Indoor cats and the outdoors

Okay I'm a rookie. I guess I submitted the same thing twice.

But instead of wasting a post. Should there be a light near the litter box at night? It's in the basement.

I just adopted two 10-month old cats. Both have been declawed and fixed. They are almost all settled in and comfortable. But I'm still worried that one day one of them will dash out the door as I leave or enter the house.

What happens to most indoor cats that run outside? Do they keep going or do they get scared and want back in?

Any advice on preventing their desire to go out the door?

Originally Posted by declawed

I just adopted two 10-month old cats. Both have been declawed and fixed. They are almost all settled in and comfortable. But I'm still worried that one day one of them will dash out the door as I leave or enter the house.

What happens to most indoor cats that run outside? Do they keep going or do they get scared and want back in?

Any advice on preventing their desire to go out the door?

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Are they trying to get out? Especially considering they are declawed, they shouldn't be out, as they couldn't defend themselves without claws.
As for what happens, I imagine it depends on the cat. When my parents cat had gotten out, she hid in the bushes and sat their all the time until my parents found her (they were searching for her all night, LOL, and the cat ignored them and just sat in the bushes scared out of her mind).

You won't be able to kill the desire if it's there.

As you've declawed them you absolutely cannot let them get loose outside. Poor kitties would have no way to defend themselves - kitties have claws for reasons.

Just need to be extra careful.

MKD

They haven't the desire to go outside, I guess I'm worried about hypotheticals and prevention. My concerns came about because I have a room off limits because of some plants that I need to get rid of. One of my cats made huge efforts to make it into that room. He made it in eventually as I was entering that bedroom, luckily I was there to supervise and make sure he didn't eat anything.

The fact that he made it through a bedroom door concerns me of the front and side doors.

Originally Posted by declawed

Should there be some light near the litter box at night? It's in the basement.

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No, cat can see in the dark much better than humans. I don't have lights on at night and they use their litterbox just fine.

I merged your threads. I must impress on you that keeping these cats indoors is imperative. They do not have their claws, therefore they have no defense and will not be able to climb a tree quick enough to escape if something is chasing them. You have landed on a very anti-declaw board so you may encounter some opposition to your posts here, especially in light of the board name you have chosen.

Looks like they combined my duplicate threads. So now we have 2 subjects going on. Thanks for the replies! I'll do my best to make sure they do not flee from the house.

Learn to exit through doors backwards, bending over and stopping cats with your hands as you go.

~gf~

Originally Posted by gayef

Learn to exit through doors backwards, bending over and stopping cats with your hands as you go.

~gf~

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Is that what you do, LOL? My cats never try to get out, they are terrified of the outside, and much prefer watching it from the window, so I dont' have that problem at all. In fact, when I tried to take my cat out on a balcony he scratched at me and run back inside.

I hang those lemon scented car air fresheners off the doorknobs, replacing them every now and again. But with the cat enclosure, the cats have the outdoors (sort of) so it is only a few cats that try to get outside every now and again-

I either give them a few treats then leg it to the door, or get to the door and throw a toy so that they run in the opposite direction before I open the front door. Although, neither has actually showed any desire to get out anyway.

It's hard - we have stories about cats who stay right where they are, and others who run as fast as they can, especially if they get scared, and then get lost. If you think there is a real chance of them getting out, then you could try harness walking them out or giving them access supervised to a small back yard, so that if they do get out at least they know the way back home. But on the other hand, that might create a desire in them to try to get out more often! Whatever, you must do everything you can not to let them out by accident.

Stamp your feet when you're at the door. This usually shoos them away. If they are indoor cats and escape, they don't go too far but may be too afraid to come out from hiding even if they hear you calling. And as everyone has said, they have no defence against predators, so no way should they be allowed out.

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

Is that what you do, LOL? My cats never try to get out, they are terrified of the outside, and much prefer watching it from the window, so I dont' have that problem at all. In fact, when I tried to take my cat out on a balcony he scratched at me and run back inside.

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Yeah, it is exactly what I do. *smile* Lexus will run right smack into the palm of my hand trying to get through it by sheer force of will. She is terrible, that one! My husband encourages her though and I get so mad at him ... he will pick her up and carry her around out on the porch deck so she can smell the hanging baskets of petunias and try to paw at the hummingbirds. He won't put her down, but she is content to stay right up high in his arms where she can get at things out there.

I must admit that I'm very paranoid about my indoor cats accidentally escaping. They are not declawed, but it's not knowing what they would do that makes the fear that much worse. My two are very mischievous, but have never shown an interest in escaping. I have door at the top of the stairs in my apartment, so the cats have the run of the upstairs when I'm not home but since they are not allowed downstairs unsupervised I can get in and out without worry of them running out. Of course there's always the worry that my husband forgot to close the upstairs door, but he hasn't forgotten yet. I live in a complex with a lot of other cats and even though they are vaccinated I still worry about illnesses and cat fights, so I'd rather they just stay upstairs. That way my livingroom/kitchen is safe from their mischief (the upstairs is well catproofed) and they can't dash out as I come inside.

I have a friend who has a strictly indoor cat. Her cat somehow managed to get out during the night and no one knew. That cat was very scared, and just stayed by the window and cried until someone heard her and let her in.

My cousins cat jumped out of a ground level window (the screen gave way and she went for it) but was so scared outside that she froze until my cousin grabbed her.

My cat Miles (gone almost two years now) snuck outside in the middle of the night once, and by the time I realized it I had to go out and search for him with a flashlight. I found him in the bushes in the backyard checking out a neighborhood cat. He was fixed, but I guess he wanted a friend.

I had another friend who's cat refused to go outside even if the door was open. She'd sit in the doorway but would not go out.

The point is that what the cat will do once it escapes depends on the cat so you can't really predict that. Declawed cats definitely need to be kept inside, so do whatever you can to insure that they can't get out, even if it means limiting their access to the house while your out. In my case, my cats sleep all day and exercise in the evening when I'm home so it doesn't matter that they only have the upstairs while I'm at work.

I think cats can find there litter box without a help of the light..plus I think they have nightvision

Cats can't see in the dark, they can see with limited lighting though, so if the basement is pitch black, burning a nightlight would be advisable.

I have been raised in a cat household, and I have 6 indoor-only myself, so it is imbred & stamped into my brain to just watch out for cats when I leave. When others leave my house (neighbor kids, my own daughter, etc.), I make it a point to drive it into their brains to "watch for the cats".

Mine don't want to go out, don't seem very interested; however, on pretty Spring days when there are squirrels & birds all over the front yard & on the deck, I betcha one of the boy cats would want to run out. So anyway, I always make sure the screen door is locked, when I exit, I exit backwards and I do the shooing thing (yes, I am paranoid), and I double & triple check to make sure no cats are near when a door is being opened.

Re: the nightlight --- I have a nightlight near each of the litter box areas in my house. I have 3 boxes in the basement, it's pitch-black down there; so there's a nightlight near the boxes. Also there's a nightlight in the laundry room (no window) and in the 4th bedroom. 4 of my 6 cats are older and Snickers eyes are really cloudy, you can tell he just can't judge stuff when he jumps --- so to make pottying easier for them, I have nightlights in each litter box area and also, I have some lidded boxes and some un-lidded. For better site & comfy pottying.

Hissy, can you elaborate on this?

I hang those lemon scented car air fresheners off the doorknobs, replacing them every now and again.

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Puppy has started showing interest in leaving the apartment, which isn't surprising since he spent most of his life outdoors. But we live in an apartment and he's declawed. I am going to start working with him and the leash so we can talk short walks when it's warmer out. In the mean time, I'm worried about the maintenance man accidentally leaving the door open. I put a sign on the door, but still...

Do the airfresheners somehow prevent the cats from going near the door?