Cat wants to go outside at all hours of the day

bageater58

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Hey, all,
I recently adopted a roughly 9 year old cat who was a stray in my neighbourhood, so it is to be expected that he wants to go outside. It's what he's used to.
However, my problem is that he goes out for hours at a time, sometimes the whole day. He is neutered and up to date on all his vaccines. And I'm just scared for him because there are other cats outside too that he could get into fights with. I just want him to live a healthy life without worry of what he's up to or the danger he could be in outside. Of course he's happy out there but I just want him to be safe.

When we first got him back from the shelter, we tried to keep him inside and that lasted about 3 days before we gave in. He would scream for hours to be let out and would scratch at the door and he just looked miserable. I lost many hours of sleep over it. I would be willing to try cutting him cold turkey again if I was certain he would be able to adjust and learn to love the indoors.

I just want him to be happy, but I feel leash training would not be something that would be possible, because he wants to be out for like 8 hours at a time and I simply cannot commit to that. That is unless I would be able to cut down the amount of hours he is outside.

I am renting a basement so i cannot really make a catio either unfortunately.

Any advice? I'd greatly appreciate it.
 

solomonar

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My tomcat used to spend 1 hour a day in lesh. I was very happy about that, because walking a cat is an unbelievable experience for me.
Totally different to walking a dog.
Then the winter came and I could not keep walking him. Next summer I was very busy and again - no time to walk him.

After ceasing to walk him, he still wanted to go outside - he even attempted to turn the keys to open the door! I didn't believe my eyes.
For more than 6 months he kept meowing at the entrance door for 20-30 minutes or more.

Now I am considering to walk him again. There are 2 problems with this:
a) the collar should be specific for cats, very strong and on a special design - cats are Houdinies :-)
b) I must respect the same hours each day, which is difficult for me.

But I will never ever leave him alone outdoor - streets are very dangerous.
 
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bageater58

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Is there something outside at night?
As far as I know, no. There are cats outside at night though. I'm not sure if thats the reason he wants to go out, it seems that he just likes the outdoors
 

maggie101

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If my cats see another cat outside, they bang on the door. I assume your cat is fixed? Does he have things to entertain him like a cat tower or chew toys? He could be lonely. Can he sleep with you? Even music might help. I have rescued strays and it did take a few days to adjust
 
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