He's running outside

When I first adopted Puff I took him outside on a leash but he was afraid of the outdoors and ran back inside. So I never did that again. Now he runs outside under our feet. I do NOT want him outdoors. At least not without a leash on. I live too close to the interstate and it's not safe out there for him. Is there a way to discourage him from running past us? Obviously we try to be careful when we are going outside. But having a 5 yr old kinda makes that hard. She just opened the door for Kota to come in and Puff ran outside. Thank goodness she caught Puff before he ran off.

This sounds kind of harsh, but it may work. I had to do it when Captain Steuben was a kitten...he seemed far too interested in slipping outside. I kept a broom by the door, on the outside, and one on the inside. When I was coming home, I'd have that broom ready, and as I was slightly opening the door, I'd slip the broom in, to block Steuben, and sort of shoo him away with it, and then quickly come in and close the door. When you're leaving, shoo Puff away from the inside with the broom, and slip out as quickly as possible. It helped us!

I don't think a 5 yr old could handle that manoeuver, so it's probably best, if at all possible, for her not to get the door at all at least for a while til he stops showing interest in running out. I presume he is neutered? Because if not, that would certainly explain it, but so could just smelling other cats' spray around the entry, etc. Maybe if you keep a can of pennies (not too many!) or pebbles near the door, and whenever it's likely that he'll make a run for it, take the can and shake it hard to scare him into staying away (your daughter would love that!). Spray citrusy smells around the door because cats don't like them.

Yes he is neutered. I don't think he minds loud noises. When he attacks Kota we've tried the spraying water and throwing something close to him to scare him and he just looks at us like were stupid. I'll try the citrus for sure. We may just have to lock him up before we go out.

I would have a squirt gun handy and every time he approaches the door - shoot him with water. Also stop him at the same time by loudy saying NO or BACK.

Our 2 cats like to hang around the door when Keno (the dog) goes out for potty. We just have to use no or back and they will run back and sit in the middle of the room.

Consistency is the key.