Tex is gonna be the DEATH of me!

I have written about my little door-darter before. This time it was a bit different. I use the garage as a kind of air-lock. Go in, close the garage door, open access door to the house. Reverse the process when I leave, normally making a sweep of the garage to make sure no one is stuck in there.

Well, Jakie runs out there and is being coy... wants a tummy rub, doesn't want me to go, etc. I finally catch him and put him in the house. Lock the access door, press the button to open the garage and suddenly, there is a little black blur flying around the garage in a panic. Tex comes up the stairs and claws at the door but before I could catch him and/ unlock the access door OR close the garage door - he hi-tailed it out into the freezing cold night!

I follow, calling him, trying not to panic... first he goes in the neighbor's courtyard which they keep locked. Then he darts into some bushes on the other side of that driveway.

I find him back there with his tail poofed out and pick him up. We go back into the garage, I hang onto him and hold his scruff while I close the big door... and.... and... and.... my keys. Are in the car. With my purse. Where I had set them to go look for him.

By this time he is BEGGING to go back in. What am I going to do? There are no hidden keys in the garage. No carrier to stuff him in for safe keeping. I try grabbing and holding him while I once again open the door... and once again... he gets loose and RUNS!!!! AAAAaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

This time .... he contemplates shinnying up a tree...Nooooooooooo!!!!!

Then darts across the street to a large stand of pine trees.

I run back inside and get a bag of Whiskas Temptations.. and go back to the stand of trees, calling as sweetly as I could and shaking the treat back... "Treats, Texie. Mama has trreeeeeats."

I crouch down to try to see if he is under there still and I see a flash of white paw... then a little face.... I toss him some treats... and he comes trotting out.

I scoop him up and carry him BACK to the condo.. and take him in this time through the front door... my intention is to just shove him in...

WELL ...WHAT DO YOU KNOW... ANOTHER CAT DECIDES THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE THE GREAT OUTDOORS. AND WHO MAKES A BREAK FOR IT??? Archie? Jake?? Nooo.... it was Ghost. Timid. Shy. Sweet. Goofy. Ghost!

Now thankfully he didn't go farther than the courtyard. No sooner did he get outside than he doubled back and began searching for a way in.. squeaking and crying in total terror. It must have seemed like Alice Through the Looking Glass to him the way he was behaving.

I managed to approach him, grab him and stuff him back in the house, yanking the door closed.! WHEW!!!!!

This was the longest 20 mins of my life. I could NOT leave with one of these guys stuck outside. It was 42 F with a biting wind chill and snow flurries are predicted.

I have now decided I absolutely need a spare key hidden in the garage... and keep a carrier in there JIC.

I already have boxes and blankets in there for them JIC one of them does get stuck in there for a few hours. At least they'd be warm.

But this is more than my poor heart can take.

OMG! I totally felt your panic reading your post! I have always been a single kitty house hold, but know the escape or missing kitty panic all to well! From past experiences, Maia has a tight leash, as in she doesn't go anywhere I don't know about!

Originally Posted by cheylink

OMG! I totally felt your panic reading your post! I have always been a single kitty house hold, but know the escape or missing kitty panic all to well! From past experiences, Maia has a tight leash, as in she doesn't go anywhere I don't know about!

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When Butzie was an indoor/indppr cat in the house, it freeked me out when she wouln't come in at night. How that she is only an indoor cat with second floor privledges, I sleep much better.

Oh good grief! You earned a long hot bath or a glass of wine or something tonight! I've honestly tried to keep Mooch and Noodles scared of the outside or the garage. I've had darters before.

First off, have some wine. And Chocolate. Deep breaths...

I feel your pain! Spooky is the worst door darter! We use a double "Air-Lock" system. We go from upstairs down to the basement, leaving the cats upstairs. Then once we get down to the basement and there are no cats, we can go into the garage. No cats, open the garage and go. Any time we have to open the front door to the outside, Spooky has to be locked in a bedroom. If you can't find him in the house, the easiest way to get him to come running is to unlock the deadbolt on the front door, then scoop him up and lock him in a room while the door is opened. The mailman is now familiar with this delay. The UPS man still gets irritated.

I have no idea how to break this behavior! Spooky has NEVER been allowed outside with me but still he goes running every chance he gets. Usually just to the bottom of the steps to eat grass. Unless you chase him, then he's off.

I think keeping a carrier in the garage is a good idea, as well as the extra key. You can get a collapsible carrier for this purpose so it doesn't take up much space but is available when needed. Even a king size pillowcase works well in a pinch, though the cats aren't usually terribly pleased with being stuck in one and a knot tied in the top... but it keeps the kitty confined (learned this one the hard way when there was a fire, I do NOT usually carry my cats in pillowcases...)

Now, have some more wine!

What a little stinker. Gus is the same way. if her goes out the back door it is fine, our yard is fenced he doesn't seem to know he can climb it. If he goes out the front door he takes off like a shot. Last time I spent two hours in my nightgown trying to get him to come close enough to grab him.

Poor you and bless the cats...

I feel the intense of the situation.

Holy potatoes..If that would have been me I would have been FREAKING OUT! We have had some close scares with GiGi and Hercules...one incident actually involved scary outside cat and some yowls and fur flying.

Hercules snuck out the door while I was at work last year and went to the back of the yard in the pitch black and outside cat caught him and started a fight. I had a heart attack, BF was livid but thankfully no blood was shed just fur and Hercules managed to get back in the house within 15 minutes. The next morning I went outside and sure enough the back of the yard was literally covered in white fur.

Twice now we have come home and the backdoor was wide open (if the wind blows hard enough and the dead bolt isnt locked it will blow the door open). GiGi snuck out and became the wild jungle cat she thinks she is. We found her both times after having the neighbors and everyone running around outside checking barns shaking cat treats yelling "Here GiGi Munster"....She would just trot over like nothing was amiss doing her jungle trills and chirps.

Even now having smartypants cats I have to be careful because if the front door isnt shut all the way Hercules knows how to open it up, and I cant leave just the screen door shut because both of my munsters know how to pull the handle down and open the screen door. Thankfully even if they get onto the front porch the sliding glass doors are ALWAYS shut.

Oh wow hun, I too felt the panic in your post! How scary!! I'm just glad everyone is ok, including you!

Halloween night we had no trick or treaters, but my brother did stop by with my little nephew. We had our foster, Surprise, out of our bedroom and she was running around having a great time. Well, my brother came in, the cat went ZOOMING out. It was snowing a bit that night too, so poor Dana went out in the snow to try to get Surprise. She too ran across the street and up a tree and scared the crap out of us before Dana could get her.

I feel your fear!
One time a friend of ours came over after I went to sleep (sleeping pills because of chronic insomnia and all...) to visit with DH. I was COMPLETELY doped up and sound asleep when DH comes RACING into the bedroom shouting my name, shaking my shoulder!! Our friend hadn't closed the door behind him fully and Pounce decided to go exploring! Our apartments was notorious for people speeding through, so we naturally freaked out (besides which, Pounce had never been outside!!)
After rousing all the neighbors, we found her, YOWLING to be let in at our apartment door... except she was on the wrong floor!!! (We lived on the 3rd floor but she was certain that the 2nd floor was our apartment!!) I started crying and to this day I am sure those neighbors talk about the crazy drugged out girl frantically hunting for her cat!! That's me!
All's well that ends well, right?

Ohh my goodness, I would have rung their necks Bless your heart; what a scare!!

On a side note, one other suggestion while you're adding a spare key & carrier to the garage, make sure that all of the kitties are wearing collars & updated ID tags just incase something happens again. I would also have them microchipped & registered if you haven't already.

As far as the door darting goes...most petstores (and I think even Walmart) sell a can of this compressed air stuff called "SSSCat cat" http://cats.about.com/cs/behavior2/gr/scccat.htm You sit it in an area that you don't want the cats to go past or on and it automatically goes off when it sense the cats nearby. I would get two of them and sit them near the door so that they learn when they get close to the door, something unpleasant happens. It may discourage them from hanging around that area and trying to get out again.

I don't think I breathed through your entire post. I've felt that terror of an indoor cat outside. Especially when you see him head for the trees. Especially if it is a cat who needs seizure medicine. But really regardless of any special circumstances it is a terrifying ordeal.

Extra key and carrier in the garage is a good plan.

I say again: whoever said "having pets prolongs your life and reduces stress" has never had pets.

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

As far as the door darting goes...most petstores (and I think even Walmart) sell a can of this compressed air stuff called "SSSCat cat" http://cats.about.com/cs/behavior2/gr/scccat.htm You sit it in an area that you don't want the cats to go past or on and it automatically goes off when it sense the cats nearby. I would get two of them and sit them near the door so that they learn when they get close to the door, something unpleasant happens. It may discourage them from hanging around that area and trying to get out again.

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Terrific suggestion.

that eventhough Ghost was TERRIFIED outside, that he was at the front door today, asking me if he could go O-U-T. Squee? SQUEE? SQUEEEE????!!!!! Uh............... no. No. NOOO!

Originally Posted by AddieBee

that eventhough Ghost was TERRIFIED outside, that he was at the front door today, asking me if he could go O-U-T. Squee? SQUEE? SQUEEEE????!!!!! Uh............... no. No. NOOO!

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I think he's busting your chops, wrekkin havvok, you know?

OMG did you get my heart going! Talk about feeling your panic!

And I was thinking that would have turned him off of wanting out!!!!!!! I'm sorry you had no such luck!