Constant meowing and yowling

[Musiaka]

i moved countries together with my cat. Before moving, we lived in a house where had the possibility to go outside whenever he wanted to (except at night, would never leave him outside). Musiaka is castrated male cat, but he doesn't act like one - he used to be extremely territorial, getting into fights with other cats and foxes (!), marking territory, getting very nervous hearing a cat meow on youtube and stuff.

Now he lives with my mom in a 2 bedrooms apt. At first it went fine with him meowing in the mornings for a while and an occasional door scratching. I told my mom to not take him out at any cost, but she didn't listen and once took him out on a leash. That's when hell broke lose.

Now all he does is going around and meowing with a nasty voice every waking minute, unless you distract him. He doesn't mark anything the apt, just screams and goes around restlessly, until it's time to sleep. He eats and poops well, comes to be next to you when he's taking a nap, plays very energetically with jumps into the air so I doubt he is in pain. He doesn't even vomit as much and he used to be a frequent vomiter eating grass all the time. But the meowing and yowling is driving my mom crazy. I cannot take him with me due to my current landlord forbidding animals and im still on a lease until next February.

We suspect he might be in heat, or feeling territorial - probably smelled some cat pee outside. The outside cats are screaming in a similar manner right now, we heard. Is there a way to make him stop meowing all the time? Or is the only option to give away to someone who has a house?

 

[di and bob]

It's possible the other cats yowling are upsetting him and making him anxious to get outside. If he has strong territorial instincts, (even though he is neutered) he will fight other cats to claim his 'turf'. I wouldn't let him roam anymore either, there are just too many dangers out there. Cats absolutely hate change, it will take many months for him to get used to not going out. Distraction is great if you can find some toys or cat trees that may interest him. If your mom is able, taking him out daily on a leash may help him accept that he will not get out anymore. Just caution her to make sure she doesn't go far, if he is scared by a dog, etc. and would happen to get loose it would be far better to be near home. and that can happen, the only harness that worked for me was a figure 8 one that tightened upon pulling. Otherwise, my little Houdini just turned around backwards and pulled herself loose.

 

[Musiaka]

We won't be taking him out anymore. 15 min after he's back he wants to go again and my mom can't go that often. He goes absolutely nuts then.
I am thinking maybe some valerian could maybe calm him down? Or catnip? He is going from one part of the room to another meowing and if you try letting him lead you he will take you to his bowls even though he's not hungry

 

[di and bob]

The best thing to do then is to completely ignore him. I know that's hard, but even yelling at him gives him attention, and that's what he wants. It may take several weeks, but eventually he'll stop. Ask the vet for Prozac or try those calming aide treats on Amazon, those helped my cats for bet visits.