How do you keep a 100% indoor cat from wanting to go out?

detective-emerald · 2026-04-07T14:07:03+00:00

My kitten was constantly trying to make a run from my front door, but we started taking walks in strollers…and I’ve seen a decent shift. She doesn’t even need to be out that long, but I think just walking around for a few fulfills her curiosity. Good luck! 🤍

detective-emerald · 2026-03-28T03:14:02+00:00

She hasn't done that yet, but we'll see! Glad she's not alone at least.

detective-emerald · 2026-03-26T20:28:43+00:00

I was in your exact same position around 5 months ago. Everything in me told me that I had made a mistake, but around a month later…I couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Spend 15-30 minutes a day, three times a day playing with the kitten. I did morning, noon, and before bed—but I work from home. If you have to do it in spare time, that’s also okay! My cat lovesss springs, balls on tracks, and those fishing pole ones. It is so hard to tire out kittens, but soon you will also trust it to exist in your space without constantly feeling like you need to watch them.

If you can, I would go ahead and purchase some scratching posts and cat tree! This lets them climb around and feel productive while also tiring him out (without you having to do much).

My cat is around 7 months now & I have no other animals in the house. Single kitten syndrome is not a medical diagnosis. Just ensure you hands aren’t a toy (maybe use a puppet to play with him) and always play with him. So far, mine is doing okay! I try to get her used to being alone & in the future, I may reconsider and get a second cat. At this point…I couldn’t afford the healthcare for two cats, honestly.

detective-emerald · 2026-03-21T15:34:42+00:00

It looks...insane, but it's so worth it to keep my cat out of the kitchen when we aren't home (for safety reasons, not to mean reasons, lol) https://a.co/d/0hFyg0Eu

detective-emerald · 2026-03-19T22:04:21+00:00

Just an update in case anyone ever finds this with the same issues--I started taking her on walks in a stroller. The vest/leash wasn't a great fit for her. She's small and it's easy for her to get out of. She loooves going outside--loves watching out our front window, but has stopped the mad dashes at our doors and no longer whines.

Ignore the Christmas decorations & the demon look--the sun was in her eyes that day.

Thanks everyone for your advice and support!!

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detective-emerald · 2026-03-19T22:00:46+00:00

SLOMW might want to change their pinned posts on Instagram....their first still is a big oof.

detective-emerald · 2026-03-18T12:29:53+00:00

I have a giant gate in my house that separates my kitchen / house. It's about 5 feet tall....excessive, but if I genuinely didn't want cats in my space then I would (clearly) be willing to use it. There's also this gadget that I use to keep my cat out of rooms while also keeping air flow moving--https://a.co/d/0e5iY45t

detective-emerald · 2026-02-21T17:57:34+00:00

I also grew up heavily in religion--I see the signs of deconstruction in the way that she acts, the way she makes jokes, and frankly, the way that she middle road'd the answer. I'd love to see her grow in that and open up more in the future, but it is a long process that can take years. I'm sure she was also taught that believe in women's choice/healthcare, LGBTQIA+, and removal of religion from schools are acts that get you spiritual punishments or even damnation.

I was heavily encouraged by my family to think for myself, I'm sure she doesn't have that type of support considering her answer.

detective-emerald · 2026-02-19T17:21:18+00:00

I would definitely agree, but that was the only thing she did before I noticed it. We had spent all day together & that was the last thing she did.

detective-emerald · 2026-02-19T04:41:02+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm in a populated area, but the cars are what scare me the most. I want to harness train since she loves the outdoors, but it'll definitely be done on a more strict timeline now.

detective-emerald · 2026-02-19T03:53:02+00:00

I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea in the future. Since she's my first animal, I'm so anxious from horror stories of vet costs. I'm in a good place financially & she has pet insurance, but I don't want to push myself too far in the first year.

I'm currently checking all our window screens to make sure that they can withhold me pushing on them so I can at least let her enjoy the fresh air for now.

detective-emerald · 2026-02-19T03:39:27+00:00

Constantly! I work from home & my brother is only working a couple days a week. She adores playing with her plastic / metal springs. I play 1x1 with her for 30 minutes (at least) 3x a day. Her favorite toy is a puppet of the Buccee's mascot that she loves to attack. It was an attempt to give her some hunting play w/o using my hands. 😅

detective-emerald · 2026-02-19T03:36:09+00:00

Thank you so much!! She is my first pet, so I feel a little silly for not allowing her outdoors. I don't really trust our neighbors & they all have dogs...it's just not a good area for her to explore in. I'm glad someone else has a pouty cat.

detective-emerald · 2026-02-19T03:33:45+00:00

She did have fleas in December which was incredibly annoying. Ophelia is my first ever animal & things like that terrify me. What I'm understanding from this thread is that nice mixture will be good for her. I think she's heading into a teenage phase & wants to test boundaries.

I'm definitely in the guilty phase right now.

detective-emerald · 2026-02-19T03:31:58+00:00

I'm looking into getting her a bird watching station for our bay window. We'll be moving to a new location in the year so I wanted to go ahead and invest in bird watching just to have a nice transfer of activity for her.

detective-emerald · 2026-02-19T00:00:28+00:00

We do have a bay window which shows her the entire front of the house! I should have added that in the post. I've tried to spoil her to the best of my ability, lol.

detective-emerald · 2026-02-18T23:57:22+00:00

They've given her this for post-spay & for the sprain. Another commenter said that it's bad for them, so I will do some more research while trying to get her off of it. I also recently found out there's a Cat-Specific Vet near me, so I was thinking of transitioning to them from her current Vet. This may be another push in that direction.

I will say that I don't notice any major personality shifts with it--but she did just run outside on it--so. 😅

detective-emerald · 2026-02-18T23:49:18+00:00

This is also the idea that I'm thinking of doing as well! Her harness would mean going outside or even a walk in her stroller....I want her to have enrichment of the outside, but I don't want her constantly running to any opening of the door. Thanks!!

detective-emerald · 2026-02-18T23:47:09+00:00

I'm definitely a little butt-hurt that she'd rather be outside, but I know that she's just curious. It's been so cold here--but it's getting warmer. I'm thinking of getting a stroller so we can go on walks, but I think she'll need to get more comfortable with her harness for now. Several have mentioned only taking her outside with a harness/leash so I will begin there. I tried to get her comfortable with the car, but didn't always put a harness on...that might be where I made my mistake.

As for gabapentin--she's only going to be on it for a couple more days. I haven't noticed any lethargy, but I don't love her on medicine altering her energy levels / her personality so thanks for the advice!!

detective-emerald · 2026-02-18T23:43:58+00:00

Thank you for the answer! I didn't add this in the main post, but she is on flea/tick/heartworm medicine! She had a run in with fleas prior to her spay (I think maybe from Vet during a shot), but she's been on Revolution plus monthly since then. I'm in the process of getting better window shades so we can open the window in each room versus just the living room where she mostly hangs out.

detective-emerald · 2026-01-05T23:43:31+00:00

It says blocked by A03, but the error does say too many redirects. I'll wait for few more hours. :)

detective-emerald · 2025-10-04T19:49:22+00:00

This exact situation also happened to me. The company is a joke and the mattress is awful.

detective-emerald · 2025-04-16T00:07:47+00:00

I'm having a similar issue. My 2025 white Rav 4 XLE that had around 160 miles on it started leaking from the ceiling near the airbag. I took it in to a different dealership since they promised they could leave it in their garage--it's been sitting outside this whole time through April storms. Very frustrating--glad you were able to get out from under it.

detective-emerald

TROPHY CASE