Keeping The Cat Indoors More - Constant Moaning

SteveJohn

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Hi so we usually let our cat out in the mornings and left out all day but over the last couple of months she has got into fights and one time got a really bad infection which the vet sorted. We decided to let her out a couple of hours and then when she comes in for food we now keep her in. She has toys etc but her behaviour is slightly erratic like biting her tail and moaning constantly to go out.

Any suggestions I wouldn’t like to keep her indoors constantly I’d like her to have a bit of time playing and basically doing what cats do.
 

Lisannez

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We have this problem with our cat as well, although not as extreme. She always enjoyed being outside (she's 12) but since we moved from a condo with no outdoor area to a home she's gone crazy for being outside. We do not let her out unless she is on a leash or our back porch under supervision. We let her out at least once a day for 30 minutes (or walk her) and on days we are home from work, we let her out more. However, due to the incessant meowing to go out we are considering not letting her out at all. We looked into constructing a catio, but while we save the money for that, for our own sanity we are considering leaving her inside only. She cries incessantly, worse than any cry I have ever heard from her (even for food). It starts usually at 4:00 am and is on and off until we wake, and then if we are home she is meowing I would say 80% of the time to be outside. Some have suggested that we put her out and then dump a bucket of water on her head, or put her out when it's raining so she associates something negative with it, but we have not done that yet. Your cat is going to be even harder since she was used to wandering free outside for so long. I do think that she will eventually adjust to being indoors, but unfortunately in your case it may be all or nothing. Unless you are able to construct a catio so she can go outside safely on her own, letting her outside for even five minutes a day makes the problem worse. As humans I think we think we are doing a good thing by giving them sometime outside rather than none. But what it does for the cat is allows the cat to know and recall what she is missing, and so she is going to ask for it for a long time. If you don't let her out, eventually she will forget about going out (or most cats do). Otherwise you are likely going to have to tolerate her behavior. And I can tell you our cat is beyond annoying. She annoys guests to and does anything she can to try to get outside. Every cat is different. Our ragdoll has never wanted to go outside, she's the same age.
 

MissClouseau

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If possible where you live, a catio might help.

If she used to spend all day outside then she also slept outside. That seems like something you are more likely to compromise on, to have her sleep inside. Get a new bed or area by the window where she can see outside, make the bed really comfy, and direct her to that after food. (They usually sleep after eating you know.)

My cat goes outside too and usually it's for shorter times 2-3 times a day. Similar with the cats of my relatives'. If you can arrange it, some time like an hour outside in the morning, and then another hour in the evening might help more than couple hours in the morning. If you can see her from the window you could perhaps make her come in with a treat you only give when she comes in. When mine gets stubborn no treat works better than a piece of boiled chicken.
 

di and bob

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It is not worth it to let them roam, I have so many little graves to back up this statement......You always think it won't happen to YOUR street wise little one, until it is too late. I also have to deal with all the abscesses and wounds my ferals bring on, it's heartbreaking and expensive.
Definitely look onto attaching a catico against an open window in your house, or look into getting a 'chicken coop' that are so popular and available now. She could be outside and even climb around in one of those.
I know how unnerving these constant cries and signs of unhappiness are, but like with a toddler you have to think of safety first and not to give in. Do what is best for her. It will lessen in time but it may take a long time, like a year. Do not use physical punishment, cats do not respond to it like dogs and humans. It only will make her afraid of you and even more desperate to escape, making her sneaky. I wish you well, all of my cats are inside cats now, I have got them down to 15 minutes of outside time in a fenced yard with supervision a day now. Winter time brings little interest to going out and a welcome break. I hope I have found my last cat on the street, but know that is impossible with all the strays and ferals I take care of, which has dropped dramatically in the last few years, and not through good ways. All the luck!
 

MissClouseau

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It is not worth it to let them roam, I have so many little graves to back up this statement
I know you mean well but everyone knows the risks of outside for cats or humans for that matter. It is an unnecessary anxiety-trigger to tell someone their cat might get sick or die outside although it has a point just like it is an unnecessary anxiety-trigger to tell someone their relative might catch a disease, get harassed, have an accident outside althought that would have a point too.

My 2 cents as someone whose cat goes outside, and have anxiety disorder. :-)
 

Maria Bayote

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One of my cats, used to look and sound so anguished being kept strictly indoors, as I rescued her off of the street and she was used to live outdoors. She would yowl, scratch the doors and windows, swat my face, anything that would make me give in to her. There were instances that she escaped, leaving me or my husband chasing after her. One time she disappeared, and I thanked all the angels in heaven I managed to see and catch her near our apartment. It took months before she finally adjusted to life being strictly indoors, and be content at her mini catio by the window.

If you still wish her to enjoy the outdoors you can do so by putting her on a leash, or as suggested, place in a catio. For her safety, you just have to ignore her constant moaning to be out unsupervised. The thing is, she knows that when she "moans", she can have her way.
 

di and bob

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I am not trying to raise anyone's anxiety, I am stating fact and from experience. It is just a matter of time before a cat that goes outdoors unsupervised gets ran over, mauled by dogs, in a fight and gets injuries and abscesses, or some other unforeseen tragedy. I have had over 60 cats in my 60 plus years of enjoying them and have yet to see one come through unscathed in 10 plus years of life. My Burt lived to be 16,m but was in twice for abscess surgery, and went through the fan on a car engine. He survived but at much expence and anguish. I have PTSD from watching my soulmate, Chrissy, die before my eyes. I still suffer 7 years later from anxiety.
I, too, have had cats, especially my beloved Casper, who absolutely refused to be kept indoors, even after literally years of trying. He was 12 when he met his fate on the road. Once again, I warn every one who leaves a cat outside, iT'S NOT WORTH THE HEARTACHE! If my experiences and advise save one little life it is worth it. You have to learn to control anxiety, not avoid it......
 

MissClouseau

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I am not trying to raise anyone's anxiety, I am stating fact and from experience. It is just a matter of time before a cat that goes outdoors unsupervised gets ran over, mauled by dogs, in a fight and gets injuries and abscesses, or some other unforeseen tragedy. I have had over 60 cats in my 60 plus years of enjoying them and have yet to see one come through unscathed in 10 plus years of life. My Burt lived to be 16,m but was in twice for abscess surgery, and went through the fan on a car engine. He survived but at much expence and anguish. I have PTSD from watching my soulmate, Chrissy, die before my eyes. I still suffer 7 years later from anxiety.
I, too, have had cats, especially my beloved Casper, who absolutely refused to be kept indoors, even after literally years of trying. He was 12 when he met his fate on the road. Once again, I warn every one who leaves a cat outside, iT'S NOT WORTH THE HEARTACHE! If my experiences and advise save one little life it is worth it. You have to learn to control anxiety, not avoid it......
We don’t all live where you live. Sounds like you live in a super dangerous place for cats. Millions of cats in the world roams outside daily and not live shorter than indoor cats.

Besides as I said there are far more dangers for us humans outside yet we all go out. I understand you prefer indoors. I just find it inappropriate to give nightmare scenarios. It’s honestly like, to me, telling a parent “your daughter will get harassed outside probably statistically, and she might get hit by a car, and catch plenty of diseases, there are kidnappers and...” know what I mean?
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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... Millions of cats in the world roams outside daily and not live shorter than indoor cats.

Besides as I said there are far more dangers for us humans outside yet we all go out. I understand you prefer indoors. I just find it inappropriate to give nightmare scenarios. ...
:hugs:

The OP has already had issues with the cat being outside,
... over the last couple of months she has got into fights and one time got a really bad infection which the vet sorted. ...

so at least it's a step towards alleviating that, by bringing the cat in more. :hugs:

Catios work really great for many indoor-only cats. They provide safety for the cat. A lot of scenarios described aren't "nightmare" scenarios, they just happen in places with a lot of free-roaming animals and people. That's pretty much a slight majority of places.
 

sargon

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We don’t all live where you live. Sounds like you live in a super dangerous place for cats. Millions of cats in the world roams outside daily and not live shorter than indoor cats.

Besides as I said there are far more dangers for us humans outside yet we all go out. I understand you prefer indoors. I just find it inappropriate to give nightmare scenarios. It’s honestly like, to me, telling a parent “your daughter will get harassed outside probably statistically, and she might get hit by a car, and catch plenty of diseases, there are kidnappers and...” know what I mean?
There are some advantages to letting a cat out, enough that reasonable people who love cats may disagree on whether or not to let cats out, but there are a lot of risks involved, and implying otherwise may cause people to make uninformed and bad decisions regarding the subject.

To name a few reasons why you may want to consider keeping your cats indoors:
Outdoor cats are usually killed by cars. Many also end up fighting with other cats and animals outside, which can cause them to get infections, communicable diseases, parasites etc. (and some of the things they can contract can be transmitted to humans.) Also, cats aren't really part of the ecosystem in most places, so unless you are from North Africa, they can also damage wildlife.

For me, keeping my cats indoors is the obvious choice, but I know some other people feel differently, just please don't let cats outside unsupervised, without really considering the risks.
 

MissClouseau

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Outdoor cats are usually killed by cars. Many also end up fighting with other cats and animals outside, which can cause them to get infections, communicable diseases, parasites etc. (and some of the things they can contract can be transmitted to humans.)
Who DOESN’T know these though? Who couldn’t even guess any creature is more likely to get hit by a car and catch something from another cat outside where there are cats and cars? I again don’t see any reason at all to list these but it’s just unnecessary anxiety trigger like “We are all going to die”, “Your plane or car might crash you know.”, “You might catch the flu from a human and it might turn into pneumonia sure wanna go to the coffee shop?”

Also, cats aren't really part of the ecosystem in most places, so unless you are from North Africa, they can also damage wildlife.
Nor are humans. Or most dog breeds. We all go outside. It’s kind of only in the USA this is a common explanation to have totally different rules for cats. Humans cause far more damage to wildlife than a tabby cat ever can.
 

sargon

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. It’s kind of only in the USA this is a common explanation to have totally different rules for cats.
Oh, you're from Turkey! That explains a lot. Cats on the streets here face a much different and harsher reality.

In the US, cats getting hit by cars is a much more common occurrence than it is in a lot of other countries. Likewise, we have a lot more wildlife that can be either a danger to or in danger from cats here than in, say, Europe. Culture impacts it, too. I suspect that it is pretty rare for people to kill and torture cats for fun in your country, whereas in the US it is all too common (That is how the last cat I ever let outside died, in fact.)

So, we're a very different place with different realities, and that's a lot of why we feel so differently on the subject; because the long term outcomes for outdoor cats in the US really are that darned awful.
 

walli

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Yes here in the US we have coyotes too, I have lost one of my Street Ferals
and my friend has 8 Ferals missing!!!
 
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SteveJohn

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Just wanna say a big thanks to everyone who has replied to this. I would say that when she is outside out anxiety does go up and I think that’s also because we have spoiled her and had to put our 17 year old cat down a couple of years ago.

We can’t cope the her moaning constantly I had to let her out this morning at 5am and she didn’t come in again until 3 pm in this time she caught a bird and a mouse. We got he an extra loud bell to try help wildlife spot her and it has helped with birds.

I may look into a catio so at least she can feel outdoors.

She is actually moaning as I speak and goes to the back door and is now sitting in the bathtub!!!
 
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