Male cat is trying to escape?

[the catsage]

He is almost 4 months old, will be 4 months in 4 days. Whenever we open the door he bolts outside. Normally we open the door slowly and stop him but this is becoming annoying now, he is restricting us too much. Even with all that restriction he has managed to go out 5 times until now, today was 5th and he ran further than ever before, he was trying to climb on the roof of the house where the feral cats usually go. If he does that he is officially out of our hands, we cannot reach him there. A few times he climbed the curtains and almost escaped through the window, until we clipped his nails. Now he can no longer use the windows as an escape route, but the urge to use the door has increased drastically.

Why is this? He has his twin brother inside who does not want to go out. We have 2 cats. They eat normally, play together, play with us, play with toys, have lots to do inside, yet somehow he wants to go out.

He has not been neutered, but isn't he young for hormones to work? Idk...he has been doing this for the past 2 weeks, he hasn't done it before. His brother is dominant and does not try to go out and pick chicks up, so I don't think that is the reason. They are very nice to each other so I don't think his brother is bothering him either. We do however feed his mother and aunt who are feral, who come in and go out. He could be trying to copy-paste their actions maybe?

He has NEVER been outside, other than the 5 times he escaped. We caught him like 10 seconds after escaping in all of them.

What can we do to tell him that he belongs inside and that outside is not for him? Is there any way I can place a repellent or something near the door? Or any way to teach him that he has to stay inside?

Opinions?

 

[molly92]

He's not outside the range of starting sexual maturity, and that is the most common reason male cats have the urge to roam. Cats mature at different rates, which is why his brother might not be the same. You can definitely get him and his brother neutered now! Healthy kittens can be safely neutered as soon as the reach 2 lbs, and while it's not a difficult surgery to begin with, young kittens recover from it even faster because they are growing so much.

Kittens also do tend to be mischievous and curious, so that could be part of his motivation. They do get fascinated about where they're not allowed to go! If he has a treat or toy he really likes, you can try training him to go to a spot away from the door to receive that treat or toy every time he hears the door open. It'd probably take 2 people, one to open the door and one to reward him with the treat. If you're consistent enough, he should start to associate the sound of the door opening with going to that spot and getting a treat, so soon his first thought will be to run away from the door whenever it opens. It will probably take lots of short but frequent sessions. You might also want to get some sort of baby gate or dog gate to put in front of the door, during this training and maybe also in general. He will be able to climb over it, but it should slow him down enough to give you a better chance of grabbing him before he makes it out.

Definitely get him neutered first and see what that does, though, because that could help a lot! Do keep in mind that it can take a few weeks after the surgery for the male hormones to fully leave their system.

 

[the catsage]

The problem is the vets won't do him until he is 5.5 months old. So I have to cope with this for 45 more days, if he doesn't get adopted by then. I am just fostering him atm but still have been unable to find him a forever home :/ ...I am trying to discipline him a bit before he can go because he definitely is grumpy and I am worried they won't like him and kick him out, whoever takes him

I tried water today and it is somewhat working. Before going to shop I needed to leave so what I did is I filled a bottle with water and opened the door just a bit for him to try and get out but without the necessary space to do so then spilled water whenever he got close to the door. I went to shop and came back, he didn't attempt an escape. I'll also try your method except that he doesn't like any toy or treat lol. He plays with them but definitely not as much as his brother who is crazy after 2 particular toys, but I'll try to find something.

Is this worrying about cat trying to escape a daily thing for indoor cat owners? Or will I be able to teach them with time and not worry anymore...I just don't want my permanent pet to go out during the years. Nothing good is out there...not for a home-grown cat with clipped nails and shampoo smell who only eats canned cat food...