I need your help. I moved a month ago from a big city to a small town. My two cats Sirius (3y) and Remus (2y) took the move pretty well, the next day they were back to their usual routines and Sirius stopped attacking my hands (a problem I wrote about here). But the problem is that he wants to get out, and it's getting pretty bad.
Long story (somewhat) short: I adopted them almost two years ago, both were given to me as suitable for a life in apartment/indoors. Two months in I noticed that Sirius is very curious about getting outside, he would often scratch and meow at the apartment door and try to dart between my legs to get outside. Sometimes he would scratch windows too. He even managed to escape a few times but I usually caught him in the lobby and brought back. I was living in a big apartment building, busy city and I knew I do not want to risk him getting into any trouble. And since he usually got bored of meowing at the door within few minutes, I assumed it's fine. Time passed by and he would get more and more insistent about that door, he would often spend 15-20 minutes there, ignoring distractions (even his favorite toys and treats) and would not only meow but sort of yowl and sound like he's hurt. I actually took him to a vet at one point, but his health was fine. The vet said to keep ignoring him and that he would stop. He didn't, I guess I just got used to it.
So, I moved and my new apartment is very big and has a lot of fun stuff outside to watch, there are trees, birds and all kinds of interesting stuff, plus I have a balcony (cat-friendly, the previous owner had a cat as well) that cats and I were super excited about. Even Remus, who genuinely does not care about anything happening outside the apartment was super excited to sit on the windowsill and watch birds or sleep in the sun on the balcony. I was so happy my babies will have more fun and was hoping that it would satisfy Sirius' desire to get outside.
But it has turned into a tiny nightmare. Now Sirius really, really wants outside. His meowing, yowling and scratching at the door and windows have slowly increased every day, and now he spends most of the day doing that, most of the night as well. I cannot get any sleep anymore because he yowls so loud it wakes me up (I am waiting for my neighbors to complain any day now). He does still eat, drink, go to the box and naps. I did some digging and it turns out he might not have been suited for indoor life, meaning, he apparently was an outdoor cat for at least a few months before he was taken to shelter, he was living on the streets. The shelter people just assumed he was suitable for indoors because he seemed fine with indoors in the shelter.
Past five days he has meowed so much that his voice sounds all raspy and scratchy, took him to the vet again, and nope, he really is physically fine, just very persistent about getting out. The new vet recommended me to take him for a walk on the leash every day and try to see if that helps with his cravings, and I did two days in the row. Probably shouldn't have, now when I think about it since it most likely confirmed that outside is awesome, but I was desperate and wanted to listen to the vet. When he was outside he was so happy, he was running around, catching butterflies, sniffing everything, eating grass, purring in the sun and basically looked like he was in paradise. He looked like a different cat, honestly. But of course, when I took him back in, he started to mew and yowl again. I had maybe four hours of sleep last two nights as he kept yowling at windows and doors most of the day and night.
I know other cat owners in this building let their cats out (the building is sort of surrounded by meadows and trees and not close to the road), but I don't want to do that. I am scared he might get hurt or run away (and then get hurt), there was a reason I wanted indoor cats. I feel like I might need to find him a new home and it breaks my heart, but his sad meows and desperate yowls break my heart more. Plus, I work from home and I cannot get anything done anymore. Could he adjust to leash walks and stop meowing constantly or should I just start looking for a new place for him where he can live outdoors?
Long story (somewhat) short: I adopted them almost two years ago, both were given to me as suitable for a life in apartment/indoors. Two months in I noticed that Sirius is very curious about getting outside, he would often scratch and meow at the apartment door and try to dart between my legs to get outside. Sometimes he would scratch windows too. He even managed to escape a few times but I usually caught him in the lobby and brought back. I was living in a big apartment building, busy city and I knew I do not want to risk him getting into any trouble. And since he usually got bored of meowing at the door within few minutes, I assumed it's fine. Time passed by and he would get more and more insistent about that door, he would often spend 15-20 minutes there, ignoring distractions (even his favorite toys and treats) and would not only meow but sort of yowl and sound like he's hurt. I actually took him to a vet at one point, but his health was fine. The vet said to keep ignoring him and that he would stop. He didn't, I guess I just got used to it.
So, I moved and my new apartment is very big and has a lot of fun stuff outside to watch, there are trees, birds and all kinds of interesting stuff, plus I have a balcony (cat-friendly, the previous owner had a cat as well) that cats and I were super excited about. Even Remus, who genuinely does not care about anything happening outside the apartment was super excited to sit on the windowsill and watch birds or sleep in the sun on the balcony. I was so happy my babies will have more fun and was hoping that it would satisfy Sirius' desire to get outside.
But it has turned into a tiny nightmare. Now Sirius really, really wants outside. His meowing, yowling and scratching at the door and windows have slowly increased every day, and now he spends most of the day doing that, most of the night as well. I cannot get any sleep anymore because he yowls so loud it wakes me up (I am waiting for my neighbors to complain any day now). He does still eat, drink, go to the box and naps. I did some digging and it turns out he might not have been suited for indoor life, meaning, he apparently was an outdoor cat for at least a few months before he was taken to shelter, he was living on the streets. The shelter people just assumed he was suitable for indoors because he seemed fine with indoors in the shelter.
Past five days he has meowed so much that his voice sounds all raspy and scratchy, took him to the vet again, and nope, he really is physically fine, just very persistent about getting out. The new vet recommended me to take him for a walk on the leash every day and try to see if that helps with his cravings, and I did two days in the row. Probably shouldn't have, now when I think about it since it most likely confirmed that outside is awesome, but I was desperate and wanted to listen to the vet. When he was outside he was so happy, he was running around, catching butterflies, sniffing everything, eating grass, purring in the sun and basically looked like he was in paradise. He looked like a different cat, honestly. But of course, when I took him back in, he started to mew and yowl again. I had maybe four hours of sleep last two nights as he kept yowling at windows and doors most of the day and night.
I know other cat owners in this building let their cats out (the building is sort of surrounded by meadows and trees and not close to the road), but I don't want to do that. I am scared he might get hurt or run away (and then get hurt), there was a reason I wanted indoor cats. I feel like I might need to find him a new home and it breaks my heart, but his sad meows and desperate yowls break my heart more. Plus, I work from home and I cannot get anything done anymore. Could he adjust to leash walks and stop meowing constantly or should I just start looking for a new place for him where he can live outdoors?