adopted kitten recently neutered won't stop meowing at door

by Bernadette
(Toronto, Canada)

I'm desparate!!! I adopted a kitten from the humane society in November '07 and just had him neutered on March 25th '08. Since the neutering and it's spring my cat has taken to door dashing and MAJOR meowing at the door.

I want Marley to be an indoor cat however, over the past week and a half I've taken him out to my backyard on a leash - 4 times. Am I perpetuating the door dashing & meowing? How in the name of god can I get him to stop the meowing?

Any, any advise would be appreciated.

Answer by Kate
Well at the end of the day we can't stop our cats doing anything as they remain essentially wild at heart and keep all their instincts. Cats choose to live with us, they don't depend on us like dogs and thats the problem. If your cat wants to go outside then that will will be difficult to persuade him differently.
I think taking him outside on a leash is a good idea if you are afraid of losing bhim and this will help him become less frustrated. As for the other meowing, have you read the why cats meow page here under cat behaviour? There are many reasons why a cat will excessivily meow and the owner will have to carefully assess the home situation and try and work out what is causing it.

Giving your cat lots to do in the house is also very important to stop boredom, so plenty of toys and games etc may help. See my page about indoor cats under the cat care heading for more ideas.

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