Kittens and Doors

I tried to search for this, but I'm not very good at getting the results I want! So I'm sorry if this is out there somewhere and I missed it...

I'm having a problem with the X-Pack. They know the door to their room, and they LOVE it! They are always there plastered to it when we come in, and they try to race us to it when we leave.

I am SO SCARED that one of them will get hurt! These kitties are so small, it wouldn't take much to hurt them and they can easily slip a tiny paw in without us noticing it. I'd hate to have a one month old with a broken paw- that I broke! It's also kind of annoying having to corral them in every time, though that's not a big deal.

How do all of you handle kitties and doors? I've tried a few things, like putting boxes and such in front of it, but they never stay in the right position. I've thought about a baby gate, but the door opens in, so it wouldn't block their little paws! I've tried putting cloth over the hinges and that side of the door, but one, I'm not sure it would stop little paws from getting squished, and two, they climb it! And three, it doesn't help the side that opens...

I've also thought about one of those dog pens, the kind that you can fold open. Except, these little guys are one, small enough that they can probably still squeeze through (at least the pens at my local Petco), and two, they are little mountain climbers and can get over it in seconds! So it might give us time to get out, but they'd still be waiting there when we come in.

Any brilliant ideas out there? If any one has great ideas, I know it's you guys!

Thanks in advance!

You can use one of those dog pens with the inside covered in clear plastic so the kittens can't climb the bars. These are usually big enough that you can "surround" the area where the door opens. This gives you enough room to walk in, the kittens can run to where you are, but get no where close to the door. The plastic can be bought in a fabric store and be attached to the bars. Poke small holes in the plastic and secure with a twist-tie (long end on the side away from the kittens).

May sound punitive, but my solution to too-tiny kittens exploring is chicken wire.
When I brought in a litter of 4 at 5 weeks old to save their lives, I put them all in a cage, which proved 100% permeable to them. I wrapped the cage in chicken wire (which was coated in green plastic, so it never cut their little paws or legs.)
I never let them run free, because they were too little to find under the furniture and I have free-roaming indoor cats.
I set up a 4' x 4' "playpen" for them, with toys & a scratching post to climb. (Didn't have to be too high.) and encased the sides and top in the same chicken wire, with an opening to put them in & out, secured with twister-ties. I put them in for a few hours 2-3 time a day. When they got a bit older, in mixed pairs. (By that time, they were in 2 cages, where I also mixed & matched them after playtime.)
They all got petted & handled and crawl-over-human time. Their potential adopters were encouraged to come participate.
By the time the little spayed & neutered fuzz-butts were ready to leave, they were friendly & fearless, never having encountered anything traumatic or dangerous. (They were raised to be indoor cats.)

Thanks all for the advice!

Though admittedly, the X-Pack may not appreciate it.

I've mainly taken Trixshar's advice and built them a little enclosure. They have been in a cage most of the time, it was just during the freedom (just of the one room) that I was having the door trouble. So that's why they may not appreciate it- they now no longer will ever have free run of the whole room! But it will definitely be better for them in the long run- no potential broken paws!

Though I must say, they had a tough time with me setting it up! For that story, see here: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=170852

Originally Posted by trixshar

By the time the little spayed & neutered fuzz-butts were ready to leave, they were friendly & fearless, never having encountered anything traumatic or dangerous. (They were raised to be indoor cats.)

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I hope these guys are the same way. They had been completely trauma free until I set the enclosure up! Admittedly, it was my fault, but I never would have expected that reaction! Oh well, no way that will happen again now!

Thanks again, I think this will work out well!

My 10 year old closed my Sphynx's tail in the door to garage (heavy door) when he was only 3 months old. We thought it was a gonner. It cut all of the skin off except for a tiny little piece on the under side of the tail. It was horrible. Atleast it wasn't broken or we would have had to amputate. The vet tissue glued it and it took several tries before it stayed. Now just a little scar is all that is evident. It really gives us a different outlook of going in and out we are all really careful now to make sure we aren't followed by kitties.

*laughs* Really, all we do is kind've shuffle when we open the door. They usually get so distracted by our moving feet that they forget all about the door.

Originally Posted by lele

My 10 year old closed my Sphynx's tail in the door to garage (heavy door) when he was only 3 months old. We thought it was a gonner. It cut all of the skin off except for a tiny little piece on the under side of the tail. It was horrible. Atleast it wasn't broken or we would have had to amputate. The vet tissue glued it and it took several tries before it stayed. Now just a little scar is all that is evident. It really gives us a different outlook of going in and out we are all really careful now to make sure we aren't followed by kitties.

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Oh no, your poor baby! I'm just glad he was ok! I bet your 10 year old felt bad, too. Poor things!

Originally Posted by Abstract

*laughs* Really, all we do is kind've shuffle when we open the door. They usually get so distracted by our moving feet that they forget all about the door.

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He he, I can just picture you doing the kitty-shuffle! It's a great idea, and I've actually done similar while going in to the room. Going in was never a problem, though, because all they really wanted was us, so once we got in, they were away from the door. It was trying to leave them! They sure didn't approve of that, and shuffling feet on the way out would only make them want out the door even more! Silly things.

My almost 3 month olds are always escaping so it makes me sometimes not want to open the door because my house has 2 sets of stairs and is one of those big rambling older houses. Luckily my other cats act like kitten police because my health makes kitten chasing very hard. My daughter seems to enjoy finding them but at 6 AM. Not so fun. They are also super jumpers so gates are a mere minor hurdle for them.