Our cat is literally just a year old. We live on a very busy road. Up till now the cat has never really shown an interest in the front of the house and I have never seen him out the front and nor have any of my neighbours. Last weekend and this weekend DH has been doing some painting to the front of the house and the front door so the front door has been open for large parts of the day. Last week the cat was out the front with us but didn't venture past the gates and on to the road. About an hour ago he shot across the road and went in to a neighbours house. I went and retrieved him and brought him back and scolded him. Literally within 5 mins he managed to get out of the front door again(was very slightly ajar waiting for paint to dry) and ran out in to the road and a car had to swerve not to hit him! He was very scared but didn't run back in to the house and went to the neighbours net doors front garden. He has absolutely no road sense whatsoever and now I'm worried that now he's "found the front" that it's only a matter of time before he gets run over.
How can I stop him from going out the front? I know that i physically can't stop him but I want to try and scare him or something because if he does keep going out there and running across the road he will definitely get hit by a car. He has never been interested in the past and I think it's literally us being out there the last 2 weekends that has made him aware of the front.