# All he wants to do is go outside!



## BurmBlue (May 23, 2012)

Hi All,

All Rocket (my now almost 9 month old Burmese) wants to do is go outside. It is driving us nuts. We don't want to let him out because of the many dangers out there. All he does, day and night, and stare out the window and cry and wimper, he gets bored after a couple of minutes as well of everything when we try to play.
He gives up after a while, sleeps and plays for a bit and then he is back at it trying to go outside!

Does anyone else have a strictly indoor cat? Do let it out?
I need ideas to calm him down!

Thanks


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

Is your your man neutered? If not, he may be trying to get out to visit the local ladies. Neutering him could help him calm down. Oh, and if he isn't altered DO NOT let him out!! There are enough kittens out there.


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## BurmBlue (May 23, 2012)

Leazie said:


> Is your your man neutered? If not, he may be trying to get out to visit the local ladies. Neutering him could help him calm down. Oh, and if he isn't altered DO NOT let him out!! There are enough kittens out there.


Yes he is Neutered.


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## lyle (Oct 28, 2010)

I hesitate to say this, but at 9mos it may be just a phase that will pass. Our cats spend most of the day at the window as well. They are not vocal, but if they were I suspect that they would be whining too. Perhaps your cat is just vocal by nature and expressing a desire. I have no experience with the various calming potions and such out there, nor do I have any advice on corrective actions. I encourage you to not give in though. If he's not trying to get through the screen, I'd say that was a good sign that he's not totally committed to getting/wanting out.


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

There could be possible something outside he is trying to get to. I am having a problem with my one cat constantly sitting on the entrance way window staring outside. We are having a problem with the neighbours cat(we are working on the situation). She hate this cat and now tries to escape and kill him anytime he is over. She also tries to door dash because of this now.

Try and see where he is looking specifically and monitor the area to see if there anything. If there's not then wait it out. Make sure he doesn't escape and anytime he is by the door remove him. It will be annoying and he will keep going back but be consistent.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 19, 2012)

My cats are strictly indoor cats but I do let them out on my deck occasionally when I go out and sometimes take them out front on leashes. They both love to sit by the windows and absolutely love the fresh air. Ganymede has tried to sneak out and he has been successful a few times. Luckily he is a pretty mellow cat and was very easy to bribe with a toy or treat to get him right back inside. If my cats see something outside (like a rabbit, squirrel, bird) they will meow at it, maybe that is what your cat is doing?

My cats are 4 and 6 and still want to go outside. They don't sound like they are as adamant about it -except for maybe Ganymede, but he just makes a run for it - so I agree it might be just a phase. On second thought, Callisto absolutely hates closed doors and will whine and stick her paws under them/claw at them to try and get them open. Maybe that is what your cat is doing? Trying to free himself? Haha, I don't know. It could be that he just realized there is a whole world outside and he is just overly curious about it. Hopefully he calms down soon!


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Just curious - are you in an area high in predators or in one with heavy traffic?


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## tgwillard (Oct 18, 2012)

Our cat was seen wandering around the neighborhood for a week or so prior to us adopting her. We think she was an indoor kitten that was abandoned near us. When we found her, she wanted to come inside. Now four months later, she likes to look out the window, but rarely shows interest in going outside.


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## BurmBlue (May 23, 2012)

Arianwen said:


> Just curious - are you in an area high in predators or in one with heavy traffic?


No, we are in quite suburbia. 
I think he is just bored and can see birds and stuff. Every time we open the door to front yard/backyard he just bolts.

He is a little rascal!


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## lyle (Oct 28, 2010)

I'm curious. Where does he go when he gets out? Does he run away? 
The reason i ask is that one of our inside cats does the bolt thing too. Out the door, runs 10 feet to the hedge, stops, and then waits for someone to come and pick her up. 
I think it's some kind of a cat game with her since she never goes any further than ten feet in many "escape" attempts.


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## BurmBlue (May 23, 2012)

lyle said:


> I'm curious. Where does he go when he gets out? Does he run away?
> The reason i ask is that one of our inside cats does the bolt thing too. Out the door, runs 10 feet to the hedge, stops, and then waits for someone to come and pick her up.
> I think it's some kind of a cat game with her since she never goes any further than ten feet in many "escape" attempts.


If he gets out to the backyard he will just bolt out the door and then start sniffing away so can grab him and bring him back inside. First time he went out the front he just sat on the front porch but another time he was going in the garden.
I think he just hates being locked inside,


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## lyle (Oct 28, 2010)

That's good (I guess). I mean it's not like he takes off down the street at full gallup. 
Anyone out there hazard a guess as to why a cat would seemingly want to get out so bad and then just go a few feet out the door?


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## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

lyle said:


> Anyone out there hazard a guess as to why a cat would seemingly want to get out so bad and then just go a few feet out the door?


Perhaps for the same reason why I enjoy sitting out on my deck?  The warm sun, fresh air, a gentle breeze, just being able to be out in the open, not cooped up inside a box...

Why not give him what he wants? You could do this without letting him roam by taking him out on a harness and leash, or if he doesn't wander out of the yard, you could let him out while you supervise.

I used to be an advocate for indoor only cats, and I may get some flak for saying so, but I have come to realize that there are some good reasons to allow a cat access to the outdoors, supervised or unsupervised. Some of the reasons for keeping cats indoors are safety reasons... predators, traffic, nasty people, etc, while other reasons are more selfish in nature... we don't want them to run away, get lost or be stolen. It's important that we take into consideration their mental heath, though. Being outside is stimulating. It can encourage exercise, reduce stress and overall improve quality of life. I'm not saying that you should let your cat wander, but you shouldn't dismiss the idea of taking him outdoors.

My own cats are indoor cats. I live in an apartment, so I couldn't even let them out if I wanted to, but I do let them out on the balcony as much as possible, even now when its 35 degrees out. They are so much happier when they get to go outside.


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## fizzletto (Oct 13, 2012)

If you live in a quiet suburban area with no immediate busy main roads or wild animals then why won't you just let him outside for a while? If you have a cat who is perfectly happy staying indoors and doesn't ever seem interested in going out then by all means keep it inside, but a cat's natural instinct is to be outside, in the natural world. They can roll around and enjoy the breeze and the sunshine on their fur and stalk things through the long grass. I just think it's not natural keeping a cat inside who wants desperately to go out. 

All of my 3 cats are outdoor/indoor cats and they have never come into any damage or harm being outside, and one of them is 18 years old. It's a different matter if you live in an apartment or in a very busy city or something but with your situation I don't understand why you wouldn't just let him out. You could go out with him to keep an eye on him every now and then if you wanted to, you don't need to let him out all the time. Just give the poor kitty some freedom  It makes me very sad thinking about a cat locked inside.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

I drive a lot, for work. I see dead cats on the roads every day. It's heart breaking. All it takes is once.

I read in a lot of pet forums. Not a day goes without someone posting that their cat is missing.

Install feliway plug in diffusers. You can try harder to interest him in indoor games. Play with him at the same times every day, cats thrive on routine Try different games. Give him a cat tree, cardboard box forts, paper bag forts.

What are you feeding him? A diet change may be all that is needed. A cat eating a healthy species appropriate diet is less likely to be dissatisfied with other things about his life.

Other options are to harness train him and take him out in harness (with you, always) or if feasible, build some sort of cat safe outdoor enclosure.


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## lyle (Oct 28, 2010)

I'll probably start rambling soon so forgive me in advance.
Just a few personal thoughts and observations.
I'm sure that just about everyone who posts here is trying to do the best they know how as caregivers, same as most parents. There are too many variables to generalize the "right thing to do" wrt In or Out.
I know people who regret having given in to their cats desire to get out. Giving in is hard to undo.
I understand both how protective one can become to their cat(s) and also how one might want to give them their "freedom" or as much as you can.
Myself, I play both sides. Two house cats that are not allowed out at all and four garage cats that come and go at will.
I feel sorry for the inside cats being denied their birthright to run free as it were, but they are safe which to me is the base of responsibility.
I envy the garage cats their freedom, but every night when I leave them for the night it's with the knowledge that I may never see them again. Freedom, for cats or people, carries an inherent risk. Who knows what the cat thinks, I suppose it's their nature to be free. For the caregiver, they are burdened with the responsibility of the decision whatever that may be.
Just thoughts.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

lyle said:


> For the caregiver, they are burdened with the responsibility of the decision whatever that may be.


That's just it, it's what you feel you can live with at the end of the day, which choice you feel is right for your cat and its situation. We all love our cats and do what we think is right for them.

Going outside is not an automatic death sentence, staying inside doesn't guarantee a cats safety either. Staying inside also does not mean a long life (there's tons of illnesses that take them far too early) or a very good quality of life if the cat always wants outdoors. If they don't know the outdoors, they don't miss it... but if they do, it's a whole lot harder. Quality vs quantity in those cases is my personal opinion, if staying indoors is not working out.


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## BurmBlue (May 23, 2012)

For me it is more of the fact of him jumping the fence and going or the increase risk of fleas or spider bites or whatnot.
I feel happy knowing he is safe indoors but i feel sad that he is sad being indoors knowing he wants to go out.

Anyway i have let him out in backyard today under my supervision. I am in the backyard typing this now. All i know is now that he is out i will have to let him out all the time but if he is happy then that is all i want for him.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

Do you own the property where you live? You could build an enclosure for him. There are even commercial ones available, called 'catios'. They are really pretty cool.


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## BurmBlue (May 23, 2012)

Greenport ferals said:


> Do you own the property where you live? You could build an enclosure for him. There are even commercial ones available, called 'catios'. They are really pretty cool.


No i don't own it, still live with my mother and she does not want something like that. Maybe when i move out i will look into it.


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## Ritzpg (Dec 7, 2010)

Interesting thread, as I am dealing with a similar quandry.
"Twiddledee", is a cat I removed from an established cat colony because he was limping. I am currently fostering him. He was previously owned, super affectionate. He continues to meow a lot, is he 'calling' for his litter mate? Twiddledum and Dee showed up at the same time, almost identical, slept together at the colony. Is he calling, meowing/ yowling because he misses being outdoors? 
He did escape last Sunday (right before Superstorm Sandy) and returned on his own 12 hours later. He found me by smell. (No, I can't build an enclosure; letting him smell the fresh air makes him claw at the windows even more.)
I agree with the other poster: really dpends on the personallity of your cats. Do I want Twiddledee to be happy, or safe?


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## BurmBlue (May 23, 2012)

Ritzpg said:


> Interesting thread, as I am dealing with a similar quandry.
> "Twiddledee", is a cat I removed from an established cat colony because he was limping. I am currently fostering him. He was previously owned, super affectionate. He continues to meow a lot, is he 'calling' for his litter mate? Twiddledum and Dee showed up at the same time, almost identical, slept together at the colony. Is he calling, meowing/ yowling because he misses being outdoors?
> He did escape last Sunday (right before Superstorm Sandy) and returned on his own 12 hours later. He found me by smell. (No, I can't build an enclosure; letting him smell the fresh air makes him claw at the windows even more.)
> I agree with the other poster: really dpends on the personallity of your cats. Do I want Twiddledee to be happy, or safe?


Hi Ritzpg, been awhile and thought i would see if your situation has changed?
I can say my is worse, i have let him out in the backyard. (supervised) and as i thought it has made him worse. He hardly wants to be inside, gets bored of playing and generally stays near a door or window all the time.
This cat hardly has any of the typical Burmese traits you read about. I am out of ideas on how to keeps him happy, I guess the last thing to try is get him a friend but don't really want another cat/pet. Also don't think i could manage another one.


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## Ritzpg (Dec 7, 2010)

I ended up returning him to the colony, partly because there was an opportunity for him to be adopted but the potential adoptors wanted to see him outside, with the other cats. (They didn't show at the appointed time, and hung up on me when I called them to find out what happened to them.) Another reason was Ritz, my resident cat, was becoming increasingly hostile towards Twiddledee. For example, Tdee would walk by Ritz minding his own business and without provocation Ritz would lash out at him with his paw. Finally, it was clear that Tdee still wanted outside; ideally, he would make a good indoor/outdoor cat. At one time he did escape via he back patio door (right before Superstorm Sandy) but 12 hours later he found his way back--to the front of my townhouse, which he'd never seen.
I actually don't think getting another cat would help in this case; he'd still want outside. You mention in an earlier post that you would be concerned about spiders and fleas; you can get flea medicine. And cats routinely eat spiders; just the other day, Ritz ate a Daddy Long Leg. Jumping the fence, yes, that's possible; he can jump back.
I feel I sacrificed Tdee for my resident cat, Ritz. But my loyalty had to be to Ritz. I miss the ideal of Tdee; he is a very different cat from Ritz. But I still get to see Twiddledee at the colony; he sometimes comes with his presumed litter mate, Twiddledum.
I know it's a very hard decision. Keep me updated if you can.


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## KozyKitty (Jan 18, 2013)

I had the same problem with my soon to be 4 yr old Lil NoName. She was going nuts, we were going nuts, so finally we built her a "catio". It wasn't that expensive (like you'll see on some sights) because we had a handyman that doesn't carpentry do it and he was great in saving us money here and there. There are ways to save, Home Depot has bins of wood that was "throw away" from someone else's project and paint that was returned because it wasn't the right color. I tried to put my picture of our "catio" in here but it just deleted my message. So I am going to share a website that has "catios". You can make them for whatever your need is. My old vet built one that enclosed her patio so that it was larger and she could enjoy the time with her cats. Mine is smaller and it is built off of my bedroom window. The cats love it and best of all, since we got it, Lil NoName doesn't drive us nuts to get outside anymore and she is protected from the outside dangers. (I live in Arizona against a wash and even though we have a 6ft block wall, there are Coyotes and the occasional cougar/bobcat roaming out there and we live in the "city".) Anyway, here's a link about "catios". Catio Showcase You will see that each one is different based off of the needs and available space of the owners. There are some that are transportable incase you live in an apartment and can't nail anything into the wall and want to take it if you move. I hope this helps, sorry if it was already mentioned, didn't go through and read everyone's messages, only a few.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Years ago Maggie used to sit at the front storm door and cry and cry to get out. I could never figure out what she was staring at or crying about, then one day the door didn't quite latch and she pushed it open and bolted to a corner of the property and just sat there staring down at the ground. Turns out there was a bunny hole there and the baby rabbits were coming and going in and out. I never saw them, but she sure did!! In she came, and the door was fixed to SLAM shut when we open it!! Bunnies were gone by the next year.


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## Goldtanker (Jan 9, 2011)

I have the opposite problem with Midnight, the wild cat. He keeps trying to get INSIDE! In his mind, he thinks the place is filled to the ceiling with FOOD, because that is where it comes from. :smile:


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## gosha (Oct 16, 2011)

My cat is the same way, he would sit and cry and try to open the door to get out. And he slips every time gets a chance, he also crys until strays come, then they just sit quiet and stare at each other through the windows. He was trying escape for 5 years and couple times successful. This is why we got him a kitten, we have little buddy for a week and I was going to do slow introduction but they got along on third day, now they are running around and playing together and my older cat didn't whine by the windows or tried to escape since. Maybe your cat is just lonely and needs a friend?


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

I don't think badly of people who have indoor/outdoor cats, provided they actually take care of them, but I would _never_ let my cats go outside unsupervised. There are way too many potential risks to the cats for me to be ok with it. Not to mention the risk to native wildlife. I get really angry at my neighbours when their cats kill birds in my yard. I don't blame the cats--they're just behaving naturally, but I have to admit that I think it's really irresponsible of my neighbours to just shrug their shoulders like it's no big deal. I also end up worrying about their cats all the time because I have had to chase a fox away before when I spotted it stalking one of the neighbourhood cats. We also have coyotes.


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## Alex Harris (May 4, 2012)

My oldest cat Mitsey tries to go outside sometimes if we aren't careful to shut the doors. She doesn't constantly whine to go out though.


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## 3gatos (Nov 28, 2012)

My kitten would bolt until about 6 months. The last time he was gone for about an hour and when I found him, he was scared and darn near feral, lol. I started posturing every time I opened the door (i have a dog so when I let the pup out) and he for the message. Stomping my feet and watching him very closely. I also started bringing him outside on a harness. He enjoys that, but doesn't bolt to explore the outside anymore.


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## RNcatlover (Feb 11, 2013)

My little Toby is 8 months old and he LOVES going outside. The few times I let him outside with me in the backyard, he turns into a little stinker and darts under our deck. Under there, he has a grand old time, rolling in the mud and running back and forth, but as soon as I try to grab him, he would dart away. But, if I put him back inside, he would sit at the door way and cry and cry and cry, especially if he could see me. 

Hence, two days ago, I went and bought a cat harness. I have been making him wear his harness all day long, because, at first, he would just lay down and not move. Or he would get up, low to the ground, and walk a few steps, then lay back down. Well, after wearing it for 12 hours straight, he is walking and jumping like normal. And our outside adventures are MUCH more safe. The harness is just tight enough that he can't back out and escape. You have to be mindful of this. He gets so excited now when I put his harness on, doesn't fight me at all. He gladly will put his head through and let me work his legs into it. 

I would definitely try this option  It's a safer alternative to letting them outside and I think they really benefit from it.


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