I Started Taking My Cat For Walks On Leash And Now He Meows Incessantly To Go Out Is There A Way To Get Him To Tone Down The Meowing Or Am I Stuck Taking Him For A Walk Every Time He Asks
First of all, bravo for providing an activity your cat relishes! Leashed outings are an excellent way for friendly, relaxed felines to explore the outside world in a safe, protected manner. Walks offer enrichment and exercise, and give your cat a chance to experience interesting sights and intriguing smells.
Any sudden change in behavior warrants a call to the vet to rule out medical issues before assuming the problem is behavioral. Once your cat has a clean bill of health, though, you can begin working with him on changing his behavior.
By making a few simple changes to your cats routine and his environment, you can keep him busier at home and help put a stop to the meowing.
Make Sure Your Cat’s Indoor Environment Is Exciting
You can’t expect your cat to be content staying mostly or entirely inside if the environment there is boring for him. Make sure there are plenty of enriching activities available for him to engage in. Here are some ideas:
- Use puzzle toys to keep your cat busy.
- Break your cat’s daily food ration into multiple sections and hide them around the house for him to “hunt.”
- Add a variety of scratching posts, pads, trees, and angles to your cat’s indoor environment. Make sure at least some of these provide high points from which your cat can watch what goes on below or outside, which is a favorite stress-relieving pastime of cats.
- Provide routinely.
- Play with your cat daily using an interactive toy like a wand to help him practice his predator moves and keep him mentally sharp and happy. Wand toys should only be brought out when you can supervise your cat because they usually have string or wire that could entangle limbs or strangle a cat if he gets caught up in it.
- Rotate toys, so your cat doesn’t get bored.
Tips For Letting Your Cat Outside For The First Time
Discover 3 ways to keep your house cat happy and help her make a smooth and safe transition to outdoor life! Donât miss out the 5 tips!
Are you ready to start letting your cat outside, but dont know the best way to do so? Look no further below, well go over the best ways to get your indoor cat used to going outside. While youre here, you might also want to check out our 10 tips for keeping outdoor cats safe.
Are you a new cat parent? Then take time to train your kitty from the start. No idea where to start? Here are a few tips:
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Why Do Cats Run Away:
Relocating to a new area: It is very common for cats to run away when you relocate to a new house. Your cat may be exploring the new year, or possibly trying to find its old environment.
Neighbor feeding your cat: This occurs often in close proximity neighborhoods. Your neighbor may be regularly giving your cat snacks or treats, which explains why they form a habit of venturing there.
Mistaken as a stray: If your cat manages to lose its collar, someone may pick it up thinking it does not have an owner. This could be a neighbor or animal control.
Four Tips For Working With Your Noisy Cat
If your cat is meowing all of the time and just won’t stop, there are a few things you can do to try to get them to quiet down a bit:
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How To Keep My Cat In My Garden
This is another common question I am asked. Unfortunately this is less easy to do, if not impossible.
Of course if you have the resources and the space you can enclose your entire garden using over head netting. But this can be expensive. You can also build a large enclosure which allows your cat lots of space to wander but confines them. Again this can be expensive.
You can of course make your garden more appealing to your cat by providing shady places for them to sleep. A fresh water supply and areas to explore, such as dense planting or makeshift tunnels and hiding places. My cats love to look for bugs and mice under pots and around a rockery.
Make sure your garden is safe too. Read my page about possible dangers in the garden.
Reasons You Might Let Your Cat Out And Why Not To
This post was originally published on the Petfinder blog.
When I worked with the MSPCA in Boston, every day Id hear from guilt-ridden pet parents about the awful things that happened to their cats when they went outside they were hit by cars, attacked by predators, infected with diseases or they just disappeared.
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But many people still let their cats outdoors often with misplaced good intentions. Here are some of the most common reasons people let their cats outside, and safer, indoor alternatives.
Myth 1: Indoor cats get bored.
Fact: The truth is, indoor cats can and do get bored, but letting them outside is not a good solution.
Instead, make your home more interesting: Set up perches where he can watch birds from the safety of inside, build a DIY cat playhouse, hide his food or modify his feeder so he has to hunt for it. Finally, if your cat is amenable to it, you might consider adopting a second cat as a playmate.
Myth 2: Indoor cats are overweight.
Fact: If your cat is overweight, the safest way to help her trim down is by combining portion control and a daily exercise and play routine.
Stop free-feeding your cat, or at least be mindful only to feed a healthy amount per day.
Cats love a schedule. Try feeding him at the same times each day and hell get used to the routine quickly.
Myth 3: Indoor cats are destructive.
Myth 4: My cats always been allowed outside, so he cant be indoor-only.
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The First Thing I Would Try Is Distraction
Use a toy that your cat is highly motivated to play with . If hes meowing at the door -or better yet, if you can tell hes heading over there- proactively distract him with a toy and then play with him until he is tired out! This may take awhile because younger cats have LOTS of energy. To stop that pesky night time meowing it might be better to start playtime earlier in the evening to tire your cat out while you still have energy yourself! Indoor cats in particular need to spend time each day interactively playing to use up the energy they would have expended hunting if they were feral.
Make The Escape Route Unpleasant
Encourage your cat to stay away from danger zones with a few basic training techniques. Any time you see the cat lounging near the doorway, use an interruption such as a loud “SSST!” or clapped hands to shoo it away.
The idea is to make the doorway area unappealing so that kitty avoids it and offer a more rewarding pastime.
Many cats dislike the feeling and sound of walking on aluminum foil, so place a couple of sheets over the walkway if possible.
Another option is to apply Sticky Paws to make the surface uncomfortable. Put the Sticky Paws on placemats positioned on the forbidden area so it’s easily removed. You can also use clear plastic floor mats placed spike-side up so the cat will avoid the area.
SSSCat is a cat repellent that has a built-in motion detector. When your cat approaches, the device sprays a hiss of air to startle the animal, who will likely retreat. You don’t have to be present or near the product for it to work.
You may also use smell deterrents to keep the cat away from forbidden doorway zones. Cats dislike citrus smells, so orange or lemon scents sprayed at the bottom of the door may help.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
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Spend Time Teaching Your Cat Tricks
Cats enjoy plenty of interaction from their owners, and many of them love learning tricks. This can be a good way to keep them mentally and physically challenged, which may reduce their desire to go outside. Positive reinforcement using a clicker and rewards like treats is a great way to train your cat. You can teach them all sorts of fun tricks, including to roll over, to come when called, to jump into their cat carrier, and more!
Why Do Cats Meow
Nothing is more irritating than a cat that meows all of the time. Cats meow for a variety of reasons, and it all comes down to one thing: attention. You just have to work out what kind of attention they are seeking. Sometimes, it’s easy to tell what your cat wants. If a cat meows at its food dish, it wants food. If it meows at the door, it wants to come in or go out. Sometimes, they just seem to cry for no reason at all.
Cats only seem to meow a lot when they are around humans. They don’t appear to meow at each other very much when they are alone. It appears to be a learned response to living with us. Always remember that a cat will sometimes cry when they are in pain, scared, or angry.
You will soon learn to interpret the different sounds that your cat makes. A cry of pain is much different from the meow of a cat that wants you to stroke or play with them. Different cats have different personalities and different vocalizations. You know your cat better than anyone.
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Install An Outdoor Cat Enclosure
If you take your indoor cat for a walk on a harness and leash, but you notice that they seem to want to go outside more often than you can accommodate, consider installing an outdoor cat enclosure with easy access from the house. There are plenty of designs out there, or you can even build your own to suit your exact requirements. Make sure your cat can access their enclosure from a window, or install a cat flap and teach your cat how to use it. This way, your cat can have constant access to the outdoors in a safe environment. There will be no more meowing at the door!
Featured Image Credit: Mabel Amber, Pixabay
Contents Overview
Why Do Indoor Cats Run Away:
Here are the main reasons indoor cats run away:
Reproduction: When cats go into heat, they will do just about anything to satisfy their desires. This may include venturing out into unknown territory farther away from your house in order to find another feline that is in heat. This could cause your cat to be gone for several days. Additionally, some female cats might venture away from home when they are about to go into labor.
Claiming territory: As you are probably aware, cats are very territorial. It is possible that your cats claimed territory encompasses an area that extends past your house and yard. This may include your neighbors yards or even extend to nearby streets. On the other end, it is possible another cat has claimed the area around your house, and your cat feels threatened and runs away as a result.
Hunting: Cats are descendants of wildcats, which are natural born hunters. Although cats are now domesticated, they still possess a hunting instinct. As a result, it is common for cats to hunt all sorts of animals including birds, mice rats, moles, and even rabbits. If your cat is having trouble finding pray in close vicinity to your home, it might venture out to other areas to satisfy its instinct.
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Tips To Keep Your Cat Happy Indoors
It’s a myth that going outside is a requirement for feline happiness. Playing regularly with a cat and providing their entertaining toys can easily satisfy their stalking instinct, keep them stimulated and provide the exercise they need to stay healthy and happy. It also keeps local wildlife safe!
With the cold weather upon us, here are some tips for making the great indoors an interesting, feline-friendly environment that meets all of your cat’s needs.
The Call Of The Great Outdoors And Your Cat
Many cats will want to go out especially once they have experienced a taste of outdoor freedom, while other cats may be timid and downright wary of venturing into an unknown environment full of unfamiliar sensory experiences. Having said this, cats tend to be curious, and are natural explorers. Cats are easily intrigued and stimulated by the myriad fascinating sights, sounds, tastes, textures and smells they may encounter outside including insects, the play of light and shadow, rodents, birds, and plants, to name a few. So if your cat seems interested in venturing out, or waits longingly at the door, it is worth considering some of the potential advantages and disadvantages of the outdoor life.
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How To Stop Your Cat From Waking You Up In The Morning
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If your cat insists on waking you up at 4 a.m. every day its probably because they tricked you at some point in the past and then kept tricking you because you were so easily tricked.
Congratulations, you have been outsmarted by an animal that comes up to your shins and poops in a box in the corner.
The good news is that youre not alone. Cats are wily creatures who are excellent at training their people to do what they want e.g., annoying them in the morning for food and attention. The better news is that you can recondition your cat to stop waking you up before the sun rises or raising hell at night while youre trying to sleep.
Things Which Could Make Your Cat Choose To Find A New Home
- Change of home circumstances i.e. A new baby in the home – This is often a stressful situation for any cat. Your cat will encounter strange noises, smells, a change of routine and above all less attention from their owners.
- Routine Changes – Sometimes work commitments can make it difficult for you to be at home at the usual time of feeding etc. Cats like routine and this can cause them to seek out another home where they can get attention and food at regular times.
- Other Animals – Cats are generally loners and do not like living with lots of other cats / other pets in the home. Siblings can get along fairly well together but if there are more than two other cats in the home, things can get tense and rivalry can cause a cat to decide to find other accommodation
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Give Yourself Peace Of Mind & Extra Security
Your new kitten is your bundle of joy, so dont take any chances if you do let them roam free outside. While they are young, or new to your family, cats may behave unpredictably. Luckily, with the help of the Tractive GPS cat tracker, your cats unpredictable behavior will be no match for you- with the latest pet technology in your pocket. Just attach the tracker to kittys collar, and open the app to check on your cats whereabouts anytime.
Did you know: With the power of their senses, cats always find their home. Some cats were even able to find their way home years after they got lost.
Whether youâre letting your cat outside, roam freely through the neighbourhood, or you prefer to keep your cat indoors, providing them with a good and comfortable life while also ensuring safety is the best way to go.