Hard to get back in the cage

[jessica]

I love my chinnie but sometimes i don't let him out for free run because trying to catch him after to put him back is such a bummer. He so fast and good at evading capture. I am running out of ways to out smart him because he knows if I approach him with a dust bath or cloth it's cage time. He hates being scooped up and will always get away if you do this. Anyone else not take out their chin because of this?

 

[warmice]

For me i fence up the area with the cage together with his playpen. So that when Mitten and Laffy gets bored, they will both return into their cage. But everyday is not Sunday! :hair:

There are days where they don't want to go back at all. So the only way is to corner them and catch them, it makes catching them easier rather then running around the room! Try to make it fast and swift. :thumbsup:

When i get them back, I'll leave a dish of dish of treats for them, I think it helps to reduce the sulking from them!

 

[Directorthiang]

One of mine was a bit of a challenge for the first couple of weeks. Using a large bath towel to toss over him when it was time to go back helped BIG TIME! Once under the towel, he stopped moving which allowed me to gently scoop him up and carry him back without the stress of chasing and grabbing. And he never seems to mind the towel. Seems to reduce the stress on his part a LOT. Good luck!

 

[nicky]

I have two that are impossible to catchuntil they are good and ready. I try to fake them out with treats, I try the dust bath and I try to corner them. But they will not go back until they are good and ready. Sometimes I dread playtime with them, only because I know what it's going to be like to trap the little buggers!

 

[mishellyshel]

Stitch is the hardest for me to both get out of the cage & get back into the cage. Since playtime is in the bathroom and there is no way to get them there without grabbing them it is a bit of a challenge. After almost 8 months Stitch has finallly realized for the most part that if he doesnt let me pick him up, he doesnt go out for playtime.
Unfortunately the only way I can grab him to get back in the cage, is either wait until he is on the counter OR trap him in a small area and then he ends up jumping into my arms. But i always give him a little treat when he gets back in his cage and tell i tell him what a good boy he is.
With Zucca, more often than not when he realizes playtime is over, he will jump in his dustbath to hide. I end up picking the whole thing up & transporting him that way, but have learned to cover the hole with a washcloth because when i dont he tries to bite me!
Richie is in and out of his cage so much for feeding that I just scoop his little fuzzbutt up!

 

[jessica]

He's such a stinker when it comes to being caught. Two nights ago when he was out I cornered him and he literally jumped on my back and scampered over me. I think I'm going to try putting his cage in the living room tonight when I let him out. my husband wonders why i even bother with him and i tell him if we don't let him out to socialize he'll get depressed so it's either give him a playtime or deal with him moping around his cage which i can't stand he gets so pitiful.

 

[Siylvat]

Get a playpen. It is SOOO much easier. We love ours.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Mr. Whiskers was a handful when I first got him. He could evade me for hours. I finally decided to play a game with him that I call "Catch and Release".

At various times during playtime when he would jump on me, I would "catch" him, just give him a kiss or a treat and then "release" him. We did this off and on until he realized that getting caught wasn't so bad after all; he also never knew when he would be caught for the last time.

I later learned the towel technique, and I sometimes have to do that as well.

 

[Brittney]

I take my boys out all the time, but one is difficult to catch.

Bryson knows his name and follows me like a little duckling, and as long as the dogs are outside, I open the bathroom door and walk towards my room calling him, and he will follow me.

Ande, on the other hand, hates to be caught and I have to grab him by the base of the tail just to get him. He doesn't like it too much and will grunt at me, but it's either that, or he lives in the bathroom, which I don't think he would mind, but still.