Frustrated I Can't Give My Cat His Best (outdoor) Life

[cheeseburger]

We have two cats, both prior strays. One loves their lot as an indoor cat and despises the outside. But the other...the other yearns for it.

We live in an area that has a very high coyote, owl and falcon population. Cats and small dogs disappear every day. A coyote climbed our neighbor's 7' fence two weeks ago into their backyard and gutted their goldendoodle. So unsupervised outdoor access is not an option.

Our cat is clearly unhappy indoors however. He tries to make a break for it outside whenever he can. When he succeeds in his jailbreak (even if we catch him in a matter of seconds), he'll spend the next few weeks meowling loudly at the door and refusing to play. He's screaming at the front door right now.

We have tried walking him. He absolutely LOVES it, but he loves it so much it introduces three problems. The first problem is that he refuses to come home. He will scratch and bite and act like we're killing him when we try to bring him back into the house. The second problem is that he does everything he can to slip the leash. The third problem is that once he's back in the house, even when he's on a walking schedule, he will yowl at the door and act depressed until it's time to walk again. So we've discontinued walks for the last few months.

We are considering building a large catio for him that is secure from coyotes. But we have a big mesh tent I've tried putting him in in the backyard (6' ceilings) and all he did was try to claw the walls and escape the entire time. I'm concerned that the catio will be just one more expensive 'cage' for him that he doesn't enjoy.

He has a tremendous amount of indoor stimulation and endless toys/play time/bird watching options. He gets bored so quickly. Getting him a friend has helped a little but not as much as we'd hoped.

I feel guilt as a pet owner that I can't give him the life that he clearly wants and that it seems to be robbing his enjoyment of everything else he could enjoy as a cat.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

 

[FeebysOwner]

If it were me, I would try the catio, but make sure you add climbing perches/cat trees to help him entertain himself while in the catio. If possible, it might help to have the catio accessible to the house through a window/door/cat flap that locks, so you could allow him to come and go to/from the house/catio, when you feel it is safe to do so.

Also, take a look at this TCS article in case there are some ideas in it that you haven't tried yet to help with his boredom.

Bored Cat? What Cat Owners Need To Know (including 10 Actionable Tips)

 

[cheeseburger]

I'm home all day, the cats get >90 minutes of active play a day, have every toy imaginable, a fully cattified house and multiple window bird feeders that are kept stocked with seed.

I'm willing to try the catio but I'm worried we are going to spend 2-3k on something that doesn't do anything to solve the problem. He'll just go out there and try to meow or escape all day.

 

[KarenKat]

I just posted about my first and last walk with Olive - she also will yell and meow to try and get back out. It makes her very unsatisfied to be indoors if she has any outdoor time at all. Going cold turkey on the outside has helped a lot, and generally she forgets about it and is happy and content again. Sounds like you have an even worse case.

I don’t have any advice, but I completely relate to you feeling bad for not allowing outdoor time. I think you are doing the right thing, but it can be heartbreaking to see them yearn for something you have to deny due to safety. I hope you can find a middle ground!

 

[rubysmama]

I feel guilt as a pet owner that I can't give him the life that he clearly wants and that it seems to be robbing his enjoyment of everything else he could enjoy as a cat.

Here's some TCS articles that might have some tips for you. And, please, don't feel guilty, as you are keeping him safe from outside harm.

How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats)
How To Prevent Your Cat From Darting Out The Door | TheCatSite
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside | TheCatSite

 

[Luc]

Maybe if you read again your original post you'll see that you already answered your own question. You wrote in capital letters that your cat LOVES to go out on a leash. What else do you need ?

Here are my 2 cents.

I have 2 cats and live in an area with only a few dangers so I let my cats out. We live on the second floor but I trained my cats to go out every day by themselves or together. At first always with a leash but not anymore.

I have been to some shelters and animal rescue places where the cats never ever get outside and they seem to be under a sad spell.

A happy cat eats sleeps grooms and hunts. It broke my heart keeping my cats inside an apartment ( even though it has a decent size ) for the rest of their life.

Walking out with your cat on a leash is not only the safest compromise but it is cheap. Try to go out before he eats have a clicker and some treats. Maybe you'll be able to lure him back to the house with the treats before you feed him.

Even if he fights before going back eventually he will learn that that the next day he gets to go out again so his stress and fights should be less frequent.

On Amazon you'll find some excellent leashes and holsters one of them is called kitty holster.

Make a habit to go out every day, once a day is enough, but always go out around your house so the cat learns his surroundings. Better yet try to let him lead where to go once you get out of the door.

My cats are chipped and sterilized both male and female have an elastic collar with a tag just in case. They are given pipettes against fleas during the summer. I let them out only after they eat ( so they do not go looking for food ) I let them out during the day or even at night because their vision is better and there are less people, dogs and cars and noises and yet I know that every time they go out something might happen. The male is 8 and the female is 5 until now ( I cross fingers ) nothing bad ever happened.

In the house there is literally zero entertainment for them since it is not needed. I had it before but after going out they do not care at all about toys.

When they go in the garden they like to ambush each other, chase birds and lizards and everything that moves. They like to hide, eat grass, dig holes and climb on trees ( at my expenses since at times I worry ). Other times they just sit or nap under the sun for a while and do not really go anywhere at all. Both cats are balanced and happy and to me this is priceless and totally worth it.

You'll need to be patient unlike dogs when on a leash cats do a lot of standing and observing but they love to smell everything it is like reading a newspaper for them on what happened but rest assured that your cat will be very happy.

The catio is the next best thing, but in my opinion if you take 10- 15 min a day to walk your cat is the best of both worlds and you can watch your cat at all times.

Let us know what you decide :-)

 

[Luc]

 

[MissClouseau]

We are considering building a large catio for him that is secure from coyotes. But we have a big mesh tent I've tried putting him in in the backyard (6' ceilings) and all he did was try to claw the walls and escape the entire time. I'm concerned that the catio will be just one more expensive 'cage' for him that he doesn't enjoy.

How big is your yard? Is it possible to secure the entire yard which would be a bigger space than a catio? If you are the homeowner that would be good for security for you guys too.

My own cat who also grew up as a stray is also "outdoor or else" kind of cat and the truth is some cats just don't accept another way. So if nothing works don't feel like you failed. We are trying to do the best for them and living in an area with coyotes and stuff I'm not sure if your cat would still want to go out if he knew the dangers you do.

My suggestion will be try to make the catio and preferably a room in the house as "outdoor" possible. Meaning non-toxic house plants, one near the cat tree to feel like a real tree, maybe a water fountain, and maybe the window's net can be open enough to have flies (to hunt) unless there are dangerous mosquitos there too or different toys that move on their own like mouse toys, so he can try to find something and hunt in there.

And continue walks I'll say. I think minimum 30 minutes each time, one in the am, another in the pm is a good schedule to start with.

 

[chunkykitty]

We have a catio (a chicken coop we purchased on Amazon) connected to a cat door in our window. We created a short ramp that is enclosed in chicken wire so they have no means of escape. It has several levels and I sewed up a couple of "hammocks" from some sunbrella fabric.

It was well worth the effort. The cats love it, they can come in and out as they please and I am not living in fear for their lives.

 

[Dacatchair]

I have a similar problem. I live with 2 purebred neutered male Savannah cats, a 2 year old SBT F7 and and 1 year old F6. The F7 spent a couple hours a day out in the yard on a leash when he was younger, and now, even if he is out a couple hours a day, after we come back in, he gets totally frantic and obsesses about going back out for the rest of the day and night and into the next day. The F6 has only been out a few times, and enjoys being out, but as I only take him out once a month for an hour, he hasn’t seemed to have gotten attached like my F7, and he seems happy enough with his captive lifestyle. Unless he sees the F7 out with me when he is left behind indoors. Then he begins to howl...

They have a super enriched living space... I am here interacting with them 24/7 and they get at least an hour of focused play time a day, plus they have each other, various boxes, packing paper, a ripple rug, a whole series of indoor shelves and climbing spaces plus about 1000 square feet of enclosed outdoor porches, walkways and natural outdoor areas with grass, ferns trees to climb, and the occasional mouse that wanders through. Adding onto this and creating more outdoor space has only helped for a brief time, and then my F7 is back to wanting out. Part of the problem is we have a lot of non indigenous rodents here, (I live on an island with no predators) and as he has managed to catch quite a few in the enclosed areas, he knows what he is missing just out of reach.

I tried not taking him out on a leash at all for a month, and the obvious behaviour he uses to let me know he wants out diminishes, but watching him, it is obvious he still very much wants out. After a month of no leash time, taking him for a walk on a trail that starts a ways away from the yard, and carrying him there in a cat backpack, seemed to work better and he was not frantic to get back out, like he gets when I spend time with him on a leash in the yard. So leash walks away from the yard maybe be a compromise. But he still wants out a lot of each day...

It is really hard seeing him unhappy....

Unlike the area Cheeseburger lives in, free roaming cats in my area almost always live long happy healthy lives and die of old age, so it is harder to justify keeping him in, but there is a few reasons this might be best for him, so I continue to try and figure out a solution...

I think if I was in Cheeseburger’s situation I might try and find a safer home for a free roaming outdoor cat... though I know that could be next to impossible in many areas. But given my own experience, I don’t think it is true that all cats can be perfectly happy indoors if they have a catio and leash walks.

 

[SDerailed]

I had the same problem with my previous outdoor kitty. Catio didn't fix it, but it is SO much better now. Now when he is yowling at the door to go out, I just redirect him to the catio. He spends most of his time out there, but if he's happy, I'm happy!
(He didn't do well on the leash, and had a full on PTSD episode that left me chasing a reverted feral around the neighborhood. So, that was NOT an option for us)