Expert: Dear Tabbi - 6/8/2008

Question
I live in an apartment with my two cats - both female spayed 5.5 years old adopted from the humane society as kittens at the same time.  One of my cats desperately wants to go outside.  She is quite destructive in her attempts to liberate herself.  She's scratched the paint off the front door from trying to turn the knob.  She's shredded the weather stripping on the balcony door trying to pry it open.  In my old apartment, she shredded the carpet in front of the door down to the tacks and concrete trying to dig underneath the door.  She really wants out!  So I let her go on the balcony when I'm at home, but that is never enough.  She tries and sometimes succeeds at running out whenever I open the door to leave or enter.  I don't want to let her go outside because there are a few feral cats in my complex and I don't know how to get her to come back inside when I want her to.  

My question is, how can I train her to stop being so destructive?  She loves her scratching toys and playing with her sister.  I work at home and she gets lots of love during the day.  She ignores "no".  She ignores the spray bottle.  She will even stare me down while I squirt her.   This is driving me crazy.

Answer
Anne,

That is a natural reaction when a cat gets outside. They have discovered that there is a whole new world out there with new smells and things to check out...and they want to get out there and explore.

I would recommend leash training her and taking her outside for periods of time, letting her explore. Cats enjoy that and it helps their state of mind. Here are some good links on how to do it:
(copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar)

http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/ht/leashtrain.htm

http://www.hdw-inc.com/leashtraining.htm

I don't know about "spring fever" but when it warms up my cats LOVE to be outside. Do you have an area where you can take her out and watch her, maybe letting her lay in the sun awhile? If you have your own area getting a fenced in dog run is good. Then you can put both the cats outside when it is nice and they will be safe but yet have the enjoyment of being outside.

If she has feral cat in her background they love to be outside to hunt. It's in their blood. You can take a chance on letting her out  and see what she does. Leave the door cracked open so she can venture outside as far as she is comfortable and then can run back in if she gets scared of something.

I would collar train her and tape your address and phone number on her collar in case she does get away by running out the door.

About the meowing:

When you notice your cat going towards the door or if she looks like she is  going to begin meowing, distract her. Get a shoe string (or similar) to pull, roll a marble so she can chase it, etc. The key is to distract her from the behavior BEFORE she starts it.

You have to ignore her when she start meowing. Completely! Do not react or acknowledge her meowing in any way. She will eventually stop when she sees that she is not getting any reaction from you. But if you don't ignore her ONE time then it will almost impossible to get her to stop because then she knows that if she meows long enough you will give her attention...and she's got plenty of time. When she stops meowing THEN play with her or give her kitty treats. That way she will associate not meowing with something pleasant.

I've never tried it but get a large box and put it in front of the door with the opening towards the inside of the house. Tape two pieces of cardboard together on top to form a piramid so she can jump on top of the box and meow. Since it blocks the door, a cat shouldn't go in the box just to meow at the back wall of the box

Get a nice tall kitty condo that you can put in front of a window and that she can climb on. They enjoy being high up looking out a window.

I hope this helps.

Tabbi