Darting out the door

14 year old Sylvestra, who's been an indoor cat since she was 6 months old, has recently started darting out the door to go eat grass from the yard.

To catch her we pick a piece of grass to give to her, which allows us to get close enough to pick her up & take her inside. We give her the piece of grass to associate us catching her with her getting something she wants (I don't want her to run away & be impossible to catch outside), but I'm afraid it's also reinforcing her running outside.

I can't allow the indoor cats to have free access to inside cat grass because then they'll vomit all over the house (I've tried).

I've always been good about blocking attempts to get out, but Sylvestra is FAST, agile, and very sneaky about it. She's been darting out into the back yard for some time now, which I haven't been too worried about because the dogs are intimidated by her & the yard is fenced, so I have time to catch her. But recently she's taken to darting out the front door, which really concerns me because of cars & dogs in the neighborhood - I'm afraid if she gets startled she'll take off & I won't be able to catch her.

How can I break her of the door darting habit?

Does she dart when you open the door to go out or come in, or both? That would change how you deal with it.
Would you be willing to do clicker training or would you prefer other methods?

Originally Posted by Maxy24

Does she dart when you open the door to go out or come in, or both? That would change how you deal with it.
Would you be willing to do clicker training or would you prefer other methods?

Click to expand...

Thank you for your response!

She does both, though more frequently when I'm exiting (I think). She doesn't do it to my husband, just me - he's not as used to stepping over cats so I think she avoids getting in his way for fear of getting accidentally stepped on. She also does it when I go to let the dog in or out from the back yard - she runs around my ankles and under the dog.

I'm definitely willing to try clicker training. I do have 3 other cats around that I would probably have to put in another room to be able to work with her (she's dainty about food and the other cats will take it from her). I've used a clicker for my dog, so I already own one. If I'd be working with the dog around, would I want to get a different sounding clicker to avoid confusing the dog?