Please Help! My cat keeps crying to go out.

[bighairedharry]

Hello,

Perhaps someone can help us.

We have a 4yr old cat called Harry. We have had him two weeks, and he is a rescue cat. He has spent his entire life living in a small caravan with his previous owner until he was abandoned and put up for rehoming.

In the 4yrs, he spent with this previous owner he has NEVER been let out. In the 2 weeks we have had him, we have slowly gained his trust and he now lets us fuss him and stroke him, he plays with us (he never had toys before and didnt know what to do with them), and he even sleeps on our bed at night.

But the problem is this..

We are very reluctant to let him out for the first month we have him because we are worried that his lack of outdoor experience will mean he may run away or get injured.

Harry often sits in the window of the living room for hours constantly staring at the outside world, I can tell he is desperate to get outside because he sometimes meows quite a lot at the window. He also sits by the front door and meows and scratches a lot, sometimes the meows are a lot different to his normal meows and he can sound quite upset at times.

We have tried to usher him away from the door and stop him from scratchin it, but when we do he sometimes gets quite hostile toweards us and has even tried to bite us on a couple of occasions.

We desperately want Harry to be happy, but at the sametime we want what is best for him. What can we do? Please offer any suggestions you may have..


Thanks

Rob and Cejay

 

[renovia]

Originally Posted by bighairedharry

Hello,

Perhaps someone can help us.

We have a 4yr old cat called Harry. We have had him two weeks, and he is a rescue cat. He has spent his entire life living in a small caravan with his previous owner until he was abandoned and put up for rehoming.

In the 4yrs, he spent with this previous owner he has NEVER been let out. In the 2 weeks we have had him, we have slowly gained his trust and he now lets us fuss him and stroke him, he plays with us (he never had toys before and didnt know what to do with them), and he even sleeps on our bed at night.

But the problem is this..

We are very reluctant to let him out for the first month we have him because we are worried that his lack of outdoor experience will mean he may run away or get injured.

Harry often sits in the window of the living room for hours constantly staring at the outside world, I can tell he is desperate to get outside because he sometimes meows quite a lot at the window. He also sits by the front door and meows and scratches a lot, sometimes the meows are a lot different to his normal meows and he can sound quite upset at times.

We have tried to usher him away from the door and stop him from scratchin it, but when we do he sometimes gets quite hostile toweards us and has even tried to bite us on a couple of occasions.

We desperately want Harry to be happy, but at the sametime we want what is best for him. What can we do? Please offer any suggestions you may have..


Thanks

Rob and Cejay

Welcome!

Firstly, thank you for coming to the board to get some advice before making some tough decisions!

Now, I would have you seriously consider keeping your new cat an indoor only cat. It is recommended by most members here, and most vets/shelters would recommend the same. Keeping kitty indoors prolongs their life span as there are no dangers of wild animal fights, other people's hatred of cats, or highways in your house. Letting kitty outdoors puts her at risk of injury every day that he's out. Of course your house will be injure-proof (as much as possible) and all your poisonous substances will be safely put away because you care about your cat!!!!!!

A cat doesn't 'need' to go outdoors, and since he's never been outdoors - he's not pining for something he once knew. It sounds like he's lonely/bored. His biting is from learned behaviors with his previous owners. He is not biting you because you moved him from the door.

It definitely sounds 'like' he wants to go out, because it sounds fun out there. but you'd be putting him in a dangerous situation by letting him out. he's in his furever home now and wants to be loved and taken care of for the rest of his life.

Definitely keep playing with him, you said he never knew how to do this. He'll come around and want to play and play because he's getting all this pleasant attention. While he's playing he's not thinking about outdoors. Plus he's only been with you for two weeks. You can curb behaviours you don't like by positive reinforcement with treats when he's doing what you want. When he comes away from the door with out biting - when he watches the window without pitiful meowing. Lots of praise and attention and he'll forget about that pesky outdoors.

Perhaps buy a cat tree for him to play on when you aren't there. A 4yr. old cat would probably really really get into having it doctored with catnip.

Could you adopt another young adult kitty as a playmate? I think that would solve the meowing problem. Stoli, my russian blue, used to meow and meow at the door to go outside because we would bring him out on a leash. But it got to the point that I couldn't stand the meowing anymore. He'd meow such horrible whiny meows. We got Luxor, my egyptian mau, and that behavior has almost completely vanished.

Now, this is my opinion/experience and I know other members can give you loads of help too. Good Luck

 

[urbantigers]

Hi and welcome to TCS

First of all, if you've only had Harry for 2 weeks it really is best to keep him indoors for a couple more weeks at least before you let him outside, if you do let him outside. My cats are indoor cats but it is generally recommended that when you move or adopt a cat, they are kept in for about 4 weeks before being allowed outside so that they learn their new house is home.

Then you need to decide whether it's safe for him to go outside. Do you live near a busy road? Is it an area generally considered safe for cats? If you think it's relatively safe for him outside (it's never going to be 100% safe - it's always a compromise between safety and freedom) then after about 4 weeks you could start letting him out for short supervised trips outdoors, preferably before meal times so that he's hungry and unlikely to wander far.

Another thing to consider is the circumstances under which he was rehomed. Did the rescue rehome him as an indoor cat? If they did then you will may have signed a contract saying you will keep him as an indoor cat. In any case, it would be wise to have a chat with the rescue to see whether they think it would be wise to let him go outside.

Do you have a garden you could enclose with cat proof fencing? Or build a cat run? That would be a good compromise allowing him safe outdoor access.

Don't worry about him looking out of the window - that's like tv for cats! If they see something like a bird they can get agitated and naturally want to get at it, but it doesn't mean they are dissatisfied with being indoors. Same with doors - he's probably just curious as to what's the other side of it. If you do decide to keep him as an indoor cat he will get used to it. Make sure you give him lots of attention and play to keep him happy indoors.

Good luck with whatever you decide. If you have any pics of Harry we'd love to see them

He sounds lovely.

 

[larke]

I couldn't find a place in your post where you said he's been neutered.... if he hasn't been, it would explain his wanting to go and find a female, so please consider getting him done as soon as possible, as it will also save you lots of problems with spraying indoors, etc. If he has been done, then I agree that a friend might be a good idea. Cats need each other just like people do.

 

[bighairedharry]

First of all, thanks for replying - every suggestion is most welcome. I will post some photos of harry soon.

To give you an idea about the are we live in...

We live in a very quiet area, which is not near to a main road. Their is a large field next to a school not too far away, and behind our house is a farm with some more fields.

Our garden is enclosed with roughly 6ft high fencing all the way round, and their are other cats in the neighbourhood who seem to wander around without too much trouble.

As for our house, their are lots of places for him to go and he does have pretty much free roam of the house wherever he wants to go. Their is one room that we dont let him into because it contains some expensive musical instruments and we were worried about him getting injured or even the possibilty of him scratching or damaging them.

He knows he isnt allowed in their and goes nuts scratching/pawing at the door...he also sits outside and meows because he wants to go in. He does this with the wardobe doors and has even started doing it with the draws.

What should we do with this sort of behaviour? Should we let him in so he can see what the fuss is about or just ignore him and hope that his curiosity dies down?

He was given away by a gentlemen who took him in and looked after him until he could find someone to take him, so he didnt come from a cat rescue centre. The guy did say that he did not get on well with the other cats that he had so getting a playmate for him may be tricky.

How would we find out if Harry would be happy to have another cat in the house or not?

As for the most recent post, yes he has been neutered but he does have frequent moodswings. He can be a bit of a moody cat, sometimes he is very affectionate but when he starts meowing and crying at doors and cupboards he can get very moody very quickly, when he is like this he doesnt really react well to human attention like petting or an attempt to move him.

Anyway, thats enough writing for now. I hope this extra information may help some of you with further suggestions.

Thanks

Rob and Cejay

 

[larke]

Silly question maybe, but how is he fed - 1-2 meals a day (and what kind), or do you leave food out all day, canned or dry, etc.? Just mention because occasionally someone who's only ever had a dog will feed only once a day, but even if it's enough, it's not often enough for a cat (who's not living in the jungle) and they do better with at least a couple, usually more, of small meals, than one big one.

 

[mcat]

I don't let my cats out although my neighbors do. I would worry every moment they were not inside. When Harry is meowing at the window or door, try dragging a string or belt or toy around and inticing him to chase after you. Try a flashlight or a lazer pen for him to chase. My cats meow at the window, too. They are talking to birds, squirrels and butterflies. They do not want to be outside.

Maybe Harry would like some catnip. Cats are curious. He would love to see what's on the other side of the closed doors, but he doesn't need to go where you don't want him to.

Good luck with him. You are wonderful to take him in.

 

[cococat]

Welcome. Sounds like Harry has found a wonderful home!
My cat is indoor and will remain indoor only due to the dangers outside and the fact that outdoor kitties have shorter lifespan on average than those kept indoors.
Some of the dangers include fights with other cats, getting ran over accidentally, getting hurt by local wildlife, getting hurt by dogs, getting poisoned by "the neighbor who doesn't like cats" (this happened before to cats in a rural neighborhood, it was sad), getting taken by someone else who likes my cat, getting picked on by bored kids, outdoor kitties have a higher chance of getting fleas, ticks, ringworm, and other stuff and to make sure there is no destroying other people's property, hurting native animals (frogs, birds, snakes, etc.) and using the nice gardens of others as a litter box.
I think most cats do enjoy the company of other cats, but I am not sure about Harry. My cat likes to stare out the window too, but she doesn't wish to go outside either, she is content with window TV. Also, playing lots of games with Harry will help keep him stimulated indoors, for instance, laser light or fishing pole type toys. Catnip is also good if he likes it. Try lots of toys to see what he likes, there are so many out there, a really large variety. He would probably also like a really big cat tree

 

[cococat]

Some people put baby locks on their drawers and cabinets to keep the cats out.