Door - How To Prevent Darting Out

I've always lived in apartment buildings, but in few weeks time I'm moving to the house like apartment, meaning the main door will open directly outside; I'm worried that my cats will dart out, is there any way I can prevent it or at least slow them in case they do? The door opens to the inside part, I was thinking to put a baby gate outside and to close it behind us before opening the door. Is there any simpler solution? All ideas are appreciated.

If you can’t have a door in front of the door then the next best thing to do is to make the area around the door as uninteresting as possible. I worry about my cats darting sometimes too but there’s nothing around that area that they are curious about so they usually don’t even try. Also, we usually feed them right away when we get home from work so when they see us come in they’re too excited for being fed that they would rather be inside with food than try to dart.

Something my boys' foster mom did was stomp on the floor every time she came in from outside. Eventually her cats started associating the door with a loud unpleasant noise and avoided it. Unfortunately I haven't continued this method because I don't want our dog to bark any more than she already does, and my mom, who is home most of the day, wouldn't remember to do it anyway.

Not sure if this only works on kittens so they grow up knowing the door means bad stomping noise, or if it'll work on older cats, but it's always worth a try.

Baby gate might work too. If it gives you more of a peace of mind with one up then give that a try, too.

Azazel said:

If you can’t have a door in front of the door then the next best thing to do is to make the area around the door as uninteresting as possible. I worry about my cats darting sometimes too but there’s nothing around that area that they are curious about so they usually don’t even try. Also, we usually feed them right away when we get home from work so when they see us come in they’re too excited for being fed that they would rather be inside with food than try to dart.

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the problem is that for one of my cats, everything is super interesting This is fearless girl and she loves exploring anything, especially things beyond her reach. Luckily, objectively speaking the area by the door is not interesting so hopefully she'll give up soon enough.
It's not that they have actively tried to dart out, and even if they do, we're really good at catching them, they're not sneaky or anything. I'm more worried about other people coming in, like pet sitter that's coming a lot. On the other hand, she would be experienced enough not to let them out I would hope. Or delivery guys, there would be plenty of time for cats to get out while we deal with someone by the door. I guess one way to manage this is to invite them in straight away, but some of them refuse.
I wish I could get a second door but unfortunately it's not an option.

Show Me Your Kitties said:

Something my boys' foster mom did was stomp on the floor every time she came in from outside. Eventually her cats started associating the door with a loud unpleasant noise and avoided it. Unfortunately I haven't continued this method because I don't want our dog to bark any more than she already does, and my mom, who is home most of the day, wouldn't remember to do it anyway.

Not sure if this only works on kittens so they grow up knowing the door means bad stomping noise, or if it'll work on older cats, but it's always worth a try.

Baby gate might work too. If it gives you more of a peace of mind with one up then give that a try, too.

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Yeah, I'm one of these cat moms which refuse to scare their babies no matter what so stomping is not an option, although I can see how it could be effective. Maybe I'll change my mind about it if this proves to be a problem, now I just proactively worry
This baby gate would need to be placed outside unfortunately so not sure how this would even work, but I'll try this if I won't find alternative.

She's a witch said:

Yeah, I'm one of these cat moms which refuse to scare their babies no matter what so stomping is not an option, although I can see how it could be effective. Maybe I'll change my mind about it if this proves to be a problem, now I just proactively worry
This baby gate would need to be placed outside unfortunately so not sure how this would even work, but I'll try this if I won't find alternative.

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I don't like scaring my boys either, but them getting out is my worse nightmare so personally if I was home often I'd attempt to continue the method I was taught. Sometimes I'll give the floor a light stomp if they are close. If I know one of them is on the other side of the door when I'm outside, I give the door a quick kick to scare them away. This is also to prevent me from accidentally hitting them with the door when I open it.

Another thing you could try, is get yourself a motion sensor air spray can. Put it by your door so when your cats go near it, the can will sense them and give them spurt of air (not water). It won't hurt them, and they won't associate you with the unpleasant thing by the door. These things are mainly for keeping cats off counters, but maybe it'll work as a door deterrent as well.

I've never tried them, So i can't say whether or not they work or how well they work, but that idea just popped in my head so I figured I'd throw it out there.

I hope you find a method that works for you! Nothing wrong with not wanting to scare your babies I understand your fear. I'm honestly dreading the next time my brother and sister in law come stay because they have to bring all their stuff into the house, which requires the door to be open, and my oldest nephew is special needs and sometimes forgets to shut the door. It's not a fun time. But trying to keep two social, curious kittens away from the action is hard lol

Dealing with Door-Dashing Cats | PetSafe® Articles

This article has a few ideas, too.

If you aren't able to have a second door, like a screen door for the outside, what about finding a prefab or even making a DIY portable vestibule for the inside? Is that feasible in your new renting situation?

Just for a visual so you can start pondering the possibilites, here's a fancy built-in one --
Entryway vestibule with hexagonal tile - Decoist

Maybe there is some way to design a cool, not-as-permanent-or-fancy DIY one, w/ landlord permission.

Or you can look into companies like this for ideas:
Indoor Cat and Dog Enclosure Room Divider
See: the first photo ("Pet Stair Enclosure") or the last photo ("Setup Examples") for ideas.

The latter link doesn't show particularly attractive enclosures, but you can dress it up with fabric, paintings, plants, cat toys - whatever.

There's a TCS article with suggestions:

How To Prevent Your Cat From Darting Out The Door

Show Me Your Kitties said:

I don't like scaring my boys either, but them getting out is my worse nightmare so personally if I was home often I'd attempt to continue the method I was taught. Sometimes I'll give the floor a light stomp if they are close. If I know one of them is on the other side of the door when I'm outside, I give the door a quick kick to scare them away. This is also to prevent me from accidentally hitting them with the door when I open it.

Another thing you could try, is get yourself a motion sensor air spray can. Put it by your door so when your cats go near it, the can will sense them and give them spurt of air (not water). It won't hurt them, and they won't associate you with the unpleasant thing by the door. These things are mainly for keeping cats off counters, but maybe it'll work as a door deterrent as well.

I've never tried them, So i can't say whether or not they work or how well they work, but that idea just popped in my head so I figured I'd throw it out there.

I hope you find a method that works for you! Nothing wrong with not wanting to scare your babies I understand your fear. I'm honestly dreading the next time my brother and sister in law come stay because they have to bring all their stuff into the house, which requires the door to be open, and my oldest nephew is special needs and sometimes forgets to shut the door. It's not a fun time. But trying to keep two social, curious kittens away from the action is hard lol

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The can of air, Ssscat, works really well. I never thought of using it for the door, but it works really well for counters. I have screens on both my outside doors and can deal with delivery people that way. Mingo is a confirmed door-darter, so when I'm going to be working in the yard and in and out of the house, I close the two kitties up in a bedroom. That's better than chasing him through the neighborhood. Mingo becomes feral when he's outside, too. I end up dripping blood when I have to catch him.

DreamerRose said:

The can of air, Ssscat, works really well. I never thought of using it for the door, but it works really well for counters. I have screens on both my outside doors and can deal with delivery people that way. Mingo is a confirmed door-darter, so when I'm going to be working in the yard and in and out of the house, I close the two kitties up in a bedroom. That's better than chasing him through the neighborhood. Mingo becomes feral when he's outside, too. I end up dripping blood when I have to catch him.

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That's good to know, honestly, just in case I ever have to use something like Ssscat.

Yeah chasing a cat through a neighborhood sounds exhausting. I hope I never have to.

PushPurrCatPaws said:

If you aren't able to have a second door, like a screen door for the outside, what about finding a prefab or even making a DIY portable vestibule for the inside? Is that feasible in your new renting situation?

Just for a visual so you can start pondering the possibilites, here's a fancy built-in one --
Entryway vestibule with hexagonal tile - Decoist

Maybe there is some way to design a cool, not-as-permanent-or-fancy DIY one, w/ landlord permission.

Or you can look into companies like this for ideas:
Indoor Cat and Dog Enclosure Room Divider
See: the first photo ("Pet Stair Enclosure") or the last photo ("Setup Examples") for ideas.

The latter link doesn't show particularly attractive enclosures, but you can dress it up with fabric, paintings, plants, cat toys - whatever.

Click to expand...

Thanks, that is a very good idea, I’ll know for sure in few weeks but it seems we’ll have a space to built something like this