INCESSANT CRYING SOUNDS LIKE "please? please? Please? PLEASE? Please?" and on and on and on!

[milsum14]

[=The cat site][/]

My cat switched from being an outdoor cat to an indoor cat about three months ago. He went from woods in WA, to my parents house in CA, to my studio apartment in LA. My boyfriend and I are hiding him and my other cat Sophie from our landlord to avoid large pet fees. They had to do a precautionary pest control treatment yesterday so we took them to a friend's house for about 14 hours (carried them in crates through our indoor hallway). Ever since, Leo has been crying at the door to get to the hallway and refuses to stop! I think since he now knows there's more to our house (the rest of the building), he wants to explore it. He's driving me crazy. Right now he is in the bathroom as punishment, continuing to incessantly cry at the door. I can't take it anymore !!!!! I'm trying so hard to ignore him so he doesn't think crying means he gets let out, but it's torturing me. I have cotton balls in my ears but I can still hear him. Helpppppp!

 

[carolina]

The poor thing - let him out of the bathroom
Soon enough he will forget the outside exists.... just don't let him out..... Meanwhile.... Try to do something to distract him... play, for example..... or go for a walk, get out of the house..... I know, it is deeply irritating, but it will pass.....

 

[fleakilled]

Don't keep him confined to one room, you would be screaming too if somebody kept you in one room. If you have to hide one of your animals from another, than don't keep that animal in your home.
 

 

[milsum14]

Neither of you people understood my post. My cats get along really well. I put him in the bathroom until he stops crying because then he associates no cry with no bathroom. It doesn't hurt him to be in there for a few minutes. There's even a cat tree inside, jeez. And a window.

 

[milsum14]

The problem is his crying at the apt. door. I don't want him to bother other ppl in the building so I'm trying to teach him that crying means bathroom until he stops.

 

[minka]

That's not going to work. You have to find some way to distract him. Treats, playtime, cuddles, whatever. Locking him in the bathroom will only make him more frustrated.

 

[miss mew]

Cats don't understand cause and effect the same way humans do.  He's not going to understand that he is in the bathroom because he is crying.  It sounds like aside from seeing what's on the other side of the door (the indoor hallway).  The trip in the crate was probably a bit stressful.  Just give him some time to readjust.

 

[carolina]

Neither of you people understood my post. My cats get along really well. I put him in the bathroom until he stops crying because then he associates no cry with no bathroom. It doesn't hurt him to be in there for a few minutes. There's even a cat tree inside, jeez. And a window.

Yes, we all understood your post perfectly..... As you can see from the other posts..... This won't work. Cats don't work that way.
You are going to stress him more, and do no good. Now he is crying because of yet another door - a door that was not even a problem to begin with.
He should, instead, be let out of the bathroom, and be distracted with playing, treats, love, or whatever. With time, he will relax, and forget about what is outside of that door. Right now he is screaming to go out of the bathroom - you are doubling the problem, instead of solving the original one.

 

[missymotus]

Cats don't understand cause and effect the same way humans do.  He's not going to understand that he is in the bathroom because he is crying.

The trip in the crate was probably a bit stressful. 

Exactly, he's had a stressful day and is now being shut away for reasons he can't understand.

I'd much rather pay any pet fees than have to hide my animals and risk getting kicked out of a place for breaking the rules. 

 

[rad65]

The problem is his crying at the apt. door. I don't want him to bother other ppl in the building so I'm trying to teach him that crying means bathroom until he stops.

Cats simply do not understand negative reinforcement. If you catch a dog pooping on your carpet, you punish it right away because that's the only time they will understand what you're punishing them for. With cats, not even that will work. You could punish your cat AS he's doing something bad, and he still won't understand what you are punishing him for.

 

[minka]

Cats simply do not understand negative reinforcement. If you catch a dog pooping on your carpet, you punish it right away because that's the only time they will understand what you're punishing them for. With cats, not even that will work. You could punish your cat AS he's doing something bad, and he still won't understand what you are punishing him for.

That's not true. You are not supposed to punish either cats Or dogs for improper elimination because it does not teach them that pooping indoors is bad, it just teaches them that pooping in front of you is scary. And then you end up with a dog that poops behind the couch.
However, if a cat is up on the counter and you clap and stomp, they will understand why just as easily as a dog.
They aren't stupid or anything, they just don't have a human brain..