Outdoor cat - now indoor cat

I moved 1 month ago with my cat, Kitty. male , recently neutered.
My last apartment was great. For 5 yrs I lived on the second floor Kitty could get in and out by hopping up a fence to the balcony. It was a good neighbor hood for cats.
My new apartment is on the 3rd floor and there is a lot of traffic, so now Kitty is an indoor cat.
He was ok the 1st day in the new place, stunned, I think is the best explaination. trying to figure out what was going on
Then it started. for the next week I bet I had maximum 3 hrs sleep each night.
He was constantly meowing to get outside. at some points he would start, what I would describe as yelling really loudly.
It's been a month, He's gotten a little better but is still meowing way too much.

I really need some advice here, I am sooo tired :frown2

Hi and welcome to TCS!

You've come to the right place, there's so much to learn and many great friends to make along the way!

I hope you'll stick around and introduce yourself and kitty in the New Cats On The Block forum!

Okay! Do you have enough things in your appartment to keep him entertained? Like a cat condo/tree or something?

As your kitty is used to being outdoors, he will find being an indoor kitty as a bit of a culture shock - it will take time to adjust!

He will also be finding things strange as he's now in a different environment!

As your cat's behaviour is at night (as cats are nocturnal), maybe you could play vigorously with him before you go to bed and also give him his food. He should then be pretty tired out and hopefully sleep! I'm not guaranteeing that this will work, but it's always worth a go!

You might also want to think about investing in a Feliway Plug In to help him to feel more comfortable.

Others will be along too, to help!

I hope things begin to calm for your kitty soon! Please come and let us know how things go!

EDIT: You may also find some good information in this thread!

Thanks for the help
I think he is used to playing with live things instead of toys, he would never go for any of the toys I got him, even catnip toys. maybe he will now.
Nothing will keep him as busy as he was wondering the neighborhood.
I let him on the balcony but it doesn't seem to make any difference, he really wants down.

His behaviour is not only at night. It's been 24/7. He takes naps every once in a while but it is pretty constant while he's awake.

Does anyone know what I mean when I said he is yelling really loudly.
He does it every couple hours or so, it sounds like when a cat is in heat and they moan loudly.

I did figure out one trick though
He likes to sleep in cardboard boxes, so I put a few boxes around the apartment.
He sleeps more now, hehe

I know he needs time to adjust, and it differs, but any idea how much time is normal?

I would like to hear from anyone whose been in this situation, moving from a house to an apartment

Thanks

-soup-

my situation is similar. Hobbs is a stray and I think he lived outdoors quite awhile before we took him in. It has been 5 years now, and sometimes he really meows LOUD by the door to go out, especially when he sees something of interest to him. He doesnt do it as often as he used to, but I think it will never stop. usually I either do something with him to occupy (distract) him, or (how my situation is different than yours), I let him out in the backyard that he cant get out of, for a few minutes to eat some grass etc..and then bring him back in. Kind of get it out of his system. (If i leave him out too long he eats too much grass and pukes all over the house). Maybe there is a place that you can take Kitty outside in a harness to let him sniff around a bit to try to give him his outdoor "fix", and then bring him back in? Anyways I think that like any animal, he will acclimate to the new situation, but I dont think he will ever get it out of his blood.

My girl Festus has always been an inside cat, but what she craves is a new environment. She loves nothing better than to "sneak" into a closet or room that is off limits to cats.

Maybe you can arrange for a spare bedroom or second bathroom to be mainly off limits, but occasionally he gets to sneak in there and explore. Even a closet that is generally closed, but once or twice a week he gets to go inside, and yes, you have to shut the door at least almost all the way, or it isn't an adventure! A storage area is best, because it is so different than the rest of the house.

Maybe this only works for someone like Festus, who only was outside once, and it was an accident! LOL! But I think all kitties crave a little naughtly adventure, so if you can groan and say,get out of that closet you silly boy, and let him have his fun, it may help.

Since he loves boxes, maybe you can give him boxes every other day, so they stay real fun for him. Or just get new different boxes when you go to the store.