Thread: Behaving frantically and trying to escape the house

Hi All

I am having behavior issues with Roark and I was wondering if it is a maine coon thing or just him. I have a cat door installed which is left open during the day, so he can come and go as he pleases and which I lock at night so he can be kept safe indoors. Over the past few weeks, when I lock him in at night, he has been frantically trying to escape the house and get out. He does this by leaning into the cat door and furiously scratching, pawing and biting it and after a minute or so, the door (still trying to figure out if it is defective) gives way and opens.

The issue I have is not with the door, but this new behavior where staying indoors seems to be absolute torture for him. Last night I blocked the cat door with something else so he couldn't get through and he ran around the house for an hour, crying, trying to open windows and jumping at the cat door and trying to get under what I had blocked it with.

It's really devastating for me because I hate seeing him stressed out like that but also because I treat him like a little prince and adore him and he can't even spend the evenings with me indoors.

Before these past weeks he has been fine with the routine and will come inside when I get home, and then has dinner and stays in and we play and then he goes to sleep.

I really don't know what to do because he is hating being inside and is getting stressed out but on the other hand I need boundaries for him.