Looking for some advice!
I’ve been feeding this cat for around two years now, and he’s slowly warmed up to me outside. Now he will follow me around the yard and sit in my lap.
I’m moving at the end of July and wanted to take him with me. I took him to the vet and set him up in his own room, and he does mostly well until dawn/dusk when he starts freaking out, trying to climb up the windows and scratching the glass. I’ve tried redirecting with playtime, but he just ignores it. I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself (or damage the windows, one pane where he climbs has been cracked since we moved in). I’ve gotten very little sleep the past week except on nights where I let him stay outside.
He also won’t go to the bathroom at all indoors. I have a litter box with regular clay litter, and one with some sand from outside. He thinks they are fun to play in, but won’t actually use them. Sometimes when he’s freaking out, I think it’s because he needs to use the bathroom but doesn’t want to go indoors. The longest I’ve kept him inside is around 36 hours before I got worried he would get a UTI or something. Any advice on how I can encourage him to use the box?
I work 8-9 hours a day away from home so it’s also been a challenge balancing that with having a cat who needs more attention, on very little sleep. I feel overwhelmed and rethinking bringing him in, but I don’t want to give up too soon. There are other people in the neighborhood who feed him, but he spends so much time in my yard that I feel bad leaving him. Would he just be happier staying outside in his neighborhood?