Odd cat question

[Irithyllian]

So my cat Elfriede, is an indoor cat who always wanted to go outside, she likes to spend half her waking hours out there and then likes to come in, the problem being she often will run out sometimes just when we open the door and refuse to come in till she feels like it.
If I go to sleep I can’t hear her wanting back in which she usually just scratches at the door.

my roommate wakes up early around 3 am and often times if my cat doesn’t return inside before we go to sleep she will want to come in shortly before my roommate wakes up, the issue is she does damage to the weather stripping and I have to replace it now, have any of you any personal experiences where your cat was able to ring a bell a chime or something of the sort to wake you up to come in? I just don’t want to replace weather stripping constantly especially during the colder seasons coming up.

I know this an awfully particular and even badly explained scenario. With a more than likely outcome simply being, she is a cat who destroys things and that’s the way it is, but I know some cats are intelligent enough to be trained to use a toilet and even flush and things of that nature, any other possible ideas for me?

 

[Hardus nameous]

Can you use a pet door? We used to have one the acted as an insert in the track of a sliding glass door.

 

[The Snark]

We had the same problem. Solved with a cat door.

 

[Irithyllian]

Can you use a pet door? We used to have one the acted as an insert in the track of a sliding glass door.

unfortunately we rent so I’m not able to make an adjustment like that, although it wasn’t the first thing that came to mind though it should of been, that definitely would solve the problem

 

[kingshockey]

why dont you just keep it indoors with a litter box? then it can live a safe life without the risk of getting run over by cars killed by dogs or predators or coming back pregnant if itst not spayed

 

[Hardus nameous]

unfortunately we rent so I’m not able to make an adjustment like that, although it wasn’t the first thing that came to mind though it should of been, that definitely would solve the problem

That's just it though, there was no adjustment or modification to any door. It was a piece about a foot wide or so that just set into the track of a sliding door used for patios. It could be installed and removed in seconds. This was back in the 90's though so I don't know if they're still made like that.

 

[The Snark]

With a more than likely outcome simply being, she is a cat who destroys things and that’s the way it is,

We got two of them. Welcome to the club. We need jackets. Nifty sign I saw once. 'I've been owned by a cat'.. And one of our cats has shredded all the weather stripping under all the doors. She uses the stripping to open the screen doors to let herself and the other cats out and a few million mosquitoes in. She is also an overqualified professional furniture shredder.

If you have sliding doors the suggestion @Hardus nameous mentioned works but presents personal safety issues since we are talking compromising perimeter protection such as intruders. (Always put your cat door near the hinge side of the door. Burglars can have amazingly long arms.)

Otherwise, the simplest solution is to cat proof the weather stripping. A barrier piece of wood or plastic or even metal that almost goes down as far as the weather strip. A competent sheet metal shop could crank something out in a couple of minutes. Another route is a piano hinge covering the weather strip.

 

[Baby T]

I don't know what kind of outside door you have but once I put a cat door in and just replaced the bottom panel of the door when I moved out... I was also in rented property.
Is there any way you could this if you agree to replace damage to the door? Our cat is microhipped and the cat door works on a sensor. You can set the door to lock behind it once it comes through or lock it completely.
Could you only let her out later in the day and leave a window open for her to come back in at night?

 

[aprilmayjunebugs]

Double sided sticky tape and a Ring doorbell camera set to alert your phone.

 

[viper69]

why dont you just keep it indoors with a litter box? then it can live a safe life without the risk of getting run over by cars killed by dogs or predators or coming back pregnant if itst not spayed

Seems like a no brainer common sense approach to me...esp the part about protecting the animal’s life!

 

[The Snark]

why dont you just keep it indoors with a litter box?

And then you get to work your way through the 4358 brands of odor free cat litter and odor absorbants that don't work. After I tried a few dozen I installed a vent fan in the downstairs bathroom when their potty is. The fan has been running 24/7 for three years now.

 

[kingshockey]

And then you get to work your way through the 4358 brands of odor free cat litter and odor absorbants that don't work. After I tried a few dozen I installed a vent fan in the downstairs bathroom when their potty is. The fan has been running 24/7 for three years now.

a cats diet pays a part on how badly their poop stinks grain free with more real meats in their food it stinks less the pee i dont know anything that lessens the smell other than cleaning the litter after each time its used if possible

 

[Nicole C G]

I’ve heard there are motion sensors you can buy that can alert your phone when your pet comes home! Only downside is that it may sense a squirrel or other rodent or basically anything semi-large animal moving. Maybe there are ones that can detect microchiped pets? I would recommend looking that up if you want. I could look more into it if you want but I am by no means an expert.

 

[Ian14]

And then you get to work your way through the 4358 brands of odor free cat litter and odor absorbants that don't work. After I tried a few dozen I installed a vent fan in the downstairs bathroom when their potty is. The fan has been running 24/7 for three years now.

If you don't clean the tray out daily, it's going to smell.
Hardly rocket science.

 

[The Snark]

If you don't clean the tray out daily, it's going to smell.

This being the little annoyance. Three cats, each taking at least one poo and one pee break a day. Clean the tray 6 times a day or more?

 

[Reezelbeezelbug]

This being the little annoyance. Three cats, each taking at least one poo and one pee break a day. Clean the tray 6 times a day or more?

Weird, who would've guessed cats actually need some care and attention.

 

[Buggylookslikeyou]

And then you get to work your way through the 4358 brands of odor free cat litter and odor absorbants that don't work. After I tried a few dozen I installed a vent fan in the downstairs bathroom when their potty is. The fan has been running 24/7 for three years now.

Maybe try multiple litter boxes my wife and I had two kittens and had them in our bedroom since I lived with my mom at the time and she didn’t want the litter box anywhere else they were small and we used some armen hammer crystal thang but we fed them aboderm I saw someone mentioned diet so try different foods. If they free roam you’ll never control their diet but def check out avoderm or Fromm it was a long time ago but I remember the room never smelled and guests never noticed an odor either .

 

[The Snark]

@Buggylookslikeyou We are fortunate here in this locale with numerous fish farms selling several kinds of fish for small change. The fish is always fresh, usually taken from the pond hours before hitting the markets. Most are shipped live in tanks in the backs of trucks. In the world of mass production and consumer glut these marginal profit items can't possibly be profitable taking into account preservation, shipping and distribution and waste from throwing away outdated product.

The upshot is we are able to provide our cats with a natural diet augmenting the crap dry cat food and they are as healthy as any cat can get. The down side is the cats inside the house can sense we have bought fish before we get the car or bike parked. Gnarly, aka Houdini able to open all the screen doors, usually spends an hour or so every day trying to open the fridge. Snit will jump inside the fridge if he thinks you aren't looking.