Escape Artist ShiShi

Determined Escape Kitty

It turns out that I have been nurturing a Houdini-inspired escape artist in my house, and her name is ShiShi.  I adore my dear cat with all my heart, but she has given our family several nasty panic attacks in recent weeks especially.  All but one resolved within a few minutes, but Tuesday night's ordeal will be living in our memories for a long time.  

Miss ShiShi has become frighteningly adept at hiding by the very edge of the front door (usually after dark) and then sneaking out in the shadows as we open the door to come inside.  She also keeps a close eye out for new openings in the aging screen that cages in our screened patio, and has snuck out while chasing lizards several times.

On Tuesday night she was missing for a horrific and terrifying 45 minutes before we finally located her - spotted mid-pounce on a lizard (of course!)  I'm all about learning from experiences like this to mitigate or prevent them in the future, and there are definitely a few improvements that we will be making in our cat security measures from now on.

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Blessings of Harness Training

I honestly believe that there is a good chance that we might not have found ShiShi this time if she hadn't had so much prior harness training around the perimeter of our house.   This belief stems partly from our own experiences with our last cat, Max.  Also, very sadly, from the many 'lost indoor cat' notices that I see posted throughout the year on lampposts, at the vet's office, and at the cat rescue I volunteer at.

When we moved to our current house with Max, we almost lost him just a week later.  He managed to slip outside and, even though we went looking very quickly, he had already roamed five houses up the street and was hiding in bushes, a silent shadow when we called to him from only a few feet away.  To this day, I bless my oldest son's profound determination and intuition in finding Max that night.  It almost didn't happen.

Max was already 12 years old at the time, and I wasn't even aware of harness training for cats.  (If only I had been...)  After that horrible night, we did our best to give him very short (minutes!) of supervised mini-escapes around our back yard/ sides of the house so that he would know where he was if he ever got out on his own again.  It appeared to work - when he broke through porch screens chasing a lizard, we found him waiting to be let in through the door.

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Escapee Training Thoughts

Many (if not most) cats will have the tendency to slip outside to explore if the opportunity presents itself.  Even cats who have never been outside in their lives.  Even cats who are spoiled crazy and adore their humans.  Even older cats who have never tried to before.  It can be a heartbreaking experience for everyone involved, and I encourage all cat parents to take whatever steps will best help them to prevent this tragedy, or at least help it to resolve well.

1.  I'm extra grateful  for all the on-leash time that I have spent with both cats - roaming around our yard, exploring the perimeter of our house, and checking out the nearby neighborhood.  It it allowed ShiShi to know where she was when she escaped.  She didn't panic and run, didn't get lost, and was extremely comfortable when I went to pick her up (despite being mid-pounce on a lizard!)

2.  We are planning on moving at some point in the next few years.  Moves can be extra crazy busy times, but I'll prioritize getting both cats outside to become familiar with their nearby surroundings as soon as possible after the move.

3.  I'm a big believer in the radio frequency trackers (Loc8tor/TabCat brand) that both ShiShi and Haku wear on their collars.  My cats have always attempted sneaking out (since far before I started harness training them).  We have a large and busy household that makes said sneaking all too easy, especially if someone is coming inside holding packages or in the evening when lighting is dim.  I'll sure be better about keeping the batteries in all trackers fresh from now on - putting it on the calendar for a weekly check.  We could have avoided the panic if only the tracker had been working properly.

4.  We used to have a baby gate in front of our front door, just for preventing cat escapes.  It's a pain and awkward with visitors, and I grew complacent when ShiShi and Haku no longer seemed to be trying to slip through the front door.  A new gate is being installed this week, because that is what will work best for our particular situation, and I won't be taking that gate down again!

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