I just about broke her nose

I opened the door to come in the house & heard a yelp. Damita runs away leaving a massive trail of blood. I panicked & called the vet. He assured me she was fine, this is what Damita does. If you flick her on the nose, she bleeds. (I did stop the bleeding quickly)

My problem: She always sits by doors. She likes them. She cannot see, so never knows when they will open. This isn't the first time I've hit her with a door, this is the first time I've hit her so hard. I figured she'd learn. I just went upstairs & hit her again!

How do I train a blind cat not to sit by doors?

Poor Damita. I have no idea how to get her to stop sitting by doors, Karma loves to do it to. I think its just a cat thing. What if you knocked first? You could also just train yourself to open the door slowly and peek around the door to see if she is there. Thats what I do. I now do it unconsciously, even when I am not at home. Any time I have to open a door I act like there is a kitty on the other side. Open slow, look around then open all the way.

Maybe post some sticky notes on your door as a reminder to open slowly? I'm not sure what the answer is. to you and Damita

Can you put bells on the door so she'll hear it opening?

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Can you put bells on the door so she'll hear it opening?

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Great idea!

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Can you put bells on the door so she'll hear it opening?

Click to expand...

Bad idea! Blind cat + bells = must be one of her toys! I bought bells to train the dogs to ring then when they had to go potty. OMG, Damita went nuts for them!

I opened doors slowly for awhile, too....but she kept getting outside! And I do not want to chance her escaping at all...being blind....I do not want to think about what would happen.

I have half a mind to attach pillows to the bottoms of all the doors.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

I have half a mind to attach pillows to the bottoms of all the doors.

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That would be interesting to see.

Is there anything else you can use on the doors or when you open them that makes a noise that would startle her? Pennies in cans with strings through the tabs and hooked over the door knobs?
... at least that one would be easy enough to experiment with.

I will have to think about a noise-maker on the door. I wonder if a baby quilt taped to the inside of the doors would be enough to pad them so she doesn't get hurt? I hate to put anything noisy on there, because I know about time I find something Damita won't play with, Twitch will play with the string it is attached with. Twitch, being deaf, wouldn't be phased by the noise.

That's my problem. Every time I come up with something that would work for the blind one, I realize the deaf ones would just play with it!

cats can feel vibrations (even if they're bind ) so perhaps if you stomp your foot on the floor before you open the door she will sense something and move? worth a shot at least!

Lets think about this a little deeper, she is blind, not deaf......... I doubt she is sitting right in the path of the door from the moment you leave till the moment you come home, and this is kitty mentality I am referring to. What I would guess is actually happening is that she is hearing outside your approach, so excited to greet you that she quickly goes to your entrance not realizing she may be in path of door, and mistake ably is injured. Are you worried about her getting out if you open the door slowly? There was a suggestion of bells on the door, if you put larger then toy bells, something that gives a different pitch of sound, she will always recognize that as the door. Considering this is a cat, blind or not, remember how smart they are, she already knows you are coming, just over anticipating it! Another suggestion would be as you are opening the door, talk to her and slowly open it so if she is in line of, she will be pushed out of the way........ I have never experienced a bloody nose with one of my kitties, something I would not want to either.......
Are you sure she is able to hear? Possibly hearing impaired?

What if you put something on the floor like double sde tape or tin foil, maybe one of those clear mats for office chairs with the little prongs on the bottom, only put it bottom side up so she felt it when she stepped on it. Suround all the doorways with them at a distance so the door will still open but she wont cross the barier. Make it so she does not like how the floor feels and stops going in that area. Or what about some kind of cat repelant that will work like an invisable fence.

This sure is a tough one, especialy since yo have deaf and blind kitties. I am starting to think maybe the pillow idea is best. Wait then you will just creat a nice sofe wall to lean against. Then you may not be able to open the door at all

I apologize for missing your updated post about opening doors slowly thinking she would learn, I would have thought the same......... thinking about your pillow idea, what about the door draft jams? They are long pillowy or bean bag like strips you place along the bottom of the door to block drafts.....

Attach a very small holder of some kind to near the bottom of the door inside, and every week put a piece of orange rind inside (it could even be something like a home-made cardboard envelope 2 x 2"), but she'll associate the smell with doors.

I would suggest something else. A habit that you would have to get into, but if it works it will be worth it. Before you enter through a door, kick it lightly with your foot. I find with my cats that if I kick the door lightly they move away enough for me to get by. You don't have to kick it hard, just enough to make a startling noise.

Damita actually sits by the door from the moment you walk out until you come home. I've videotaped her, she spent 4 hours there once. She's incredibly needy.

I'm gonna try some double sided tape right on the door then when I open it, the sticky will touch her & we'll see if that deters her. I'm also gonna kick on the door. I'd tap the floor, but I'm coming in from outside in many cases....

My cat gets in the way of doors too. I attatched a small (flat) set of windchimes to the TOP of the door. Ever since I did that, she moves out of the way when I come through the door.

Maybe you could attatch pillows/layered blankets to the bottom of the door. Then before you open the door, do something like clap, call out, or knock on the door. When you open it, she will of course run into the pillow, there so she won't hurt herself. After a while, seeing how smart cats are, she will elarn that your "cue" means you are coming through and back off so the door doesn't hit her in the face. It's worth a try, and after a week or so you could take the pillow off!

Well if she thinks a bell would be a toy, what about a door alarm? They sell those kid alarms for like windows and pool gate... actually I've even seen them on entrances to offices. Basically, you stick one end on the door and the other on the door frame... when they separate (like if you open the door/window/whatever) they kind of "ding".... that might be enough to get her attention.

gosh, i'm sorry about damita's nose! i hope you can figure something out. there are some really good suggestions. i just open my doors slowly.