Trouble With New Garden

[meimipop]

Hi everybody, I need advice regarding one of my cats, Gatsby.

About two months ago we moved into a ground floor flat with a huge garden. He´s always been an indoor cat with access to a balcony in all our previous homes. I only let him out supervised because we don´t have a cat flap (can´t install one either) and the fence is not 100% cat proofed yet.
When he´s inside he cries at the door all the time, until he gives up and settles for a nap. Sometimes he´ll get so stressed wanting to go out that he´ll have cystitis-like symptoms and try to pee without having anything to pass. He´s also lost interest in playing when he´s inside and in the canned food he used to love, thankfully he´s still sleeping all night.

I currently let him out around 30-40 minutes every evening and about 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon on weekends. I have tried waiting until he asks to be let back in, and having him wait outside. But as soon as he gets back in he starts again with the crying unless he falls asleep. I am not sure longer time outside is making him better or worse, as he will sometimes get too excited when outside. He´s sometimes seen a neighbours cat outside through the door too.

I have tried pet remedy which seemed to make him more agitated and Zylkene which seemed to improve his stress a bit, and he´s now on Cystease to prevent a full-blown cystitis bout.

Does anyone has any tips for making the transition smoother? Will he eventually lose interest and settle for a routine? I am not sure what to do anymore.

 

[abyeb]

I think an important thing to do is make the indoors appealing for Gatsby. Here’s an article that gives some tips on how to do that: Beating Boredom - What Indoor Cat Owners Need To Know

Playtime is important too, to keep indoor cats stimulated: Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

I hope this helps some!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

The naighbor's cat may be at the root of this issue, as well. Your cat is still becoming used to new territory, and is feeling insecure. He is trying to protect this new, uncertain area, and making himself a bit loopy doing it. Poor baby. I'm trying to think of some way of keeping the neighbor's cat away while still allowing him to make his trips out, but I'm stumped just now. I sometimes suggest spraying citrus oil around the perimeter of a garden, as it is toxic to cats and they instinctively avoid it, but if this is a shared garden, that might not work so well. If it is for your use only, it is certainly worth trying. Mix the citrus oil with water and spray around the edges of the garden daily, especially after rain.

 

[meimipop]

Thanks for your replies. We are temporarily keeping him indoors and he seems to be slightly better. Will put up netting on top of the fence to try and stop other cats from coming in and try again in a few months. I took him to the vet but they really didn´t have any useful advice, they´ve given me nutracalm to try but I´m not too hopeful after having tried all other natural remedies.