Intact male won't stop meowing

It's been a week now since I let a stray male cat into my home. He's been roaming around my apartment building for a few months now and I've been feeding him. Last Monday he finally let me approach him and I grabbed him. He was infested with fleas and all the fur on his back was matted in one big knot. The next 2 days were spent at the groomer and the vet. He had some kind of infection in airways, so he is on antibiotics. He still has his "equipment", but I unfortunately can't have him neutered until he's finished his round of antibiotics.

His appointment is in a week and a half. 

Every night, he meows for quite some time. I keep him in a separate room, to make sure what he has isn't contagious because I have another cat (spayed female). He's also very restless and always wants to look out the windows (which I have no problem with), but he keeps clawing at the screens because he wants to go outside. I had to remove the screens in the windows to prevent him from destroying them.

Is there any way I can calm/relax him until his neuter. He's driving me crazy!

Thank you so much for rescuing this sweet soul.  He will be forever grateful.  A few things you can try are a feliway diffuser that you plug into the wall and some Composure calming treats or liquid.  I brought a feral/stray male into my home 2 years ago. I had already trapped and neutered him a few months earlier, but once he was inside and in a room of his own, he went ballistic.  I used a feliway and it really helped.  Yet, he would meow and yowl all night long.  I got an ipod and played soft calming music all night as well as playing a white noise machine.  I then gave him Composure calming treats.  If you use the treats, it takes at least 3 and some cats don't like the taste or texture.  I prefer the liquid as you can mix it into wet food.  I would give 1/2 t. 2x a day.  You can find it on Amazon or EntirelyPets.com

He will settle down.  It is partially his hormones (which will take another 2-3 weeks to calm down once neutered) and it's partially that he is confined.  My guy took about a week to stop crying at night once I got the composure into him. 

Keep him separated from your other cat until after his neuter.  You then want to give him some time for the hormones to rid themselves from his body.  Start intros very very slow.  I have a few excellent articles on cat to cat intros as well as a great video if you would be interested.

Thanks again for helping this kitty.  Fortunately his neuter is approaching.

Thank you for the advice

I've been debating on buying a Feliway diffuser, but the ones I can find are about 40$... I'm planning on trying the calming treats first and if push comes to shove I'll invest in the diffuser.

He's not a bad cat, he's super sweet. ADORES cuddles and being petted. He has no sprayed in the house in the week I've had him inside, which makes me very happy.

I would be very interested in reading your cat to cat intros articles

Also, he still acts as though he's starving. I've tried feeding him little meal a few times a day. But he still empties the bowl as fast as he can and doesn't even chew his food... How long is it gonna take for him to get used to the idea food is always gonna be there?

Try Amazon for a diffuser.  If you can afford one, it's best to try both the diffuser and the composure.  The diffuser will last about a month and help him with many transitions such as cat to cat intros.

My guy took awhile ( 2 months or so) to realize that food would always be available.  I would put him on a set feeding schedule.  Give him some wet food in the morning ( maybe 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can) and another 1/2 can at night.  You then can offer some dry food during the day that is available until he becomes more comfortable with eating on a set schedule.

Has he been wormed?  Many street cats are infested with worms.  This would cause an increase in food consumption.  If he has not been wormed, make sure when he is neutered that they worm him too or you can call the vet this week and pick up the dewormer.

  The key to cat to cat intros is to take it slow.  Very slow.  The feral/stray I brought into the home stayed in a room of his own for 2 months before I started intros with my resident cat and large dog.  At first things went well.  Then I rushed the process.  This set me back 3 months.  It took one solid year for the two cats to coexist.  Yet now they are best buddies.  It just took a lot of time.  The stray/feral was reactive and used to having to defend himself.  My resident cat was completely freaked out.  It really took them awhile.  The feliway diffusers and composure were a life saver.  Just be sure to keep the cats separated at all times until you work your way through the steps.  I purchased a cheap wooden screen door for $20 at Lowes and attached to the door frame with tensions rods ($4).  This way I didn't have to deface the door.  I placed a baby gate in the door way for extra protection as the screen was pretty flimsy.  I only did this when I was home for supervision.  This allowed the new cat access to the sights and sounds of my home yet the cats were safe.  I didn't do this step until the cats were doing ok with face to face visits.  Here is a picture of my set up.



Here is the info on cat to cat intros and the video

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-ultimate-yet-simplified-guide-to-introducing-cats

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/a-simple-little-trick-to-use-during-new-cat-introductions/

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

http://jacksongalaxy.com/2010/10/01/cat-to-cat-introductions/

Yes, he has been dewormed last week when I took him to the vet.

The cat has started today to urine mark around his room... I was happy that he didn't spray/urine mark in the 2 weeks that I've had him. But he's started marking yesterday and today... His neuter is in 2 days. 

I bought the Feliway diffuser which helps with his excessive meowing but not the urine marking nor the upright scratching...

I also bought calming treats, but they don't seem to make any difference either.

Is there something else I could try, to prevent him from spraying/marking for the next 2 days?

I think this behavior is simple due to hormones. He's frustrated. Because of the recent onset, it's very likely that there is either a female in heat or another intact male around the property (or both.)

The good news is that I think, once neutered and hormones are out of his system, he will stop the spraying.

As for the scratching...
Do you have scratching posts available to him?

He has a large scratching post in his room, but he prefers to use the side of the mattress that's prompt up against the wall instead.

I have a female cat, but she's not in heat because she's been spayed a while back. I haven't seen any other cats roaming around my building... I try not to open the windows cause I don't want any female or male cat pheromones coming in my apartment and drive him crazy.

His neuter is in 2 days... And hopefully it won't take long for his hormones to leave his system cause I don't want my home smelling like a giant litter box.

I will keep my fingers crossed that his behaviour will change once he's been neutered.

Thanks for the help!

Also want to mention that you need to clean all the areas he has marked using a enzymatic cleaner (I like Nature's Miracle.)

It sounds as if he's made himself at home. Spray marking is a way of claiming the territory for himself. I don't know if there is anyway you can stop him spraying over the next few days, but keep him contained in one room so that you have less cleaning up to do afterwards. Cats don't like to spray against anything that splashes back at him, so if you tape aluiminum foil up in the spots he has sprayed that might help. Put some plastic down on the floor too, so it doesn't soak into the carpet/floor boards.

Have you tried sprinkling cat nip on his scratching post? If you cover the mattress with something that isn't fun to scratch, plastic bags or a waterproof sheet, he should show more interest in his scratching post.

Good luck with his neuter. One of my cats sprayed everywhere before he was neutered, but this stopped the moment we got him back from the vets. Hope your boy does the same.

Thank you for the advice!
I've never had a male cat before that hasn't been neutered and this is all so new to me and quite frankly a bit stressful...
I keep him in his room but I'm always anxious to go check on him cause I know he'll have peed somewhere.
he's only been marking since yesterday and i've had him for 2 weeks... Why did he start marking so sussenly?

It could be that he's decided this is home and he wants to make the place "his", it could be that something bothered him, another cat seen or heard outside of the window. One of my cats started spraying last week after a whole year in this house. The reason? A feral tom that he sees outside pretty much every day decided to venture into his garden.

Neutering will help in 9 cases out of 10. Keep him in that room for a few weeks after he has been neutered to give his hormones chance to settle down. If he is still spraying after that there are other things you can try.