cats destroying screens...
(Thank all of you for the responses to my older cat problems.)
The other three are younger and regularly go outside. I'm the obliging doorman for them more often than not. Problem is I've accidentally reinforced a distressing behavior. When they were little they would climb on the outside screens for fun. This of course brought me out the door. So what they've learned from this is if they're outside and want to come in, they pluck the screens to alert me. One screen has been nearly destroyed, the others they don't seem to abuse as much. The annoying part is that they're smart enough to learn this, but not "smart" enough to come to the front door if they do this when the weather is bad. They want me to open the corresponding window for them. Two of them got left outside the other night I need a cat door. More precisely I need a window door that can be held in place with the upper sash. I've tried yelling at them, which pretty much just makes them run in the door fast. I tried not responding immediately which gives them ample time to figure out new screen-mangling techniques. I tried a spray stay-off agent that doesn't have enough surface area on the screen to be effective. This past summer I sprayed them with a water bottle, but they don't make the kitty-synapse connections that the screen thumping is the bad behavior and not the alerting me to come in. It's also frustrating when the male rattles incoherently to come inside, squeaking his paws on the storm door glass...and runs directly to the litterbox. I'm thinking his bladder would burst before he'd spray outside. |
"Jason Travis" wrote:
The other three are younger and regularly go outside. I'm the obliging doorman for them more often than not. Problem is I've accidentally reinforced a distressing behavior. When they were little they would climb on the outside screens for fun. This of course brought me out the door. So what they've learned from this is if they're outside and want to come in, they pluck the screens to alert me. One screen has been nearly destroyed, the others they don't seem to abuse as much. Keeping them indoors will solve those and prevent lots of other problems. Do they have ID tags? Do they have shots? Good luck. |
in article , Jason Travis at
wrote on 2/24/05 11:24 PM: (Thank all of you for the responses to my older cat problems.) The other three are younger and regularly go outside. I'm the obliging doorman for them more often than not. Problem is I've accidentally reinforced a distressing behavior. When they were little they would climb on the outside screens for fun. This of course brought me out the door. So what they've learned from this is if they're outside and want to come in, they pluck the screens to alert me. One screen has been nearly destroyed, the others they don't seem to abuse as much. The annoying part is that they're smart enough to learn this, but not "smart" enough to come to the front door if they do this when the weather is bad. They want me to open the corresponding window for them. Two of them got left outside the other night I need a cat door. More precisely I need a window door that can be held in place with the upper sash. I've tried yelling at them, which pretty much just makes them run in the door fast. I tried not responding immediately which gives them ample time to figure out new screen-mangling techniques. I tried a spray stay-off agent that doesn't have enough surface area on the screen to be effective. This past summer I sprayed them with a water bottle, but they don't make the kitty-synapse connections that the screen thumping is the bad behavior and not the alerting me to come in. It's also frustrating when the male rattles incoherently to come inside, squeaking his paws on the storm door glass...and runs directly to the litterbox. I'm thinking his bladder would burst before he'd spray outside. I've know people to hang bells from the door that jingle when pawed. Yes, our indoor outdoor cats used to come in to use the litter box to. They are civilized cats. |
On 2005-02-25, Jason Travis penned:
I've tried yelling at them, which pretty much just makes them run in the door fast. I tried not responding immediately which gives them ample time to figure out new screen-mangling techniques. I tried a spray stay-off agent that doesn't have enough surface area on the screen to be effective. This past summer I sprayed them with a water bottle, but they don't make the kitty-synapse connections that the screen thumping is the bad behavior and not the alerting me to come in. This may not be the most aesthetically pleasing solution, but when I was a little kid, my parents got a perforated metal square that was attached to the lower half of the screen door facing out onto our deck. That prevented our dog from scratching through it when he wanted to come inside. As I recall the design, the metal square must have been intended for this purpose. Maybe you could call around at some home improvement stores. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
Jason Travis wrote: (...) Problem is I've accidentally reinforced a distressing behavior. When they were little they would climb on the outside screens for fun. This of course brought me out the door. So what they've learned from this is if they're outside and want to come in, they pluck the screens to alert me. One screen has been nearly destroyed, the others they don't seem to abuse as much. I think you can get metal screen mesh? S. |
"Jason Travis" wrote in message
... (Thank all of you for the responses to my older cat problems.) The other three are younger and regularly go outside. I'm the obliging doorman for them more often than not. Problem is I've accidentally reinforced a distressing behavior. When they were little they would climb on the outside screens for fun. This of course brought me out the door. So what they've learned from this is if they're outside and want to come in, they pluck the screens to alert me. One screen has been nearly destroyed, the others they don't seem to abuse as much. [snip] You might want to have a look at Phifer's 'PetScreen' product. http://www.phifer.com/petscreen.htm |
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