Ok, I know I haven't even got my boy yet, but I'm already panicking about him escaping! My boy is being sold as a house cat only, but I know my partner's not going to be thrilled about having all the doors and windows shut in the Summer, and I'm worried that one of our daughters might leave the door open or something! I've seen the scat mats, and think they look great! I could have the little strip ones along the windowsills, and a big mat in front of each door, so we could still open doors and windows, but he wouldn't be able to get out! I wish I'd seen these when I had my last cat! She used to get on the work tops, but only when we weren't there, or in bed, I tried the tin foil, but it didn't bother her, these would have stopped her I'm sure! What do others think of these mats? Any experiences with them? Thanks.
I'm not familiar with scat mats but it sounds like it is something with perhaps a sticky surface to keep cats from walking on it. Is that about right? Are there screens on the doors or windows so you can open them but kitty can't escape? Here is WI if I left the door or window open without a screen, we'd have all kinds of things flying, scurrying, crawling around the house.
I can understand not wanting the cat on the work surfaces but I see nothing wrong with letting him sleep with you. There are people on this board who would give anything if their kitty would sleep with them.
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Scat mats work well, but only if their presence and placement is unpredictable. Otherwise, the cat learns to avoid them and not the area or surface you want to be avoided. A cat can easily jump over them, for example. Wait to see what risks are present and how something like this might help.
You need to educate the family (and guests) about how important it is to keep the cat inside - and everyone has to be on the team for that. If they cannot learn, then you need to keep the cats from areas where their negligence is a risk to the cat. (We leave the door alarms on when non-cat oriented guests are visiting and all the cats cannot be put up. That way at least we will know it if an unsupervised door has been opened. We just need to cancel the call to the police. ; ) )
I'm not familiar with scat mats but it sounds like it is something with perhaps a sticky surface to keep cats from walking on it. Is that about right? Are there screens on the doors or windows so you can open them but kitty can't escape? Here is WI if I left the door or window open without a screen, we'd have all kinds of things flying, scurrying, crawling around the house.
I can understand not wanting the cat on the work surfaces but I see nothing wrong with letting him sleep with you. There are people on this board who would give anything if their kitty would sleep with them.
![[Image: sandeesig-1.jpg]](http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f92/jsmatis/Signature/sandeesig-1.jpg)
Sorry, I don't know how I managed to post this twice. I tried to delete one but can't seem to do that either.
I'm forum challenged.
Sandee
Thank you, I've seen you can get additions for the scat mats to make them bigger, so maybe a cat wouldn't be able to jump it then! Yes, my older girls know how important it is to keep kitty inside when we get him, but we do have a 2 and a half year old daughter as well, so it's obviously harder with her! It won't be so bad when we 1st get him, because it will be October, so it will be getting cold here then, so our doors won't be open!
Sandee- we live in the UK, so not many big creepy crawlies over here! The scatmat is a plastic mat with wires going through it, and you put a 9v battery in it, and if the cat walks on it, it gives the cat a small static shock, so it learns to stay away from that area (well that's the plan anyway!)
I have also considered the scat mat if the time had ever come that my Solo thinks it is fun to dart out the door. So far he is actually quite scared of going outside. He runs to the door when he hears it open but it is only to get a view of outside. If I leave the door open, he will not touch a single paw out. I once even put him on the other side of the door, the he flattened himself and crawled back inside, then once he touched the carpet back inside he bolted.
My only concern with the scat mat, is like others have mentioned, that they can figure out if they jump it they are in the clear. Good to know there are extensions, but really if a cat wants to jump even something pretty big, they will find a way! I can also imagine a stubborn enough cat just withstanding the momentary shock just lightly hitting the mat then bouncing off of it and out the door/window.
Yeah there are so many things to think about! I've also considered having an invisible fence, and they wear a collar, and if they get too close to the boundary wire which is buried under ground, the collar gives them a static shock. People over here in the UK consider them cruel though. I really don't know what's best to do. I think we'll just wait and get him 1st, and see what his personality is like. My best friend has 2 Ragdoll girls, and they used to be really nervous about going outside, but now they go in the garden only with her, and lay in the sun, but they want to stay with her all the time. I don't know if it's a good idea to have an outside run so they can get some fresh air, or whether it's better for them to never go outside so they won't miss what they don't know!!! It's tough!!!
If you feel you may have a problem with people leaving doors/windows open, then I would never start taking one outside as they will become familiar with it and more likely to try to escape through an open door/window. Do they not make screens over there that go over the windows so you can open the window but still have a screen blocking out bugs and keeping in a cat?
Hi, yeah I think you are right that I should never ever take my boy outside, coz they can start getting brave can't they?! I've never seen those screens over here, but I will have a look for them!
Amber if you do manage to find the screens could you let me know pretty please?! Im in the UK also and have searched high and low and cant seem to find anything!