# Best way to keep cat out of the cupboards?



## sweetwater (Oct 24, 2008)

I was thinking of getting these: http://perfectlysafe.stores.yahoo.net/w ... tches.html What do people think? Dexter's food-mongering is just out of control; he can open our cupboards and reach the second shelf (which is all I can reach, anything higher and I have to climb on the counter to get it, so it's horribly inconvenient to keep things up there). It's where we keep our bread products; he's destroyed my home-made breads and pulled out and nibbled on a plethora of English muffins, breads, tortillas, etc. It's driving me insane. Our cupboards don't have magnets so I thought a child-proof lock might be my best bet, since a magnet only works so long as he doesn't apply enough force to open the cupboard!


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## PureMuttz (Jul 3, 2009)

-=chuckles=- Glad to see I'm not the only one with a cat who has a craving for bread!

My parents used baby locks like the ones you linked, because one of their cats used to go into the cabinet and sleep on the pots & pans. It stopped him, so hopefully it will stop Dexter!


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## sweetwater (Oct 24, 2008)

It's strange isn't it! He loves bread and cantaloupe rinds...I think those are his two favorite non-carnivorous foods. He's terrible about food in general though. His favorite activity is batting at his automatic feeder, which unfortunately rewards him once in awhile with a single piece of kibble. And we've had to keep the garbage in the closet, but at least that keeps him from getting at it. This feels like our last battle! I hope, at least.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

sweetwater said:


> It's strange isn't it! He loves bread and cantaloupe rinds...I think those are his two favorite non-carnivorous foods. He's terrible about food in general though. His favorite activity is batting at his automatic feeder, which unfortunately rewards him once in awhile with a single piece of kibble. And we've had to keep the garbage in the closet, but at least that keeps him from getting at it. This feels like our last battle! I hope, at least.


Tell me again why you love cats.  

And I was going to ask if a baked bean and a kidney bean were strange foods for a cat, because she has eaten both. I'll have to try with the cantaloupe rind. I did meet a woman one time who said her cat loved carrots, I assume cooked.

Zenobi doesn't get up on the counter, so she can't get in the cupboards above, but she does try to open the lower cupboards. The hinges are spring loaded, so if her paw slips, the cupboard snaps closed again with a clack. She's a bundle of nerves, anyway, so this stops any further attempts. However, with the cupboards where she could not do harm, I allowed her to go in and explore. I live alone, so I didn't have to worry about anyone else objecting. And how did I get her to come out? I closed the door on her for ten seconds, and she came out with no problem. Same thing with closets. I must admit that early on when she was throwing up shortly after I brought her home, I was a bit worried but no harm came.


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## sweetwater (Oct 24, 2008)

They're amusing little buggers, aren't they. I frankly have no problem with him exploring cupboards that don't contain all my pots and pans or any food. Bathroom cupboards are no problem, but they're too boring for his taste I guess! I hadn't thought of the 2am noise with the childproof locks, but is it possible he'll eventually figure out that he simply can't get in and he'll stop bothering to try? Because I don't mind dealing with the thunk-thunk-thunk for a couple of nights or even a couple of weeks if it eventually means saving my bread.

I've thought of the oven idea but I know that when I use my oven and take the bread out, I'll have to wait for it to cool to put it back in and I'm sure I'll end up forgetting more often than not. Better to have a solution I don't need to think about so much.


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## sweetwater (Oct 24, 2008)

UPDATE:: Dexter can now officially reach the third shelf of the cupboard, the one that I have to crawl onto the counter to get to. I came downstairs to find our almost-full bag of whole wheat tortillas on the counter, every single one of which was nibbled through. I ordered the child proof locks but if these don't work I don't know what to do. It'll be a week+ before they even get here  It put me in a really bad mood to once again find perfectly good food that we spent money on (I'm living off the generosity of my parents while I continue taking classes rather than finding a job after getting my degree and my boyfriend is living off a meager stipend for grad school) ruined because of Dexter's voracious appetite and cunning behavior at finding any possible way to get at food. What a way to start the day. I still feel stressed and angry at him. I want to like my cat again! I feel kind of like crying.


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