Inside cat wants to be outside

Hello Everybody. I'm sure this is a fairly common question, but i don't know what to do.

Oscar was supposed to be a inside cat. Well he is now a indoor cat wanting to be outside all the time. We leave in an apartment complex so I can't have him running into the street and getting hit. People always zoom through the parking lot not paying any attention to kid let alone a cat.

We have a patio that he goes on, but he likes to jump over it or go under it to be in the grass. He gets brought in and punished each time, and gets told Bad Kitty. Yet, Oscar is a male so he does what he wants.

When he is inside all he does is sit at either the front door or at the patio door and meow this horrible and consistent meow.

I don't know what to do? I know he is probably really bored but a One bedroom apt small. He has balls, and kitty tower, and we have a flash light and a laser, but he gets tired of that easy.

Any help is great appreciated.

Ashley

You could train him to harness/leash or if you can get another cat for him for company, it might help. Was he adopted as a full grown cat? Maybe he was used to being outside for awhile.

Its hard to break some of the habit but you can do it with persistance!

When we got him he was very small we thought he was 9 weeks old. We took him to get his neutred, they said that he was a yr to yr 1/2, so we dont know. In our eyes he is just a little over a year old.

We tried the lash but he freaked out, so we chalked that idea.
Do you think 2 cats would be too much for a one bedroom apt?

No - I think it might be a good idea. Do you have room for 2 litter pans just in case?

Yes Oscar has one on the patio one inside

Every time you give in to him, or let him on the patio, you prolong the process. It may seem cruel, but you need to absolutely not let him out in any form for as long as it takes so he's not reminded of it every time he gets a whiff. In fact, maybe even you could avoid the patio for a while. What about distracting him with a new toy like a tall cat tree with different perches and toys, etc.?

I have harness/leash trained my cats here and I live in a one bedroom apt. It can take a while to do, but get the little furbaby eating with it on and they will be fine. Mine now live in their harnesses 24/7, and I let them out on a leash once a day in the mornings usually. I do have 2 cats currently too. They will "thrash" around for a bit, but as they become used to the harness, they will get better. If they like to be outside it is one way to keep them safe, and let them enjoy the day. Now when I grab the leash and head to the balcony door, my little furbabies are there waiting for me to open the door and hook them up, to their leashes. I make sure the leash is secure to an object so they can only go so far off the balcony too. Hope it helps.

It's actually not a good idea to have a harness on a cat 24/7. Harnesses are designed to not have any give in them unlike breakaway collars.

So basically if a cat's harness gets stuck somewhere when the cat is in it the cat won't get away and may end up hanged. Harnesses are designed to stay on a cat even if he's struggling, unlike the normal collars.

So really, cats should only be in a harness while supervised. It's great that it's working for you but I should let you know about this potential danger for your cats.