I have a 1.5 year old spayed gray cat. I adopted her from the SPCA when she was about 3 months old. Initially, she was very sick with some sort of upper respiratory infection and had a very poor prognosis. Amazingly, she made it through that illness and is now lively as ever.
She is one of 2 cats and they are both indoors only- and have always been as long as I've had them. They are both the same age and seem to get along (they seem to only play fight). A few months ago I decided to try walking my gray cat, Cora, around my apartment complex with a harness and leash. To my surprise, she caught on very quickly and seemed to like it. Now, though, as soon as I get home from work she demands to be taken out by meowing incessantly and then scratching at the front door like she is being buried alive. I usually end up taking her for a 10-15 minute walk, if the weather permits. Usually she is satisfied with this. Sometimes, though, when I am home all day or when I am home early, she demands to go outside CONSTANTLY. I am trying to concentrate on my work and she jumps in front of the computer, meows, paws at me, meows, and so on. It gets very annoying. Lately, when she does this I pick her up and lock her in my bedroom for 5-10 minutes. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.
She is a very sweet cat, and I recognize that she enjoys going outside, so I don't want to punish her for asking, but on the other hand, the meowing cannot be ignored. I've tried just ignoring her, but she doesn't get the hint. I should add that she has pretty much every toy available at Petsmart and I play with her often. Her meows sound more like cries, they are very prolonged MeOOOOWWS MeOOOOOWs and they get louder as I ignore her. She has no other behavioral problems besides this meowing. I spend a significant amount of time at home, so she gets a lot of attention (as does my other cat, Yoshi). She even shares my pillow at night. She LOVES to meet people and is very outgoing. My other cat is very timid and hates going outside the apartment (yet he is the dominant one inside).
What can I do? She is driving me crazy!
She is one of 2 cats and they are both indoors only- and have always been as long as I've had them. They are both the same age and seem to get along (they seem to only play fight). A few months ago I decided to try walking my gray cat, Cora, around my apartment complex with a harness and leash. To my surprise, she caught on very quickly and seemed to like it. Now, though, as soon as I get home from work she demands to be taken out by meowing incessantly and then scratching at the front door like she is being buried alive. I usually end up taking her for a 10-15 minute walk, if the weather permits. Usually she is satisfied with this. Sometimes, though, when I am home all day or when I am home early, she demands to go outside CONSTANTLY. I am trying to concentrate on my work and she jumps in front of the computer, meows, paws at me, meows, and so on. It gets very annoying. Lately, when she does this I pick her up and lock her in my bedroom for 5-10 minutes. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.
She is a very sweet cat, and I recognize that she enjoys going outside, so I don't want to punish her for asking, but on the other hand, the meowing cannot be ignored. I've tried just ignoring her, but she doesn't get the hint. I should add that she has pretty much every toy available at Petsmart and I play with her often. Her meows sound more like cries, they are very prolonged MeOOOOWWS MeOOOOOWs and they get louder as I ignore her. She has no other behavioral problems besides this meowing. I spend a significant amount of time at home, so she gets a lot of attention (as does my other cat, Yoshi). She even shares my pillow at night. She LOVES to meet people and is very outgoing. My other cat is very timid and hates going outside the apartment (yet he is the dominant one inside).
What can I do? She is driving me crazy!
