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Cat Forum / General Topics / May 2007bored indoor cat meows all night!
We've got two neutered adult female cats (about 3 years old) and they have always been indoor cats (with a litter on the balcony). Since we moved into a slightly smaller house (9 months ago), they've taken up some strange habits. One cat (we're not sure which one - maybe both!) has taken to peeing in weird places (by the front door, in the bathroom). One cat has recently (in the last week) started howling all night (the kind of meow she uses when she wants to play in the daytime). We've bought endless toys to keep them occupied (including a tank full of fish we hoped they'd watch!) but I am worried they're bored? Any suggestions to: (a) entertain our cats (b) stop the random peeing (c) stop the midnight howling? I look forward to hearing your suggestions.... Nothing mean please, I've read some rather horrible punishments in older threads! >We've got two neutered adult female cats (about 3 years old) and they >have always been indoor cats (with a litter on the balcony). Since we [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >I've read some rather horrible punishments in older threads! > Well, obviously they're not happy. But it doesn't sound like boredom to me. ISTM that they might feel there's no place in the house either of them can call their own. For the former, citrus or bitter apple scent are effective cat repellents. For the latter, a mild sedative prescribed by a veterinarian can gently shift a cat's sleeping habits. In either case, the only solid advice I can give is to find a competent feline behaviorist and pay little to no attention to my unprofessional advice. On Apr 12, 8:26 am, Noon Cat Nick <chatdemidiSPAMBEG...@hotmail.com> wrote: > >We've got two neutered adult female cats (about 3 years old) and they > >have always been indoor cats (with a litter on the balcony). Since we [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > me. ISTM that they might feel there's no place in the house either of > them can call their own. So give them a place in the house that they can call their own, like the microwave. > For the former, citrus or bitter apple scent are effective cat > repellents. For the latter, a mild sedative prescribed by a veterinarian [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > - Show quoted text - "Kendra Weissbein" <junebutterfieldisastupidbitch@yahoo.com> wrote in message >> > One cat has recently (in the last week) started howling all night (the >> >kind of meow she uses when she wants to play in the daytime). We've >> >bought endless toys to keep them occupied (including a tank full of >> >fish we hoped they'd watch!) but I am worried they're bored? >> >> >Any suggestions to: It's not just indoor cats who get bored.....Our neutered 4 year old male (an outdoor cat) does the same thing....Cats were meant to wander and mate, and when humans take that away from them, then they "get bored" and tend to howl a lot......I wish I could help you find a way to keep them amused, but I can't........... > We've got two neutered adult female cats (about 3 years old) and they > have always been indoor cats (with a litter on the balcony). Since we [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > I look forward to hearing your suggestions.... Nothing mean please, > I've read some rather horrible punishments in older threads! You might try putting a litter box by where she pees....Maybe she'll use that. And try different litter mixes. Sometimes you can find one they really like. Also try hanging toys around that they can bat at and play with.....Inside cats do get bored easily....Even my outside cats can sometimes get pretty bored....Especially the fixed males.....It's not in their nature to just lie around and sleep all day, and then be expected to lie around and sleep all night too....They need a barn full of mice or something to keep them busy...... I would also get them both to the vet to be checked for UTI's - that can be the cause of the urinating outside the litterbox. - Cindy  SignatureCDC If you're going through hell, keep going - Winston Churchill > We've got two neutered adult female cats (about 3 years old) and they > have always been indoor cats (with a litter on the balcony). Since we [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > I look forward to hearing your suggestions.... Nothing mean please, > I've read some rather horrible punishments in older threads! You probably won't like my answer which is open the front door put a chair out there and let your cats go out. They will stay near you since they've never been out so have some toys for them to play with and give them a lot of attention. I pity the cat that lives it's entire life in a house or apartment. > We've got two neutered adult female cats (about 3 years old) and they > have always been indoor cats (with a litter on the balcony). Since we [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > I look forward to hearing your suggestions.... Nothing mean please, > I've read some rather horrible punishments in older threads! SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > You probably won't like my answer which is open the front door > put a chair out there and let your cats go out. They will stay near > you since they've never been out so have some toys for them to > play with and give them a lot of attention. I pity the cat that lives > it's entire life in a house or apartment. Yeah.....I hesitate to tell people this, because I don't know their circumstances....She might live in an apartment on Times Square NYC, where her cats would be instantly traumatized if not run down by 13 cars before she could manage to scrape them off the street with a shovel...... But I used to have a girl friend in San Francisco that had two "inside" cats, and even she would let them play out on the sidewalk once in a while, while she watched them from her front steps....As you say, they wouldn't stray more than ten or fifteen feet away because they were unfamiliar with the neighborhood. She could also put them in a cat carrier and take them to Golden Gate Park, and let them play on the grass. Inside cats love grass........ > She might live in an apartment on Times Square NYC, where her cats would > be instantly traumatized if not run down by 13 cars before she could > manage to scrape them off the street with a shovel...... A human living in an apartment on Times Square would probably be traumatized or run down by 13 cars JNB SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com Hello! Thanks for all of your quick advice =) Noon Cat - the cats actually have their own bedroom at the moment, and they rather like napping on the spare bed in the afternoon sun - but you're right to suggest it - maybe one room isn't enough for them :P We've got a friend coming to help us build more storage, and I want special up high cat shelves that they can sit on and watch us - I think they'd enjoy that (and the vacuum can't annoy them there....) I am sure that keeping cats indoors is a contentious ethical consideration - I thought it was really cruel before we got ours & made the decision based on a few reasons: we didn't want them hunting native animals (I'm in Australia, and there are lots of little native animals still inside the city boundaries that suffer a lot at the paws of domestic introduced animals); we didn't want them to get run over (in hindsight this would have been the biggest concern - one of our cats is missing an eye, and the other cat is as pretty as she is dim - plus we live in the city); we didn't want them to get into fights/ get nasty diseases/ skin cancers (our one eyed cat is almost entirely white, and would spend her days baking in the sun if she was allowed) and our local cat protection society actually recommends that pet owners (who am I kidding - pet servants!) keep them indoors to extend their lives. But having said that, my mum lives on in the outer suburbs and her two indoor/outdoor cats spend their days chasing butterflies and eating grass - and seem both safe and content. I think the idea of taking them to the park is really sweet! We let them roam around in the common area outside our unit when we're home, but not for too long as I can't supervise for hours and I don't want them to escape/be kidnapped (cause domestic shorthairs are in really high demand.. especially when they're missing an eye...)/ annoy the grouchy man downstairs. I never gave the idea much weight as I though that the trip in the carrier might traumatise them - but I guess the grass at the end of the tunnel would cheer them up! They loved it when we bought them "pet grass" (read: normal grass at gullible pet owner prices). It's getting colder here, so I'm thinking of buying them a heated bed to keep their thoughts off playing at night - anyone had any experience of these? Thanks for all your ideas!!!!! > > She might live in an apartment on Times Square NYC, where her cats would > > be instantly traumatized if not run down by 13 cars before she could [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > -- > Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com "EA" <ellen_adele@hotmail.com> wrote in message > It's getting colder here, so I'm thinking of buying them a heated bed > to keep their thoughts off playing at night - anyone had any > experience of these? Didn't bother with the cat bed, but I did get two heating pads and leave them on all the time for my Deetoo during the winter season. The heating pads are set on low and in two different rooms in case she wants to warm herself. I've watched her use them and she only places her chest, head and front paws on it, the rest of her body is never on a heating pad. I did build her a shag carpet cat tree. I even bought a nightlight and placed it in the kitchen for her because I don't let her in the bedroom at night. She likes to walk over my legs and at her 12.5 pound of weight, it's not something I can ignore and keep sleeping. >Hello! > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >think they'd enjoy that (and the vacuum can't annoy them there....) > One room should be enough. If they've got the spare room to themselves, that's their room, day and night. <znip> >I think the idea of taking them to the park is really sweet! We let >them roam around in the common area outside our unit when we're home, [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Not a bad idea. But my cat prefers a small little house of his own. I put it in the garage, since he loves his time outdoors. He loves his small cozy cat hut, and often sleeps in there the entire night. Cats like small, cozy, blanketed places. They generate enough body heat to warm them up sufficiently. Regarding taking them to the park to romp, remember that cats will be cats. Get them out there, one of them spies a squirrel, runs after it, and that might be the last you see of him. Seriously. However, cats can be trained to use a leash and harness. But it's a painstaking process to teach them. Don't think for a moment they can be trained like dogs. But if you have the patience, they'll use a leash quite well, and it cuts down on the possibility that one of your pets might forget himself out at the park and head off for the wild blue yonder. Better you should let your cats out in the yard where you can keep a better eye on them. And it also cuts out the stress of being driven around in a carrier, which cats ordinarily loathe. >>It's getting colder here, so I'm thinking of buying them a heated bed >>to keep their thoughts off playing at night - anyone had any >>experience of these? They make special heated blankets for animals....Be careful that you don't make it too hot, if you use a heating pad, or something like that....Cats sleep pretty warm as it is.....Usually just a cardboard box with a baby blanket in the bottom is more than warm enough for them, without any artificial heat.....Just as long as they are out of the wind, they will be warm enough, unless you are living in Antarctica.......... Wow, thanks for all the ideas everyone!!!!!! Upscale, I feel your pain (literally). We're still mid-renovation at our place (read: we started 9 months ago and nothing has been completed) so we don't have a bedroom door to close... Each cat has her own annoying sleeping-on-me behaviour - one will paw on my chest and purr so loudly sleep is impossible, and the other will claw gently at any piece of skin available to convince me to let her under the blankets. Only other "cat people" understand how I can love two little domestic shorthairs that: shed constantly, even in winter, cost gazillions of dollars in toys, food, medicines, other supplies, disrupt my sleep, sit on the keyboard when I try to type, nip at my ankles when I'm walking to ensure that I am actually on my way to the kitchen to feed them again... And yet, the catless life seems like a sad existence! Noon Cat - you may be right about the risks of the park. We have tried the leashes in the past - it may be worth trying again! One cat is very fearful (she once hid under the cupboard when I fed her a new kind of food, and another time hid under the bed for 45 minutes when she had sticktape stuck on her paw - and we've had her since she was a baby so I doubt she's ever been mistreated!) but the more adventurous cat would love it (this one actually had a pretty rough life before we got her - she was found in a gutter, kept at a vet for a while, and was almost put down at the pound because no one wanted a one eyed cat, even though she is very clever and very friendly). William: I thought I was the first person to come up with that idea! Haha, silly me - there are crazy cat people all over the world, and they've been around for hundreds (or thousands!) of years...:P I will have to report back on the progress of the shelving/ cat run! The cats already have a box with a baby blanket in it - one slept in it for one night, but seems to prefer clawing me in the night to sleeping in her own bed. Fair enough I suppose :P I also (erroneously) thought I was the first person to invent the term "cat hair tumbleweed" and "the law of cats" (when your partner has to get you a cup of tea/ change the channel on the telly/ answer the phone/ other annoying thing because you have a cat on your lap). I suppose there is a certain universality of the experience of living with kitty cats... Anyway, thanks a lot for your continued suggestions! I really appreciate having people to talk to about this kind of stuff, you tend to get branded as a crazy cat lady if you talk to your co-workers/ friends/ family about nothing but cats 24/7... And I haven't had a recurrence of the peeing or the meowing since the first post - perhaps they know that they're under surveillance... E =) > Hello! > [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > > Thanks for all your ideas!!!!! Your suggestion of a shelf reminded me of a house I saw on the TV a couple of years ago that had cat runs on all the walls up near the ceilings....Kind of like bookshelves that some people put up near the ceilings on some of the rooms, only these were walkways for the cats....Cats love to be up above everything else, so they can look down on the rest of the world from some high perch, hoping a mouse will wander by...... [snip] > Your suggestion of a shelf reminded me of a house I saw > on the TV a couple of years ago that had cat runs on all [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > can look down on the rest of the world from some high > perch, hoping a mouse will wander by...... http://www.thecatshouse.com/ Ivor > [snip] > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Ivor Exactly! - That's the place I saw on TV....What a wonderful place for cats....They even have tunnels cut through the walls so the cats can go from room to room...... > > [snip] > > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > through the walls so the cats can go from room to > room...... It's in San Diego. The site is down for maintenance at the moment but he says it should be back on by the end of the month. It's really worth a look. The guy who lives there also did the layout for a couple of cat rescue shelters in San Diego and Newport Beach. I visited the Newport Beach one a couple of years ago, it's amazing..! Ivor |
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