Hello, novice cat owner here could do with some advice. My cat is an outdoor cat but I rent and can't put in a cat flap, so she goes in and out a window. Whenever i go out I call her in and close windows so she's stuck in until I'm home. When I leave she sits at the window staring longingly at the outside world.
When she first started going out after a week I left her out while I went to the gym closing the window and we lost her. After spending the rest of the day shouting and rattling food she finally strolls back in around 9pm. Afterwards she was reluctant to go out again in case she was locked out again.
To give abit of background her first owners would lock her out for the entire day and would never let her in. They decided they couldn't be bothered with her lucky for me as she's an absolute charm. My mum took her in first but it was like something out of pet battle royale. She would bully my sisters (evil) chiuahas, scratch them, take their toys ect and would hide behind doors to jump and bite the other cats. So coming to mine where she reigns supreme as only pet is ideal.
Do people think calling her in when I go out is the best thing? I feel terribly guilty when I'm gone for hours and she's stuck in. Or is there anyway to get her used to going out and not being let in without her running away and hiding