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MistressDarkArt -> Irritating Cat Behavior...Help Please! (5/22/2014 11:27:08 PM)
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Background:
I rescued 9-year old Yogi from the pound when he was about 4. He'd been dumped in the night drop with absolutely no information about his history.
It soon became apparent he'd been an indoor/outdoor cat. The outdoor part would have to change. Though he had the run of the whole house and his outdoor 'catiary' 24/7, he yowled and yowled day and night to go out and never adjusted to being confined. This cat is the most obnoxiously LOUD I have ever heard. He was neutered when I got him, but my guess is he was fully mature before neutering which I'm sure contributes to his desire to wander.
He made a game of rushing the door and sometimes slipped out when I didn't see him. He always came back on his own, except for one terrifying incident about 18 months ago where he escaped and was found 24 hours later more than 1/2 mile from home where the state park begins. There had been a horrible hail storm and he was soaked, disoriented, and traumatized. Other than the storm, I don't know what happened to him but I think it involved coyotes, bobcats or mountain lions. I was hoping he'd settle down after that, but alas...no.
I experimented with letting him out supervised in the yard because he drove me absolutely batsh*t crazy with his incessant yowling if I didn't. Mostly he was very good about staying in his domain and letting me bring him back in after a few minutes. He caught gophers and lizards, and basically lived for his few minutes of daily liberty. When he finally settled down afterwards, he was a great cuddly guy and model citizen who got along with his two 'brothers'. The other two boys would like to go out into the yard, but I don't let them and they've adjusted pretty well with almost zero hassle.
Lately, Yogi's been jumping the fence out of my reach and heading off to make his rounds somewhere. He's outside the safety zone, and his 2 brothers (who are also confined to the catiary and house) freak out when he's roaming and get agitated so it turns into an effing cat-cophony which drives me crazy and probably doesn't endear me or my cats to the neighbors.
The whole routine makes me nuts, and I know I made a mess of this to begin with by caving in to his demands for outside time, even if limited. What's done is done in that regard, and we have to find a better way now.
I tried all kinds of homeopathic stuff like Felliway to chill him out and to date nothing has worked. Finding him another home where he can be outside is not an option. With his issues and age now, he's not readily adoptable. He's part of this family, and his brothers would be heart-broken if he went to live elsewhere (so would I).
I could get really sh*tty and start using a squirt bottle on him when he yowls to go out, but if anyone can think of a better way to help him cope (and ME!), I'd really appreciate it.
Here's a pic of the catiary. As you can see, there's plenty of room to run around with his mates and they have a lot of safe fun out there. They can't get out, and bad things can't get to them.
[image]local://upfiles/905271/06F025B61643482698D284BFED0F2302.jpg[/image]
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