Door Darting

[John Popp]

Dino has taken to door darting, jumping over the scat mat and through the front door. He always has been a door darter, but just recently he figured out that he can leap across the scat mat without harm.

I am scared to death as nearly all my heart is wrapped up in my little boy, and I'm afraid the great outdoors of our neighborhood wouldn't be very kind to him.

Any solutions to try would be well received as in the last two days Trish caught him by the tail, and I managed to grab him by his ever so svelte primordial pouch.

 

[SV Dad]

Ahh, that house you're rebuilding. Suggest a double door entry with space in between. for now, go out thru the garage and don't hit the button till you are sure the darter is safe inside.

 

[Carykd7kau]

Damn, John. EXTREME caution must be utilized until you can come up with a foolproof cure. I have no ideas for you, but I will send good vibes that the little stinker calms down.

 

[John Popp]

Thanks Rascal and Carl! Detached Garage so that's out, and for the moment I was just thinking of a bigger scat mat.

 

[Pam Flachs]

You are wise to nip that in the bud asap, John! So glad you caught him before he could escape!

There are a couple good threads about combating door darting:

http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/anti-door-darting-technique.3739/

http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/keeping-your-cats-indoors.3626/

 

[Trish Allearz]

Worse case-- put him up when you leave the house. It won't please him, but it'll keep your heart from jumping out of your chest :/

 

[Jim & Baghira]

We have something over here in Germany that we were thinking about getting.
http://retract-a-gate.de/preise-kaufen-ausziehbares-schutzgitter
It´s like a screen that opens with the door so you have time to set your bags or whatever you have in your hands down.

If you scroll down just a little bit on that link you can see how it works.......not sure if you guys have something like this over there in the States.

 

[Rafiki]

That is an interesting contraption. I don't believe that I have seen anything like that in the US.

 

[Rafiki]

Oh my....there is an American version.
http://smartretract.com/bow-wow-barrier-retractable-front-door-pet-gate

 

[Trish Allearz]

Oh my....there is an American version.
http://smartretract.com/bow-wow-barrier-retractable-front-door-pet-gate

So you have to unhook it and rehook it every time you pass through? I'm trying to figure it out. LOL. I kinda like it, but wonder how much of a PITA the hooking and unhooking would be.