Runaway Cat

[MyaLias]

I am sorry, I am so very mad right now, I needed to vent. I have a long-haired white cat, female, spayed, about 3 years old. She is an indoor cat. She LOVES to go outside. I have a screened-in patio and I let her out there. She likes it, but it is still not enough. She wants to go explore the front yard. Particularly because there are many stray and neighborhood cats roaming around and she loves to chase them. I have gotten her a leash, and I take her out for a walk for about 30 minutes a day to appease her desire for the outdoors. She begs me every day to go outside. She will sit at the front door and whine until I let her out. But - this is not why I am mad. She also waits at the front door every evening when I come home. I have to open the door very slowly, with just a crack, then stick my foot in to push her out of the way - otherwise, she will DART outside and run away. This has happened to me 3 times already. I waste hours looking for her in the neighborhood. Neighbors must think I am crazy, knocking on everyone's door, looking for a white cat. Well, this evening, I had a bunch of grocery bags in my hand. Again, I did my usual routine, opening the front door slowly, even putting all the grocery bags in the door and pushing her away with the grocery bags. She somehow slipped past me and the grocery bags and darted outside. As you know, cats are very fast, and within a second she zoomed away. I only saw briefly in the direction she went. Again, I wasted an hour looking for her. I finally found her in the neighbors front yard, scared, and meowing. The reason I am mad is because - this is just RIGHT across the street. Why can she NOT find her way home? She has been outside many times, every day. She sniffs around everywhere the front yard, yet, she gets lost and can't find her way home. What about her honing skills? Ugh. Every time she is lost, I end up finding her at a neighbors house, either RIGHT next door, or RIGHT across the street. Eventually she sits at the neighbors front door, THINKING that it is her house, waiting to be let back in. WTF? Why can't she find her way home? It's literally - THE NEXT HOUSE. Why doesn't she not know her own house. Like I said, she has sniffed every corner of that yard in all her expeditions when I let her out on a leash for 30 minutes a day. I would think she would have better honing skills than this to find her way home. We have lived in this same house her whole life. I am MAD because she ran away, but even MORE MAD that she can't find her way home. Can anyone help explain this to me?

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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M MyaLias - Does your home have only a single entrance?
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[amethyst]

My guess is she wants to go explore, but then when she wants to come home fear takes over and she panics. Probably something similar to a small child in a store, they go off to explore and suddenly mommy or daddy is gone (likely in the same isle they were, just not the one the kid is in now) and the store is suddenly huge and scary.

I have one cat who when he first started going outside, or if he is out for too long even now, will go into full on panic mode. He ends up huddled against the house and acts like a feral cat that doesn't know us. He will cry, hiss, and even run away from us. He was hand raised since he was a few weeks old, so he is not feral and never was, lol. He never ventures more then a few meters away from the house and yet can't find the front or back door.

I don't have any suggestions for preventing your girl from escaping, just letting you know there are other odd cats that get "lost" within a few feet from home out there too.

 

[danteshuman]

I trained my boys to never try getting near an open front door (using penny cans by the front door) but that entering/exiting through a sliding glass door was OK. Perhaps her harness walks can start at 1 door and the other door you enter in when you come home is off limits?

 

[lollie]

Next time it happens, put some of her used litter in a box outside your door. She will be able to smell her scent from quite far.