Cat lovers, please help! Any way to stop mine from constantly caterwauling?
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Austinlad (
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January 21st, 2010
My indoor car, a Siamese, got out one day recently and enjoyed three hours in the sunshine and bermuda grass. No worse for wear, but ever since he spends all his time (except when eating) sitting at the door or in the window sill making sounds that are causing my fillings to fall out. Any suggestions? You could be sparing a very nice little cat from being thrown out of the house permanently. ;-)
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38 Answers
Why not let him out? My cat hates being indoors and does the same kind of thing when he feels trapped inside.
You should let him out.
He won’t stop making that noise now that he knows outside is so much fun.
He will always come back.
Put a collar and tags on him and let him out.
You could always leash train him and let him out that way, too.
Cats that are kept indoors live longer. If you want to keep your cat safe, you must correct the behavior. When the meowing begins squirt kitty or make a starteling noise. Pennies in a can work well.
And sorry to say, but Siamese are very vocal cats. There is no way kitty will not try to talk to you.
I would not recommend letting him out. Outdoor cats live shortened, often dangerous lives. They can be hit by cars, attacked by dogs, contract lethal diseases from cat fights (FeLV, FIV), get shot – the list of horrible things that happen to outdoor cats everyday is endless (I know, I see them in my emergency clinic). They also create a horrible burden on songbird populations through predation.
Spend some time finding a new outlet for him. Find some creative toys that he really likes and try to distract him with them when he howls. Get him a new piece of furniture to climb on and put it by the window so he can watch the outside. You can put a bird feeder outside the window to create what we call “kitty tv”.
You could also consider getting a kitten so he has a playmate.
If the positive reinforcement/distraction doesn’t work for you (and I would definably start with that), you can try keeping a squirt bottle handy and try to break him of the howling by spritzing him with water when he starts up.
Yeah, but would you rather live a shorter happier life or a longer miserable one? I had 10 outdoor cats as a kid and they all lived long, happy, healthy lives and died of old age. I don’t believe keeping them indoors is a universal truth for longer life. All the indoor cats I’ve ever met were obese.
Thanks, tinyfaery and syz. That’s how I feel, too. I’ve had trouble with past outdoor cats getting into fights and bringing home flees.
If you have a flea problem, get some diatomaceous earth. If they get into fights, well that is just nature running its course.
I suspect you’re not a cat owner, lilikoi, or at least you don’t love yours as much as I do mine.
I’m trying to stay out of this because I know that pet owners disagree on how to best care for their pets, but the notion that we should let nature run it’s course with our pets sort of defeats the notion of pets. Once you own a pet you have decided not to let nature run its course. To me it is irresponsible in an urban area to let your cat outside. Not only is it likely to catch fleas, get into fights, and catch numerous diseases, some of which are terminal and incurable. Not to mention that they kill songbirds, who have enough threats to worry about without the invasive species felis catus prowling the neighborhood. And by urban, I mean not a farm and not in the deep woods. But if you’re in the deep woods you are just asking for your cat to be eaten.
Get him some more cat toys and maybe he will forget about outside after awhile.
Hopefully.
What you need is a nice screened porch. He’ll feel like he’s outside, but be perfectly safe. Plus the caterwauling won’t be as loud from out there.
Great comments, Snarp. Thanks much.
@Austinlad I already said I had 10 cats growing up. I have two now. I love my cats to death, and that’s exactly why I don’t feel the need to protect them from themselves and keep them miserably from their natural habitat.
@Snarp I see where you guys are coming from, and respectfully disagree. Of course if you are living in the woods amongst bears and lions or something that would be a different story, as would living in an urban metropolis where you are surrounded by freeways and skyscrapers. I live in suburban Honolulu in a nice house with an awesome yard. Humans have already destroyed the natural habitat required to sustain endangered species where I am so that is not an issue. The biggest threat is traffic, second is sun exposure. One of my cats is kind of dumb and stays close to home so the threat of traffic isn’t big. The other cat is pretty smart and likes to roam. I worry about traffic with him, but he has never gotten into any trouble. When he gets fleas, I treat it. When he fights with other cats, it is because the neighbor’s cat is in his territory. It seems more like a game to them than brutality as neither of them have even scratched each other before. I try to keep the cat indoors during the hottest part of the day, to minimize sun exposure, but he is pretty smart about seeking out shade.
As for pets and the disruption of nature, again I disagree. We humans have disrupted nature by paving everything. By creating urban centers, we have displaced many species from their natural habitats. In Hawaii, cats were introduced, and now there is a problem of overpopulation. It is the fault of humanity that these cats end up homeless at the humane society facing death by lethal injection simply because they have no where else to go. So, I feel obligated to provide them with the best life I can to make up for the miserable position we have collectively put them in.
Cats love to roam, explore, be outdoors. Even @Austinlad has seen this with his own eyes. To deny them of this is like denying a fish water. I think it is inhumane to coup up a cat indoors for eternity when you have other options. How would you like to be stuck indoors all day? Surely you take risk of infection, sun cancer, traffic accidents by exposing yourself to the world, and yet you choose to anyway.
@lilikoi Pets are not wild, they do not get the wild experience, and that makes them safer and healthier and they lead much longer lives. Cats also love to hunt and kill their food rather than eat it out of a bowl. Cats hate to go to the vet. Should we also not feed them or see to their medical care because it’s not natural?
I also find it interesting that you think that because we’ve screwed up some things in the environment that it doesn’t matter if our pet cats roam the outdoors, particularly in Hawaii. Cats were introduced, along with a number of other animals, and there are overpopulation problems, and those animals are displacing other species right now as we speak. Two more cats outdoors is two more animals having an impact on the fragile native wildlife.
See now I got into it, darn it. I’ll let it go now.
@lilikoi Syz is a vet. Maybe we should listen to her.
Thanks for your input, lilikoi, and for everyone else’s. I will continue to keep my cat indoors. He’s done well with that for almost 10 years. I’m sure some of your suggestions (like a screened-in porch, toys) will lessen the problem.
I suppose ultimately I get defensive since the notion that cats prefer to be outdoors tends to imply that I am a bad owner for keeping mine indoors. I’m certain that my statement makes outdoor cat people feel the same. Lets agree that we all love our cats and do our best for them.
“and keep them miserably from their natural habitat.” The outdoors is not their natural habitat – they are a domesticated species. Their natural habitat is living in proximity to and dependent on humans. Feral populations manage to live outside without the assistance of humans, but theirs is a brutally short existence.
The fact remains (supportable by studies) that statistically, indoor cats are healthier and live longer and they do not negatively affect wildlife
@Snarp I can guarantee you that my two cats have virtually zero impact on the fragile native wildlife. The fragile native wildlife are too fragile to survive in suburbia. I have not seen a native bird in suburbia ever. Pidgins and cardinals are hearty enough to survive, but these were introduced. Cats can’t hunt their food anymore because we have tampered too much with their natural environment.
Yes, let us agree to disagree.
The fact remains (supportable by studies) that statistically, indoor cats are healthier and live longer and they do not negatively affect wildlife
@lilikoi You deny not disagree.
Our cats are indoor but we have an enclosure that goes outside one of the windows so they can enjoy the fresh air and sunshine! We also have several containers of cat grass we grow from seed for them to eat.
@syz Are indoor cats more prone to obesity?
@tinyfaery Yeah, whatever. My history with cats might prove otherwise.
@lilikoi They can be, if their food is not adjusted to a “less active” or “mature” diet. It’s pretty easily managed if the owner is aware of the problem.
@lilikoi Personal experience is not equivalent to study and research. Sorry.
My dad has an outdoor cat. It demands the outside, unless hungry or it gets too cold out.
That sucker must eat at least a dozen squirrel a year.
Is the cat spayed or neutered?That alone can reduce the inclination to want to roam. Enough kitties in the world. ;)
Hello, everybody. I am Austinlad’s cat Sy and I want you to know I appreciate all your comments except for a few. So here’s how I feel about Austinlad’s question. Having been rescued from the animal shelter almost 10 years ago and only 6 weeks old at the time, I got pampered a lot and never let outdoors. Years before me, Austinlad had a cat he loved that played outside, got fleas, then got worms from the flees, and eventually had to be put to sleep. That made Austinlad very sad and he vowed to keep his next cat indoors. As I grew older (and yes, a little fatter), I loved playing in the house because I got lots of attention and toys, and there were plenty of windows to look out. But one day when Austinlad lived in the country, I did get out, and was attacked by a mean old dog. I didn’t know how to defend myself, and I almost died from my wounds. Austinlad took good care of me and I’m fine now. But the weather’s been very pretty here and I got out for about an hour. I liked it, but there are two dogs next door who once came into our back yard under our fence and scared me through the door, so this time when I got out, I hid on Austinlad’s porch and hung out till he got home. Why am I caterwauling so much right now? I’m fickle. I like the outdoors but I’m very happy in my two-story house. So, after hearing some great suggestions from you guys, I’m satisfied to stay indoors. I don’t like the idea of running around outside with those dogs around. Also, summers here are hot and dry, so I don’t want flees, either. I’m just going to let Austinlad play with me a little more, buy me some new toys, and maybe build me a screened-in porch. He’s always wanted one anyway, so if I can get up on the shelf and break my people bank, I’ll give him my savings to do it. Thank you everybody, Sy
How about putting a patch of grass inside by a window? It might be a balance between safety and the outdoor experience.
There are several companies selling pet or potty patches similar to this one. They are made for pets to use the bathroom when they can’t get outside, but I don’t think you would have that problem with Sy since he has been litter trained for quite some time.
@tinyfaery Sorry, but I did not see any citations to research or studies.
Nevermind. Syz is a vet. She knows.
Actually, a vet tech with 20 years experience. Wouldn’t want to misrepresent myself.
@Austinlad You said “making sounds that are causing my fillings to fall out.” I flinched when you said that.
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