Does Walking a Savannah Cat Lead to Escapes

[admin]

Thanks Ashley! yes, we live off a main road and that is the road he always goes to, up the embankment. I think he loves to climb and then he likes the grass at the top of the embankment...and about 3 feet from the grass? Guardrails for the main road

 

[Ashley]

Luckily there is a fence between the embankment & our house.
A fence that was once smashed by a drunk driver 2 weeks after we moved in. But thats a whole different story. lol I know chances of it happening again are slim, but it makes me scared to keep Elijah or Kovu in the yard, especially the back (side) yard.

 

[WitchyWoman]

I've always walked my cats out the front door. They know they're not allowed to go out without their jackets on and the leash attached. When I screened in the back patio, I had to train them that it was ok to go out that door with being leashed. I often leave it open so they can come and go at will. I worried that they would get confused by that and try to go out the front without being leashed. Much to my surprise, they will stand back from the front door when someone goes in or out and don't try to bolt. They know front door = leash and back door does not. Smaaaart kittehs.

 

[admin]

I wish I had a back door Although Taj made a back door once out of my bedroom window

 

[Jacq]

Mine go through their enclosure out back first, and then I open the door to their enclosure to let them out into the yard. Just like Deborah, the only time they go out the front door is on a leash with a jacket on. They never try to bolt out the front. Only one tries the back occasionally, and he always gets a good squirt for doing it.

 

[Pam Flachs]

I think the possibility that a cat who is walked outdoors will turn into a door dasher/escapee is very real, and one to consider strongly. I no longer walk my cats outdoors for various reasons, only inside pet stores and other places they are welcome.

 

[Pam Flachs]

Very glad you caught Taj, Paige! How scary....

 

[admin]

TY Pam...Taj is a master dodger who knows where he lives and stays close..I am the fool who ran all over looking for him, got my friends to come over with flashlights and there he was, looking down at us...probably laughing...

 

[KMcgown]

They always laugh at us

 

[Dantes]

So far Duma is safe, but he's only about to turn 6 months. (Wow, I can't believe it! He is getting to be such a big monkey!) Where I live there isn't much traffic and I usually walk him either on bike paths or in stores, although I've taken him to outdoor activities too. He doesn't door dash, but I always carry him out wearing his harness and leash on the occasions that we're going out. When we're going in the backyard (fenced in garden), the boys wear harnesses too, so they associate outside with harness. And I also make it a point that when I'm leaving the house I talk to the boys, tell them I love them, good boy, and stay inside and take care of each other. They seem to listen, I think.

The thing is I really enjoy our time together outside, because it is just Duma and me, and I don't want to have to give it up. If he ever did door dash, I have scat mats that could go in front of the door, but I hope I can train him to not do it in the first place.