How can I keep my kittens safe from accidents?
arcticwolf71960 asked:
I have two momma cats and six kittens living in a room of my house(don’t ask–it’s only temporary). Anyhow, I have a problem with the curious little ones getting behind the door, and sometimes getting pinched when I open it. It’s happened a few times, and I’ve felt really bad about it. I worry so much about stepping on one of them, because they run all over the place, and hide in odd spaces. How can I prevent my kittens from hanging around behind the door? No sick answers, please. I don’t appreciate it, and I will report them.
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I have two momma cats and six kittens living in a room of my house(don’t ask–it’s only temporary). Anyhow, I have a problem with the curious little ones getting behind the door, and sometimes getting pinched when I open it. It’s happened a few times, and I’ve felt really bad about it. I worry so much about stepping on one of them, because they run all over the place, and hide in odd spaces. How can I prevent my kittens from hanging around behind the door? No sick answers, please. I don’t appreciate it, and I will report them.
March 1st, 2009 at 2:33 pm
It’s simpl, Move them or get rid of them.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:02 am
This is one place where I would use a water-spray bottle. Openly the door gently and only part way to see if you can give them a little spray of water. That should make the experience of “crowding” the door unpleasant enough so that they will stay away from it.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I don’t think there are any real answers to this one…just open the doors real real slow!
March 4th, 2009 at 4:43 am
You can’t. They’ll hide anywhere and explore everything. What you can do so you don’t squish them with the door is make a ‘doorstop’ that’s a little wider than a kitten. A brick or something like that would work. Of course, a diagonally cut block of wood might better so you couldn’t squish a kitten between the door and the brick. Maybe even a thick pillow would work. Look around; you’ll find something. They are curious little things and don’t understand what danger is yet. Thank you for being concerned for their safety.
There is one thing cats won’t walk on, now that I think of it. You know those plastic mats that go under a desk for the rolling chair? The underside of those is spiky. Cats won’t walk on it. A strip of that — or of one of those plastic stair runners with spikes on the back — behind the door won’t harm the kittens but would not be somewhere they’d choose to walk.
March 6th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
squeeze lime or lemon on the door cats hate lemon
March 9th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Get a large crate (just make sure the bars are spaced closely so they can’t get stuck or escape) and confine them to it unless you are there to supervise their activities. A second hand baby play pen, covered in wire is a good alternative. If they can’t climb yet, then you can leave the top off so Mom can still get in and out. You could try making a loud noise, banging on the door before you enter, they will get to learn that you are coming and to move from the door. A water spray bottle might do the trick too, if you can give a squirt under the door before going in.
You can put strips of double sided tape on the floor or where you don’t want them to go, cats won’t walk on that, they don’t like it sticking to their paws.
These things may sound cruel to you but they’re not and are definately preferable to having one of your babies injured.
March 9th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Aren’t kittens fun? When you go in the room, open the door slowly. You could put some orange peels on the floor behind the door. Cats usually dislike orange.
Another thing to try is make a lot of noise (shake an empty can with some marbles or nuts and bolts in it). This will scare the kittens, though, and you might not want to do that.
If you have a kitty tease you could crack open the door, put the kitty tease through and shake it, which would attract the kittens so you’d know where they are. It might scare them at first, but it can be really fun, too.
To keep from stepping on them as they try to untie your shoes or climb your pants legs you could try what I call the “kitten shuffle”. Just act like you’re walking through a room with kids’ toys all over the floor and say, “Outta the way…outta the way.”