The Cat Tripper

Hi folks,

Ok, I know this is relatively common, yet it's quite unnerving and frankly has to stop. 

I find it very dangerous when my cat dashes in front of me, anywhere I go.  I love that she's so curious and full of energy but somebody is going to get hurt sooner or later.  Especially my folks, whom are elderly and may see my cat from time to time.  I can easily see Willow accidentally tripping someone.

There have been quite a few times when I've done a double step because she darn near trips me, as my foot catches her side.

You'd think she'd catch on, but surely there's something I can do. 

As it stands - I take baby steps more or less, pause, then wait as she bolts in front of me, brushing my left or right leg.

Any suggestions?

This stage won't last too long. I have one especially fast female now about 2 years old. Put Usain Bolt to shame. Never saw anything move so fast in my life. Make sure your parents are aware of the situation.

Perhaps age is a factor? She's ~ 2 yrs. 5 months old.

I honestly don't have any advice, but the thread title made me laugh. My Sebastian is always under my feet. He's 13. (Sorry, that probably doesn't make you feel any better.) I've just learned to look down whenever I am walking. I can't (and wouldn't) yell because he doesn't understand.

When my mom came over to watch the cats while I was away, I told her over and over and over to look down and try not to trip over Sebastian. I warned her relentlessly that he'll get under her feet. She listened and fortunately mom didn't come tumbling down.    He'll actually get under someone's feet as they are walking down the steps.

I do the stop and wait thing, too. LOL. 

No suggestions here--we have a herd of three 5-year olds who accompany us up and down our steep driveway (you should see how long it takes me to check the mail, stopping every 2-3 feet for a cat to move out of the way), up and down our stairs, and THUNDER up and down our long hallway.  We've learned to walk slowly and carefully, and warn our guests to do the same.   

MY girl Oksan is about 3 and I don't think she'll ever grow out of being underfoot. I've accidentally kicked her a few times and she's tripped me a few as well.

For a few weeks afterwards she learns her lesson, and then she's right back under my feet again.

The strange thing is, that even though she's very quirky, she's also very smart. She's definitely the smartest cat I've ever owned, but the concept of be being 25 times her size is just a foreign concept

When I got my kittie 7 months ago (he is 2 & 1/2 now), it had been more than 10 years since I had a cat.  I had to remember how cats always seem to be underfoot ...Malachy has been stepped on a good number of times & I have nearly tripped on him as many ...I think we just eventually learn the dance & it begins to come natural as we sync with our cats ...but always a concern with visitors (especially elderly) who are not accustomed to cats ...again, no advice (sorry) ...I think it's just part of owning a cat.

Lol - Dang!

I was hoping someone had the magic bullet advice.   Maybe I can carry an air horn in my pocket and fire it off every few seconds?  

Yeah...my neighbors would love that and think I've lost my mind!

Ahh well, I'll just have to really advise people of what cats are like. 

Marc999 said:

 
Lol - Dang!

I was hoping someone had the magic bullet advice.   Maybe I can carry an air horn in my pocket and fire it off every few seconds?  

Yeah...my neighbors would love that and think I've lost my mind!

Ahh well, I'll just have to really advise people of what cats are like. 

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Rico and Zoe in particular are just friendly and want to rub up against people's legs.  We've only had a couple of guests who have actually been annoyed at their being underfoot--everybody else understands that our cats pretty much run our house so they get used to it.  LOL  I DO warn people who haven't been here before to be careful walking up and down the hall as a cat could come charging by at any moment.  

The air horn idea is funny--can you imagine your neighbor's reactions?  You know that Tom Waits song:  "What's he BUILDING in there?"    LOL

A better idea (for my kitties at least) is for me to just carry the vacuum around with me.

They'd avoid me like the plague.

bigperm20 said:

A better idea (for my kitties at least) is for me to just carry the vacuum around with me.

They'd avoid me like the plague.

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Hahaha. My feline tripper LOVES the vacuum. He snuggles and nuzzles it a lot, and usually tries to ride on it while I use it, so that would get me tripped even more often!

Losna said:

bigperm20 said:

A better idea (for my kitties at least) is for me to just carry the vacuum around with me.

They'd avoid me like the plague.

Click to expand...

Hahaha. My feline tripper LOVES the vacuum. He snuggles and nuzzles it a lot, and usually tries to ride on it while I use it, so that would get me tripped even more often!

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There are a few such cat/vacuum videos on YouTube that,crack me up. My girls run and hide if you say the word "Vacuum"...