into the shower while I'm taking one, but they HATE being hit with the spray bottle.

I just hate using a spray bottle to "punish" them. Unfortunately trying to go outside all the time is just something they pretty much will always try to do. It's just their natural curiosity and instinct.

Try using a towel when you leave (you can pop it in your car) or leave it handy close by. Hold the towel so that your feet and legs are hidden behind it up to your knees. When they try to press forward towards the door, use the towel to block them and firmly say "Stay back, stay back" You can also use a purse or bag. It works, they will probably never stop trying, but this is a kinder and gentler way of doing it, rather than using a spray bottle.

Hope this helps
Shanynne
Extreme Kitty Lover

There are two types of approaches I see to try to fix this problem, either try to teach her the outside and door are bad using negative reinforcement (probably a spray bottle) and positive reinforcement when she ignores someone by the door (treats and playing with her when she doesn't bolt for the door) OR and I don't know if this will work, you could try getting a harness and leash and take her outside for 15-30 min. a day at the same time everyday. Then she might start to learn that outside is ONLY ok with the harness and leash and ONLY at that time of the day. Just a thought, no idea if it would help, but I think it might help her get her outdoor "fix" and start to behave.

GL!