Does anyone else with indoor cats know this fear?

[Kirsten]

Sometimes I think I'm getting paranoid, but often I really have problems leaving my apartment. I live in the constant fear that one of my girls could slip out with me, and I wouldn't notice. Especially when I know that I'm out all day (i. e. for work), I need to be sure that they are still inside.

I have started throwing treats or toys in those corners of the apartment where I can see Luna or Lily from the entrance door before I go, and I only leave when I see them the very moment I close the door. Sometimes it won't work and I have to repeat the procedure, so this can become really nerve-wracking.

Am I just paranoid, or does anyone else know this fear?

Kirsten

[catnapper]

I used to have that fear. I couldn't go to bed at night unless I counted tails. I finally overcame it when I had 9 (my own plus fosters) this past summer. It was too much to count 9 tails and I felt rather silly hunting down 9 cats! I'm glad I overcame it because I realized it was starting to become and obsessive compulsoive act with me. I could have seen Abby five minutes earlier, but since I didn't see her right before I rolled into bed, I would irrationally fear that in the past 5 minutes she somehow snuck out.

Try this - get a plastic cup with a screw-on lid and fill it with hard treats. Shake the cup and when the girls come running they'll get a treat. After a few times, they understand REAL quick that this means food. So when you leave the house, leave the treat cup by the door, shake it as you're about to leave then offer a treat to both of them right before you slip out the door. They'll come to you much faster than if you simoply offered them a toy.

[Laura's Babies]

Mine never go near the door when it is open but I am always extreemly nervous when someone is leaving and stands there with the door open talking... Grrrrrrr!

[Felix]

OMG im like that too.When I leave Felix is usually near by.To make sure he never slipped out I close the door and knock on the window till he is in my site.Hubby says im teasing him,but I just need peace of mind while im gone.Sometimes he wont come in my view and I have to go back inside to check,he is usually just around the corner,I think hes paying me back for all the times i do it to him.

[Catsnclay]

I never worried about leaving them until once when I had an overnight guest, and we were gone all day the next day.

I always keep our guest room door closed (try to have it a kitty-free zone). We came home from a very long day to only have 2 out of 3 cats greet us. I started getting concerned, then my guest went into her bedroom and out zoomed Lucky! He was locked in her room ALL day long! Good kitty though, didn't do anything wrong, but the second he was let out, he ran to that litter box and pee'd and pee'd

We have also had kitties locked in a pantry, closets, etc. I must be slow & blind in my old age, or those kitties are quick, I don't know how they get closed in there!


Now, every night, and every time I leave the house, I do a head check!

That will teach me!!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

You are not the only one, Kirsten! Eveytime I leave the house, even for a short errand, I do a head-count!! As long as I haven't found where all 4 are, I will NEVER leave!!
It is not paranoid, it is being a responsible cat-owner

[furrykidsmother]

I am the same way. I won't leave the house until everyone is accounted for and if I get up during the night to get something to drink or use the bathroom, I won't go back to bed until I have found everyone. Sometimes by the time I accomplish that I am wide awake and can't get back to sleep, but I feel better knowing I have found everyone.

[Lizzie]

I do a quick check around to make sure I didn't shut one of them in a closet just before I leave, and I do look down to make sure one didn't squeeze past me when I stepped through the front door. I consider that very practical since I have had cats that dart into closets frequently, and out the front door on occasion. My Artful Dodger was quite capable of shooting through a door and up on to the roof in the blink of an eye. I once glanced back at the house to see him up there and, since he used the top of the door to get up and down, he would have been up there all day (a hot day) if I hadn't noticed. I agree with catnapper, that you should stop the re-checking now before you become tied to it.

I do tend to over-check on making sure appliances, etc. are all turned off. My fear is a fire while I am at work. The thought of driving up to my home to be faced with the fact that my cats perished in such a horrible way does haunt me. I could never, for instance, leave a television on while I was out of the house.

[lvpets2002]

Yup sure do know this fear & I used to worry all the time.. But with my house now I come in thru the garage in which has a direct door to the kitchen & if a girl slips thru she will just be in the closed gargage & then comes back in.. But I do still count heads before bedtime..

[kb2yjx]

Kirsten, you are not alone in your fears!!! I do a head count at bedtime for all 8 cats. I have signs on doors to alert people that these are indoor cats and they DO NOT GO OUT despite how they might behave!! We recently had the township tax reassessor at the house. He WAS told about the cats and to close doors quickly. As he was leaving, he was talking with the kitchen door open. and Norton took advantage and flew down the steps to the basement!!! I inform workmen, telephone repairers, EVERYONE that we have cats and if they are in my house doing work, they, too, are responsible for the safety of the cats. Most are cat folk and understand completely! My greatest fear was when we were on vacation on Cape Cod. I was so afraid that one of the cats would get out. We would still be on Cape Cod if that was the case!!!
Sometimes when Barry and I go out, I put treats down for each cat on the floor. They are so busy eating that they do not notice us leaving.
Our fault is we love our cats and would not want anything to happen to them!!!
PS: One fear is that if someone breaks into the house and leaves a door or window open....you know what will happen....All have breakaway collars with ID's and are microchipped(still my mind does not rest easy)...

[Kirsten]

I'm glad to read that I'm not alone with this!

I have signs on doors to alert people that these are indoor cats

I have such a sign, too, but still people tend to stand in the open door to talk, something I really hate. But people like my landlords are too old to keep in mind that there are cats that will leave the apartment when the door is open.

One or two years ago, I got a real shock when I got up one Sunday morning and found the apartment door open, and the cats gone. There was a storm that night and I guess the wind has pushed the door open. Luckily I found both Lily and Luna in the stairway, but the very next day, I fixed a hook to make sure the door cannot open again.

Kirsten

[jackie]

Oliver is an indoor/outdoor cat, so I never worry about him, but once Bella slipped out the front door, and was alone outside so about an hour before I realized. Thank goodness she didn´t go farther then the doormat.

[heidiv]

I am so thankful just to know there are others that struggle with leaving the fur kids in the morning. I can't tell you how many times I have drove around the block and then quickly ran back into the house to make sure everyone was o.k. I also worry about house fires probley more than I do about them sneaking out of the house. I will check and then double check to make sure that my curling iron has been turned off along with all of the our heaters ect. My husband sometimes thinks I am losing it but I love them like they are my children only my children would go to day care and they don't get left home all alone with no one to care for them till I get home. I have gone so far as to figure out what I would do if there was a house fire and how I would find all three cats before I would get out for myself out. Every night before I go to bed I make sure that all of the fur kids are in bed with me before I can truely fall asleep and really sleep. I can't tell you how much I appreiciate knowing there are others of you out there that do the same things. Thank Goodness

[catmandu]

I Didnt Until The Recent Escape Of Pouncierge This Week,and Now I Make Sure That Theres Noone Near The Door When I Leave.

[jenluckenbach]

I always come in and go out of the doors to the outside looking DOWN. I can't realistically do a head count any more, I'd never find them all and by the time I did I would forget who I counted. But I always look around before I leave and shoo them from the door and go in extra carefully.
I do not have "door runners", but I never allow the door to stand open. I step all the way out even if it is just for the pizza delivery person and close the screen/storm door behind me.