yowly kitties

I have a 3 year old neutered male cat, Tsunami, and a 2 year old male neutered cat named Cheeba. I have lived in the same duplex for 4 years. the first year I had Tsunami, I lived in the lower flat, and my art studio was in the basement. During the first summer I had him, I would leave the back door of the house that leads to the basement open and allow him to come and go. once the weather got colder, I had to keep the door shut to save heat. that's when the yowling started. he would sit by the back door and yowl and whine untill i would tell him NO and pick him up and take him away from the door. I have since moved to the upstairs apartment, and I don't let him out to roam the back stairway and basement anymore(downstairs neighbors are allergic to cats) and now it's gotten worse, as he's gotten older and bigger. He knows there's territory there to roam, and he wants at it. also, he also uses his yowl to get attention even when he doesn't want to go out the back door, and it is the most piercing, distressed sounding loud yowl he can make, and he does it indiscriminately.. He'll sit right outside the door of my bedroom at night, right around the corner where he can't be seen, and yowl for attention, rather than just come in and hop on the bed, which he does eventually. What's worse, he's gotten Cheeba to start making the same kind of noise at the back door too. How do I get them to stop making so much noise? Spraying Tsunami with water only deters him long enough to dry off and then he's right back at it or he switches to yowling at the front door. Spraying Cheeba does nothing- he likes it and comes back for more! what's to do? ignore them completely untill they stop? Tiny cat muzzles made of duct tape? I don't want to get rid of the cats but the roomamtes are starting to complain, and if I don't solve the problem I'll have to take the cats to the humane society- I cant afford to lose my roomates or the place I'm living. Any advice on this would be most appreciated.

I really don't have too much advice for you except a lot of people say it is bad to spray a cat with water.Someone will hopefully come by soon and explain more on this.

And PLEASE do not use duct tape to muzzle your kitties.

PS: the duct tape comment was just a joke.

Ok.I'm glad to hear that.

First of all you have to solve your cat's behavior without punishment, such as yelling, or shooting water at him. When was the last time he was at the vets? Sometimes (except in cases of talky kitties like Siamese) when they make noise, there is a reason besides to irritate the human in their life. Have you tried using catnip with him? Interactive play? Does he have a nice sturdy cat tree to climb? Toys at this disposal? His routine has been disrupted which can stress out a cat, and when a cat is stressed, he can make himself sick. Is it possible that when you are gone one of your roomates is messing with him?

Playing classical music low in the background will help to soothe him, so can New Age. Does he have places he can hide in- an empty cupboard, or cubbyhole? try burning a nightlight for him and see if that stops it, but first and foremost, make an appointment to go and see the vet.

I have indoor cats, and take them out occasionally on their harnesses and leashes. Sam knows that there is grass growing outside, and cries to go out when he wants to eat grass to settle his sensitive tummy. So your cat may have something specific that he wants to do outside.

I grow cat grass indoors in the winter, that keeps Sam happy.