Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was starting to wonder [about mice] one day when she was particularly interested in the basement. They're not down there. If they were, she would have gotten one by now. We had our house mouse and rat proofed years ago. (If anyone wants to know the details involved in doing such a thing, I'll gladly share.) I assure you that it would take a very special rodent to get into our basement. I think there's just a lot of spiders and bugs down there to keep her busy. The other thing is the lacrosse balls. The concrete floor is extremely uneven so they roll for eternity in multiple directions. They keep her attention much longer than any cat toy we would buy for her.
Hopes, I would love to hear about your mouse- and rat-proofing. I had my house mouse-proofed (supposedly!!) before I moved in 2 years ago, but the first year ... mice!!!!! Aaaaaaaagggghhh!!
If you don't want to go off in this direction, please DM me! Thanks!!
My cats love the basement - it's their safe place. You know, safe from evil like the doorbell, the telephone, the letter carrier, the vacuum cleaner, plastic grocery bags, my blow dryer, the crazy boxer next door, their mama when she's watching a hockey game ...
The basement windowsills are good spots to watch birds at ground level, too.
Maybe Bobbles considers the basement her place, and hers alone. Every girl needs her space.
My thinking here is that there must be some way to keep the door to the basement propped open only to a certain width, resistant to the canine's efforts.
If someone can think of a way to resist the Basset's efforts, I'm all for trying it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by catdad7x
I know that probably wasn't funny, but that mental picture made me chuckle... sorry.
It was. I smiled. I left it there for two hours so my husband could see it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by catdad7x
So here's another thought. You could put a small cat door in the door leading to the basement, but rig the flap so it only opens one way. You would still have to open the door to let Bobbles go down, but she would be able to come back up & through the cat door on her own. You wouldn't have to worry about being there to let her out. If done right, the Basset shouldn't be able to mess with it.
This is a brilliant idea except the Basset can open kitchen cabinet doors. If he can do that, he can open a flap outward.
Quote:
Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012
Hopes, I would love to hear about your mouse- and rat-proofing. I had my house mouse-proofed (supposedly!!) before I moved in 2 years ago, but the first year ... mice!!!!! Aaaaaaaagggghhh!!
If you don't want to go off in this direction, please DM me! Thanks!!
This is the perfect place since cat owners are the people who would be most aware of a mouse/rat problem.
It requires physical labor and money. We have a sandstone foundation. We dug up the entire foundation and repaired the holes in the rocks. Then we wrapped the entire foundation in mesh wire. We did this ourselves. It was a lot of work. We dug up our main sewer line and installed a one way trap---that allows things to flow out but nothing to flow/crawl in. We replaced a sill that had rotted because it was below grade hidden by a concrete patio. We tore out the concrete patio (rodents love to live under concrete) and found an ancient well and cistrine underneath in the process. We replaced it with a brick patio that is lower grade to the house to prevent future rotting. We checked the wood part of the house for any openings, but there weren't any.
Then we changed our habits that attract rodents anyway. They need a food source within a certain number of feet from the house. If you get rid of the food sources, all of the above isn't even necessary. For us, it was cleaning up dog poop in the yard daily. Dog poop is food for rats and mice. I suspect cat poop is too so I'd be scooping every day. We bought a huge plastic container to store the dog food. We didn't free-feed with bowls of dog food all day. Instead we have meals and any uneaten food is removed. All dry goods in the pantry were put in glass containers. The biggest thing for us was the work we did to the actual building, but eliminating the food sources is the alternative way for people who can't do that.
I see your point. But I was thinking about the type of cat door that is made of hard plastic and the door is flush with the frame with almost no gap around it. If this type of door were installed on the basement side of the door and framed in very close, there would be no room for the Basset to hook his claws in there to open it. It sounds like you have a very smart dog on your hands(), but I still think something like this might work.
Then again, I get outsmarted by my cats on a daily basis.... so what do I know.
I'd have left it there so he could help me clean it up ...
That would be more appropriate for my son since he was the one who left the door open, but he sleeps until 4pm sometimes. I can ignore it for a couple of hours, not the entire day. It was a huge mess. If anyone stopped by, they would have thought we were living in a garbage dump.
Quote:
Originally Posted by catdad7x
Re; the Basset can open kitchen doors.....
I see your point. But I was thinking about the type of cat door that is made of hard plastic and the door is flush with the frame with almost no gap around it. If this type of door were installed on the basement side of the door and framed in very close, there would be no room for the Basset to hook his claws in there to open it.
That's a good idea. If I put trim around the hole, there would be no way for the Basset to latch onto it with his nails. The next obstacle will be teaching Bobbles how to use it since she didn't like the swinging door on the litter box.
Quote:
Originally Posted by catdad7x
It sounds like you have a very smart dog on your hands(), but I still think something like this might work.
Then again, I get outsmarted by my cats on a daily basis.... so what do I know.
I've learned to never underestimate the Basset when it comes to food. He has a one track food mind.
That would be more appropriate for my son since he was the one who left the door open, but he sleeps until 4pm sometimes. I can ignore it for a couple of hours, not the entire day. It was a huge mess. If anyone stopped by, they would have thought we were living in a garbage dump.
That's a good idea. If I put trim around the hole, there would be no way for the Basset to latch onto it with his nails. The next obstacle will be teaching Bobbles how to use it since she didn't like the swinging door on the litter box.
I've learned to never underestimate the Basset when it comes to food. He has a one track food mind.
Yeah, you might have to push her through a couple of times so she knows how it works, and later if she wants out bad enough & no one opens the door for her she'll use it. Also, you would need to put some fairly strong (maybe metal) clips or blocks on the cat door so the Basset would be able to force it open.
I know what you mean about having a chow-hound. The Yorkies we had (one in particular) were VERY food oriented. The old '5 second rule' didn't matter much... if it was food & it hit the floor, it would be gone before you could bend down & pick it up. No exaggeration.
Your descriptions of Bobbles' adventures are hilarious!
Basements are wonderlands for kitties even without mice. So many nooks and crannies and hiding places that only they can get to. We've always given our cats access to the basement and blocked dogs out, because of the basement litter box, which is too appealing to them. We've cut an 8x7 hole in the basement door, and they can all go through it easily, even my chubby boy. There's no way a basset hound could get through there, although he might do a lot of sniffing!
An 8 x 7 hole sounds big enough for him to get his head stuck! LOL
I don't want to start another thread to share the latest and greatest Bobbles and Basset story!
It's spring. Time to de-shed the Basset. I was brushing and combing him in the kitchen and discarding huge clumps of hair on the floor. There was enough for a whole cat there, and that didn't go unnoticed by Bobbles. She pounced on his hair and went all Rambo on it. The Basset just looked at her like she had lost her mind. I had to comb her too because she was COVERED with Basset hair!
. I had to comb her too because she was COVERED with Basset hair!
Oooh, it sound like you may have created a new "designer" breed that you could get lots of money for.
Might a baby gate work as a barrier, that way the cat could step through the opening but not the dog, even if he is looking rather svelte now that he's been de-furred some.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We've cut an 8x7 hole in the basement door, and they can all go through it easily, even my chubby boy. There's no way a basset hound could get through there, although he might do a lot of sniffing!
