Does anyone have a good suggestion for getting a cat who cries to go out ALL THE TIME to stop? I do take him out on a harness 2-3x a day and he loves it, but he cries to go out all the time and of course he can't be out all the time (he's an indoor cat and I won't let him run free; we are in the process of building an enclosure for him). In the meantime, how do I teach him that he can go out when I decide it's time so he will stop tormenting me day and night? BTW, he has been to the vet and he's medically fine.
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cat's crying is driving me CRAZY!!
- Thread starter ollie
- Start Date
Hi Ollie! Is your kitty fixed?
Hmmm. That's a difficult situation. I would recommend the following things-
Ignore him when he's crying then when he stop crying give him attention as a reward. (my cats RARELY meows or cry because they know I cannot hear them- I'm deaf so I KNOW if u ignore them, he will stop crying..My cats meows ONLY if they WANT something and they KNOW I'm looking at them. Shows how smart they are!!)
Distract him with cat toys and play with him.
Window perch so he can watch out the windows?
HANG in there. I think it's GREAT that u're building him a cat enclosure AND that u want to keep him as a indoor cat.. That will ensure a longer and healthier life for him!
Ignore him when he's crying then when he stop crying give him attention as a reward. (my cats RARELY meows or cry because they know I cannot hear them- I'm deaf so I KNOW if u ignore them, he will stop crying..My cats meows ONLY if they WANT something and they KNOW I'm looking at them. Shows how smart they are!!)
Distract him with cat toys and play with him.
Window perch so he can watch out the windows?
HANG in there. I think it's GREAT that u're building him a cat enclosure AND that u want to keep him as a indoor cat.. That will ensure a longer and healthier life for him!
well, that is the exact reason I never started - I knew I would never have peace again if I would take him out on a leash *LOL*. I agree it's time to ignot him - he has to learn that he can't always have what he wants when he wants it - it might take some time but he will understand.
The ONLY way you will be able to stop his constant meowing is to NOT give him what he wants when he meows! In other words, the only way to stop this is to COMPLETELY ignore him when he is making any noise.
And --- this is VERY important --- you must pay attention to him every time you catch him being quiet! So, when he is talking, you must act like he doesn't exist. But the moment he is quiet you turn around and tell him how cool he is and scritch his head. If he starts meowing again, simply turn around and ignore him.
Because he has years of knowing that you will pay attention when he meows, this behavior is not going to change over night! You will need to have a lot of patience and everyone in the house will have to follow the new rule: Ignore meows, praise silence.
If you or anyone pays attention to the meowing at any time, you will simply teach him that he has to meow even more and louder to get what he wants. So, don't start training him to be quiet until you and everyone in the house all aggree to follow the new rule 100%.
I guarantee you that if you all ignore the meows and praise the silence and do this consistently, the meowing will reduce to the level of meowing that we see with most cats!
And --- this is VERY important --- you must pay attention to him every time you catch him being quiet! So, when he is talking, you must act like he doesn't exist. But the moment he is quiet you turn around and tell him how cool he is and scritch his head. If he starts meowing again, simply turn around and ignore him.
Because he has years of knowing that you will pay attention when he meows, this behavior is not going to change over night! You will need to have a lot of patience and everyone in the house will have to follow the new rule: Ignore meows, praise silence.
If you or anyone pays attention to the meowing at any time, you will simply teach him that he has to meow even more and louder to get what he wants. So, don't start training him to be quiet until you and everyone in the house all aggree to follow the new rule 100%.
I guarantee you that if you all ignore the meows and praise the silence and do this consistently, the meowing will reduce to the level of meowing that we see with most cats!
If he's crying to be taken outside on the harness, the best way to stop it is to start on a set schedule of when you take him out. Right now, I assume you take him out whenever the urge strikes you or when you have had enough of his crying? Once you get him on a schedule, and no matter how much he cries you ONLY take him out on that schedule, he will figure out pretty quick that those times are the only times he gets to go out. It will be LOUD during the adjustment period, and be prepared that he will remind you if you don't take him out on time. But being reminded a couple times a day is much better than being asked ALL day!
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Thanks for all the input. Yes he is neutered but he was already an adult (we got him as a stray from a shelter) and I think he has a lot of male territorial behaviour in him. I don't mind taking him out a couple of times a day since he gets such a kick out of it, but the crying is too much. My 2 girls have been indoor cats since they were kittens though so they are perfectly happy to stay inside
. I have been trying to ignore him and reward him when he is quiet. He follows me around though and waits for me outside the bathroom door and lets me have it when I come out
I have given up in my case. I am starting to think that cats who lived outside (did you yours before the shelter? Mine did...he was found as a stray) NEVER really get over it, at least when they are young. He wants out all the time and just cries and cries. If I ignore him it doesnt matter, or if I try to wean him off of it. I tried that and it doesn't work. I do watch him and he is having a ball out there. I don't let him out if I am not at home. I know the risks but I don't have a choice with his particular cat. It's a safe area.
I am having the same problem. I have recently bought a harness and leash as I live in an apartment complex and this cat is the friendliest thing in the world. He'll probably go home with anyone, which scares me, so I like to be there with him. I do let him off the leash but make I make sure he doesn't wonder too far. I am going to try the ignoring trick, but it maybe tough, he is constantly with me and I think has a bit of seperation anxiety. He knows when I am suppossed to be up and starts his crying as soon as the sun rises. I am thinking of getting another cat to keep him company. What do ya'll think?
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My oldest cat is 10 and I found her outside my apartment where it seems to me like she had been an outside cat for a little while as she was about 9 months old then. I ended up keeping her and eventually making her stay inside. For a few years I had issues with her darting out the door, but that stopped after her darting episodes landed her outside in rainy or snowy miserable weather. Now it's been quite a while since she's been allowed outside and she's really fine with it. She sometimes acts like she wants to go out but she doesn't cry at me. Actually she never crys to me about anything... the only time she makes any sounds at all is when she's either purring or chirping at birds outside. I think the key to my success was not letting her outside at all, not even on a harness and having that be the rule 100% of the time. But who knows?!?! Maybe with time and not praising your cat for meowing you'll have some success... but I wouldn't expect changes overnight.
Another cat to keep him company may help..but I have 2 cats and my boy cat wakes me up at 6 AM EVERY DAY.
Katie
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I gotta tell you this story because my father shared it with me this weekend and I thought it was so funny.
My parents at one point in time had two cats, Sylvester was the older male cat who ruled the house, and Butterscotch was the younger meek female cat.
My father always got up VERY early in the morning to go to work and for the most part he would feed the cats before he left and therefore no one was woken up. But if he forgot to feed them, Sylvester would take it upon himself to go bug my mom until she went down to feed them. Sylvester would eat moist food and dry food, but Butterscotch only ate the dry food.
Well eventually Sylvester passed away of old age, and suddenly Butterscotch ruled the house. And with her new position she would wake my mother up and all she would eat was moist food... It was as if she really wanted the moist food all this time but Sylvester wasn't sharing it with her.
I thought that was pretty funny... But pretty indicative of 2 cat households. There was a time when I only had two cats... Isabelle my oldest and Audrey her daughter. Isabelle was the queen of the house and she bullied her daughter all the time. I thought it was just a mother/daughter thing. But, I found the same kind of dominant cat / submissive cat situation with my friend Bill who has 2 cats too. His older dominant boy just wouldn't let his little sister get any attention, he was just such a bully. And every time anyone started petting his sister he would butt right in and push her out of the way. I don't know if this rule applies to all 2 cat households, but so far I've yet to see it disproved.
When I got the 3rd cat I found the oldest playing with the youngest and the third cat seemed to lessen the friction between the older two. Then when I got the next three the whole dynamic changed and now none of the cats are entirely dominant and none are entirely submissive. The household is much more peaceful and I see a lot more love and affection between the cats.
Also, I think if you bring in a kitten... bring in 2 so they can play with each other and not bother the older cat quite so much. Siblings are really good as it seems to me like they know they're brothers or sisters for many years of their lives...
