Wandering cat making me crazy
October 11, 2010 12:16 PM   Subscribe

Is it possible to teach a cat to restrict its wanderings?

We live in a very low car traffic, rural (but gated) neighborhood. Kitty was a rescue and is about six. When we first moved here a few months ago he didn't wander too far, but lately he has taken to staying away a day or two at a time before reappearing briefly, then wandering away again. He wears a collar and is unmistakably cared for.

I'd rather not restrict him to be always indoors, but I can't have him wandering this far. Short of building a seven foot fence around the back yard, is there any way to get a cat to stay closer to home?
posted by waraw to Pets & Animals (13 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Sounds impossible to me but I'm not an expert. I doubt that a 7 foot tall fence would work either.
posted by redyaky at 12:26 PM on October 11, 2010


Ask your neighbors not to feed him, or put a tag on his collar with those instructions. Also, is he microchipped?

(I agree that this is a major challenge. In general, the answer to "Is it possible to teach a cat to X?" is "BWAH HA HA HA HAVE YOU EVER MET A CAT?!??".)
posted by shiny blue object at 12:32 PM on October 11, 2010 [6 favorites]


Short of keeping him indoors, I don't think there's any reasonable way of keeping a cat from prowling. At least, I've never been able to.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:32 PM on October 11, 2010


You could try a specific call in at night - like calling the cats name while clinking on a tin can (like a cat food can) and then rewarding him with food and treats. Both my cats generally come when called but I'm not sure why.
posted by amanda at 12:38 PM on October 11, 2010 [1 favorite]


If your yard alone isn't too small an area for the cat, Invisible Fence claims their product is good for cats as well as dogs.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 12:39 PM on October 11, 2010


Every night a guy in my neighborhood takes his cat out for a walk, no leash. The cat doesn't even stick by him, walking under decks and through bushes and so forth. When he gets up to the corner, if the cat isn't near him, he calls the cat's name and it catches up.

So, anecdotal evidence is, yes, it can certainly be done. However, training an animal involves incentive. Give your cat an incentive to not roam, re-emphasize it regularly, and it can be trained. It's a lot of work, though, and cats don't have a built-in incentive not to roam when there's bugs and mice and other people's outside-cat-bowls to be discovered further and further from your home. You might want to try Invisible Fence if you don't have that kind of time, though -- if the incentive is "don't get shocked", the cat won't go near it. My sister-in-law has it, and it has been years since their dogs have gotten shocked; they know where the line is, and that's as far as they go.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:46 PM on October 11, 2010 [1 favorite]


If you have a defined area that you want the cat to stay in, keep an eye on him for a while and when he crosses the boundry, immediatly go pick him up and bring him back in the house. His reward for good behavior is extra time outdoors. He'll catch on.

It worked for my cats for the most part, but they do have a way of never getting caught. Sometimes they'd most definately not be on my property when I went to call them. Eventually, they'd let me "find" them in the yard crawling out from under a bush or something.
posted by Dr. ShadowMask at 1:11 PM on October 11, 2010


Cats are very routine-oriented. You need to feed him at the exact same time every day, say 6pm. When you feed him, bring him in for the night. Next morning, feed him (again, same time every day) and let him out. It should only take a few days for him to be there like clockwork, even if he's all over town all day.

We feed ours 4 times/day and he's there early or to the minute every time. Doesn't matter if someone else feeds him or not - that's what he does at that time.
posted by ctmf at 1:20 PM on October 11, 2010 [1 favorite]


Cats are quite trainable, but it's hard to train them to behave when they're not in an area you control. I just don't let my cats out - less problems with fleas and diseases and whatnot anyhow.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 1:37 PM on October 11, 2010


my cats are indoor cats, but when I go outside with them i usually do a half-assed version of Dr. ShadowMask's method, and then feeding them after we go inside. they don't wander too far.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 1:51 PM on October 11, 2010


Is the cat fixed? Fixed cats wander less, in my experience. If he is, then feeding him something yummy at the same time and bringing him in, like cmtf suggests, is probably your best bet.
posted by Mavri at 3:11 PM on October 11, 2010


I doubt that you can restrict his wanderings, but at the very least you want to make sure he is microchipped and always wears a break-away collar with tags.

I have ordered numerous tags from Speedy Pet Products. I really like them because they are made of thick, high quality plastic, and don't rust like metal tags. Plus, the font is large and easy to read. I would recommend putting two tags on your cat's collar. Get one tag with your name, address and phone number. And another tag that says something along the lines of: "Indoor/Outdoor Cat. Reward if found far from home."

You probably already know that your cat's life span will likely be greatly reduced simply by being allowed outdoors. I have read some statistics that say that the average life span of an outdoor cat is 2-3 years, while indoor cats live 12-15 years (can't say how accurate those stats are though). People do cruel things to cats, for example that awful woman who put the cat in the recycling cart.

Perhaps he could gradually be coaxed into spending more time indoors?
posted by Surinam Toad at 10:24 PM on October 11, 2010


When I had indoor/outdoor cats, they got treats at a certain time each evening. Being cats, they made sure they were there for that! And that made it easy to close the cat door (actually, an open window) when they came in for the evening.

(Since then all my cats have been indoor cats. As L'Estrange Fruit said - fewer problems with fleas, diseases, cars, coyotes, psychos, etc.)
posted by deborah at 2:22 PM on October 12, 2010


« Older physical objects that have been replaced by...   |   Wood primer for guitar painting? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.