Delivery escapes rarely happen because a cat is clever about doors. They happen in distracted moments — a doorbell, a parcel to sign for, a tradesperson carrying tools through the hall — when her curiosity is wide awake and the household's attention is elsewhere. One door swung open while a hand is full and a conversation is happening is all the opportunity a cat needs. A protocol that removes the cat from that moment entirely, and adds a second barrier for the days the protocol slips, turns a daily risk into a boring routine.
Put Her Away Before the Door Opens
Choose one room as the safe room and equip it properly: litter, fresh water, a bed, a hiding spot, and a scratching surface, so confinement is comfortable rather than punitive. Put a clear sign on its door — a simple note reading that the cat is inside — and make the rule absolute: the cat goes in ahead of any door opening, not during the delivery when a hand is already on the handle. Practise the routine on quiet days, calling her in with a treat and closing the door for a few minutes, so the room itself stays pleasant. Let her out only once the front door is closed again and the hallway is calm, and check that she has food and water if a long tradesperson visit will keep her in for hours.
Build a Two-Barrier Habit at the Entry
Even a perfect safe-room habit needs a backup, because people forget and visitors do not know the rule. At the front entry, keep one barrier shut while the other opens: use the porch door as the holding layer, or keep an interior hallway door shut while callers are still at the threshold. Teach household members and regular visitors to pause in the porch, close the outer door behind them, and only then open the inner one — a few seconds of habit that removes the straight-line route to the street. Add a habit of glancing behind you before stepping out, and never prop the front door open for a quick unload while the cat has the run of the hall.
Rehearse the Awkward Deliveries Specifically
Some arrivals resist the routine: the supermarket shop that needs several trips from the car, the bed frame carried in pieces, the plumber who keeps returning to a van. Plan for those in advance — stage bags in the porch behind a closed barrier and carry them through in batches, ask tradespeople to wait on the step while you settle the cat, and give one named person the job of the safe-room door while everyone else handles the delivery. When the visit ends, do a quick cat check: confirm she is accounted for before the household relaxes and doors start opening casually again.
Plan for the Day a Slip Still Happens
Backup identification matters because protocols fail on the busiest days. Fit a quick-release collar carrying an ID tag with a current phone number, and check the tag itself each month, since engraved details wear and numbers change. Keep her microchip registration equally current: the registry stores the contact record a finder will reach, so after a house move or a new phone number, update that record promptly, because reunion depends on the details being right at the moment she is found. Note her usual hiding spots and recent photo in her profile so a search can start quickly and neighbours know what to look for. If a parcel day still ends in a slip, the family members you have picked can reach her profile in KinsLe Family Sharing while the search starts from her known hiding spots.