cat locked in closet dilemma

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RuthV

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Friend has 3 cats. Twice now she has left for the day and one of them gets shut up in her closet. She doesn't know the cat is in there and shuts the door to keep the cats OUT. What can she do to be sure she is not shutting one in? The closet is long, dark, narrow and lots of cat hiding places. She doesn't want to leave that door open.
I suggest tossing a treat to all 3 before leaving, just to know where they are. Her closet is upstairs, it 's a big house and all 3 have fave hiding places. Any suggestions? Thanks. She fells just awful about it. Cat was yowling when the husband came home and the cat rushed for her box. No wonder, poor baby.
 
Oh does that sound familiar our bedroom has just such a closet, long narrow and with built in shelves in the very back. What I usually do is either feed the cats right before getting in the closet in another part of the house, or sprinkle catnip as a treat for them in say the kitchen, then in quick, out quick and shut the door before anyone has a chance to look up and figure out mom is in that neat places we aren't allowed to snoop in.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
That used to happen to us. Now we just make sure we know exactly where each cat is before we leave. If one is missing, we look for them.
 
All the cats try to get into the half bathroom where I test Spitzer, as I give him a couple pellets of kibble and they can smell it! I also feed 2 of the undrweight cats in there, with a higher carb food. I have to get in there and shoo the cats out, or I find that one or more have gotten trapped in there ... and left 'presents' for me to clean up!
 
I only have a studio apt but I do a headcount and pet each of the 3 goodbye when I leave. I had one time when Janeway bolted out of the apt when I got home and I had no clue, then later I hear her pitiful cries out in the main hall! Its happened with Conor too. Mainly thats why I headcount when I leave, having them locked out when I leave would be worse, also harder since I dont shut doors in the apt.

Then there was the time when I let Merlyn out in the main hall to run around and I went in to answer the phone and I heard a door shut and the elevator go, meaning someone left their apt. And Merlyn was gone! Gone! And that was when he was on insulin. So I am calling and I hear him crying inside the neighbors apartment! He had run in there so fast the guy didnt see him! My manager came and unlocked the door-after contacting the tenant, who wasnt upset.

When he ran out.. he just sauntered out very dignified like.. no I wasnt screaming I just wanted you to know where I was and trotted off back to the apartment like nothing happened. :lol: :roll: ohmygod_smile
 
Does the friend own the house? If so, installing a pet door in the closet door will prevent cats from being accidentally locked inside for hours. A simple flap door will work.

Can she leave the door slightly open, just enough so a cat can slip by? Maybe put a door wedge under the slightly opened door to prevent the others cats from pushing the door closed from the outside and potentially locking a cat inside?
 
It's so funny that you posted this!

When I woke up this morning, Kit had managed to open my closet door and I found him laying in it on the floor. Its a small closet, with folding doors. I'm guessing he reached his paw under the door in just the right spot and it folded open. He knows he isn't supposed to be in there and as soon as he saw that my eyes were open, he took off :lol:

My cats come running when I shake the container of treats. It's like they know what that sound means! I would definitely try the treat trick. If that doesn't work, (try the nice way first) tell her to wheel the vaccum into the closet and turn it on. That always makes my cats RUN!
 
That has happened several times including once when I went out of town. That time I was fortunate my sister found him when she went to feed them later.

Now, just before I get ready to walk out the door, I take a count of all the cats. If any are missing, I look in their favorite hiding spots. So far this has helped to keep the cats from getting lock in some place where they do not belong.
 
Now granted I only have one cat to look after....but I'm never comfortable leaving (or coming home for that matter) without knowing where he is.
If I don't SEE him I go looking for him, even if it means going out back to his little spots out there.
Sooooooo, unless kitty simply does not come when called (I know, I'm lucky that way) she has to head count before leaving them.
Maybe just clear the closet before the final shutting of closet door?
That would be easy enuf.
Open a can of ff, or actually anything that rings his purr cords :lol:
 
i also do a head count before i leave the house but years ago my late Kitty would do this, when she was a youngster, get in a cabinet or closet and get stuck for hours and hours. i was truly amazed how long she could hold her pee that's for sure! oh, and yeah, if i don't see one of the kids i just shake the treats and they all come running.

i learned not to close my closet doors in all honesty. most of mine have sliding doors and Stinky figured out long ago how to pick at the doors long enough he could open them. talk about some strong front legs. i found that if i closed them, it made the cats want to get in them and then guess what they'd do? climb up the clothes and on whatever else was in there. since leaving them open, the cats rarely if ever even go into the closets. odd little boogers!

i know though you said she doesn't want to leave the closet open but how about stashing a little emergency kit in there somewhere, like way in the back or something? small bowl of water, small tray of litter, not a full on big litterbox. i guess i wouldn't do a stash of food but at least with water and a toilet i would think the cat would be fairly ok in there for a few hours.
 
She thought about that box extra but doesn't want the extra work, or the cat thinking it's a regular litter station. She keeps the closet closed cuz 3 cats, black, white and silver, leave a lot of hair on her duds. She goes to a job so needs to look good. Garment bags cud be solution too.
I'll pass these hints along. thanks cat lovers.

ps Joey fared well after being left for almost 2 weeks. His sitter left no bad reports, so I'm wondering if his occasional pooping outside box is a direct commentary of his just for me. I can't imagine what he's mad about - or else sitter is just covering up for him.
 
Terri&Kit said:
It's so funny that you posted this!

When I woke up this morning, Kit had managed to open my closet door and I found him laying in it on the floor. Its a small closet, with folding doors. I'm guessing he reached his paw under the door in just the right spot and it folded open. He knows he isn't supposed to be in there and as soon as he saw that my eyes were open, he took off :lol:

My cats come running when I shake the container of treats. It's like they know what that sound means! I would definitely try the treat trick. If that doesn't work, (try the nice way first) tell her to wheel the vaccum into the closet and turn it on. That always makes my cats RUN!
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:lol: Prior to being a DC, Casey used to open and go into cupboard like those all the time by pawwing at the corners/edges or putting both front paws on the handle while walking backwards on her hind legs. She usually was able to get herself out even if the door closed behind her. One time I saw her open, enter, and annoyingly leave the cupboard shortly there after (she wound up shutting the door behind her too). This was odd because she would usually stay in there for hours. Another thing that was odd was I had not seen Gabby, my civie, most of the day; I just figure she found a real good hiding spot. Later that night I heard some thuds and later kitty cries for help. I followed the noise and found Gabby, apparently Casey shut Gabby in the cupboard! :roll: :lol:
 
She should keep the closet door closed all the time. Why leave it open, then go close it when she leaves the house?

Open the door, get what she needs, close the door.

Lana
 
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