With winter fast approaching (in Canada, anyway), we know that it’s important to many pet owners that their feline friend stays safely indoors away from the cold weather. This is especially true for owners who live with a door dashing cat. You might be wondering what a door dashing cat is. Well, it’s the kind of cat that just loves to sneak out the door when its owner isn’t looking. Sometimes this is due to pure curiosity and other times this is because kitty has been outside before, and s/he can’t resist going outside again.
Not to fret if you are the owner of one of these sneaky felines, because we have come up with our top 5 tips for keeping your cat away from the door and safely in your house.
- Make the indoors fun. The outdoors is a source of fun and adventure to many cats, which make the indoors seem quite boring in comparison. Spice up the indoors with new toys and games, or bring the outside in by buying a cat grass plant for your feline friend to play with.
- Place double-sided tape on the floor. To prevent your cat from even approaching the door, try putting double-sided tape on the floor surrounding the door. Cats dislike having sticky things on their paws, which means that your kitty should avoid the door area all together if there is a sticky texture on the floor that s/he doesn’t want to touch.
- Distract your kitty. Some cats love to follow their owners around the house, and some cats even follow their owner to the door when they are about to open it. If this sounds like your cat, try distracting him or her by throwing a toy or a treat in the other direction. If all goes well, your kitty will be so distracted by the treat that you can safely open the door.
- Cat-proof any exits. Sometimes the door isn’t your feline friend’s main escape route. In these cases your kitty might be exiting the house through something such as a window. If you have screens on your windows, make sure that they are securely in place, and make sure all windows are locked or closed when you’re not around. This should decrease the likelihood that kitty will escape when you’re not looking.
- Keep an eye on the door. Any time you open a door to the outside make sure your kitty is safe and sound inside the house. This is especially important in households with multiple people coming and going, so be sure to tell your family members or roommates to watch that the cat is safely inside whenever they leave the house.
Do you have another tip or trick that you use to keep your cat safely indoors? Let us know in the comments section below, we’d love to hear your suggestions!
Congratulations to one of our past Black Cat Contest winners - Bandit! Click 
