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Introduction

I live in a 3 stories building. All floors have the same structure. The building is located in a nice quiet place. Neighbours don't mind cats outside, they are mostly cats friendly. The main issue is that I have to teach my cats (2 cats yes) to get from floor 3 to ground floor and up again when they want to get back home. The building is really calm, not much people live there. They are really nice and as I mentioned earlier they love cats.

Steps That I followed

First, I intoduced them to my floor, they were not allowed to go down nor up. And I rewarded them with a treat when they got back to the apartment. Of course I was watching them really closely, speaking to them and patting them.

Yesterday I tried to get both of them down. The female cat was walking all by herself. The funny part is that, on the second floor she decided to go back home but since all the floors are the same she insisted that the 2nd floor is the place to go and she bugged LOL. I had to put her back on my shoulders, which she really loves and get her back to the right apartment.

Question

The question is how would you teach your cat to go down 3 floors and remember its way back home? Is it feasible?

P.S.

She was so funny, I was trying to tell her, no no we have to go up, but she was looking at me, like you idiot no it's this floor

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  • 1
    Not an duplicate, but of interest: pets.stackexchange.com/questions/23887/…
    – Allerleirauh
    Feb 23 at 12:17
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    I would tell you the method I used with my dog, but cats and dogs are very different, so I don't know if it would work. I don't remember what (if any) method we used with our cats since they both died when I was 2 or 3 (one before I was even born) so I don't remember much about them. I'm about 20 now and still haven't had a cat since.
    – Deko Revinio
    Feb 23 at 17:05

1 Answer 1

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A friend of mine has the same problem with his cat and I noticed the same thing with my dog in apartment buildings. For our pets every floor looks the same and they get confused.

You need to keep in mind that cats perceive the world differently because they are much smaller than humans. They cannot read name tags and most of what they see are the door mats and the lower edges of the door. So if you want to help your cats find the correct door, you should help them by making your door unique. I don't mean a different door mat, but a distinct object that is only by your door and nowhere else. Maybe a decorative figurine or an artificial flower pot.

It's a good idea to have the object inside your own apartment for a week or so (next to the door) so your cats can get to know it and learn that it means "home". In the end you can never force a cat to learn. They'll have to make their own experiences and it may take a while until they learn to navigate the corridor.

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  • I laughed so much when she did that. She was like No no no no It's here stupid yuman! and I was trying to convince her otherwise. Sooooo funny lolololololol. Artificial flower pot is a great idea. There's a floor where they have 2 pots next to a door I think they are doing it for their pets. Thank you Elmy
    – Hani Gotc
    Feb 23 at 14:43
  • Something with a unique smell night be both a good confirmation and a good way finding guide....
    – keshlam
    Feb 26 at 3:03

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