How To Keep Kittens From Going Out The Doggy Door?

BetsyJane

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I have two (litter mate) almost 4 month old kittens who are V-E-R-Y interested in the doggy door. One went out once and we have since kept the doggy door closed off. As you can mention, this is far from ideal for our puppy dog! In addition, any time we open the door - which opens to our deck - the kittens are a threat to leave. One has, a couple of times, and fortunately does not go far and we can retrieve him. We live in a suburban area and have 2 large owls in our backyard and 2 hawks nearby. In our metro area, coyotes are not unheard of. I want these kitties to be indoor cats.

Does anyone have a method of keeping cats from exiting through a doggy door?
 

mwallace056

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you have to keep it block or invest in a doggy door that uses microchips to open for a specific pet. in this in case, the dog. there no other way to keep them inside, idk. When you open the door try to distract them with throwing a toy or a laser pointer. Other members will chime in with better tips

Can you turn the deck into a catio? Where they can go outside but still be safe?
 
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BetsyJane

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you have to keep it block or invest in a doggy door that uses microchips to open for a specific pet. in this in case, the dog. there no other way to keep them inside, idk. When you open the door try to distract them with throwing a toy or a laser pointer. Other members will chime in with better tips

Can you turn the deck into a catio? Where they can go outside but still be safe?
Will consider the distraction. Cannot change the deck; the dog still has to get out and whatever method she uses to get out, the cats can use. :( Also would render the deck a bit unusable for other purposes. But thank you for your quick reply.
 

rubysmama

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The only thing I can think of is, as M mwallace056 already suggested, a microchipped pet door, which appear to be fairly expensive. Though probably worth it, compared to an emergency vet visit if one of the kittens got injured outside.

Google also found these:
How To Keep The Cat From Using The Dog Door
How to Prevent a Cat From Getting Out a Doggie Door
Want Your Dog to Go Out the Pet Door, But Keep Your Cat In?

TCS also has this article which might come in handy, if they discover the regular door also leads to outside.

How To Prevent Your Cat From Darting Out The Door | TheCatSite

Hello and welcome to TCS, btw. :wave2: If you decide to stick around, do introduce yourself and your kittens in our New Cats on the Block forum. :compsurfing:
 

Pjg8r

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What worked for me (I had a large dog) was setting up the air canisters that detect motion and blow air. Some people use them to discourage cats from jumping on counters. Since the air was so low to the ground my dogs didn’t even notice it. A smaller dog might not like the air in its face so that may not work so well. This kept my cats from going out the doggy door for years- they avoided that corner of the room completely.
 

LTS3

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Why can't you change out the current dog door to a microchip one?
 

Kflowers

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If you have a small dog, he is also in danger of attacks from owls. Some will go for dogs as large as 50lbs. Obviously, they can't take off with that much weight, but their talons will damage the dog.
 

fionasmom

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Pjg8r Pjg8r is that a Great Pyr? How adorable those two are together.

As for the situation, I have to agree that unless the air canister works, or something equally distracting, you need the microchipped door or you need to retrain the dog to use jingle bells at the door, etc.
 

Pjg8r

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fionasmom fionasmom yes he’s a pyr. He could stand in the doggy door and the cats still wouldn’t go near those air canisters. I think I was lucky about that.
 
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BetsyJane

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Thank you for the multiple suggestions. I read the TCS article and will try to follow the suggestions. We're going to try the magnet trick. Hubby is handy. I've read the pros and cons of microchipping the dog/door and this would not be my first choice.
If you have a small dog, he is also in danger of attacks from owls. Some will go for dogs as large as 50lbs. Obviously, they can't take off with that much weight, but their talons will damage the dog.
 
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BetsyJane

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Understood. Our dog is about 40 pounds and is 7 years old, and she has been indoors/outdoors for 7 years. Our older dog, up to 65 pounds, also spent his life indoors/outdoors. The kittens weigh about 3 pounds each.
 

1 bruce 1

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View attachment 293109 What worked for me (I had a large dog) was setting up the air canisters that detect motion and blow air. Some people use them to discourage cats from jumping on counters. Since the air was so low to the ground my dogs didn’t even notice it. A smaller dog might not like the air in its face so that may not work so well. This kept my cats from going out the doggy door for years- they avoided that corner of the room completely.
Pyrenees? Wonderful animals :cloud9:
 

Kflowers

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I expect you'll need the jingle the bell when they want to go out method. With the size difference it wouldn't be that hard for one of
the cats to squeeze out under the dog as the dog goes out the door.
If you train your dog to ring a bell when he wants to go out, you can
show your friends and they will be unbelievably impressed. Really. I've see friends be impressed with this. (Not my dog, someone else's)
 
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