Have to let him out tomorrow:-(

[MrsGreenHag]

We adopted our DCat from a shelter in 2016. Were overjoyed to have him, he’s a big grumpy dude who had had a shitty life mostly in catteries and shelters. In our old house he’d always had a catflap but he’d spent 4 years in cages before then.

We've just moved house and kept him in for 2 weeks, he’s been a great sport, used the litter tray and marked the new house. Been a great patient boy.

i wanted to let him out bit by bit and supervised. But since we let him out for an hour out back he’s howling, pissing everywhere, clawing at doors. Like he forgot outside existed and now he’s furious.

I didn’t want to immediately give him full catflap access but I guess I’ll have to. I can’t believe I’ve become so worried, he’d be out all day at the old house.

id love some reassuring stories please. This idiot has done multi day wanders before so I guess I’ll just have to toughen ups

Could you put a tracker on him just in case ?

Just let him out. Hes not happy. Two weeks is plenty

Just let him out - it is hard but you can’t keep him locked up inside because of your own anxieties, it’s not fair.

Oh, we’ve tried dozens of collars and 3 different trackers over the years. He rids himself of all safety collars in less than a day, non safety collars he’s gotten his back leg stuck in trying to get it off, and almost hunt himself on a fence post. We’ve had messages from neighbours saying they’ve found his tracker in their bushes etc. He’s a magician at getting out of collars.

He’s out, the cat flap is open. I’m keeping an eye out from the window. Fingers crossed he doesn’t do anything stupid! I’ll still be locking him in at night do now I think.

Don’t feed him before you let him out. He’ll come back when he’s hungry, in theory. The first time we let ours out he was away for 27 hours, then he strolled back in as if nothing had happened. He did have a tracker for a while but he lost it so often we spent more time retrieving it than we did following his meanderings. He did once appear to go out to sea, which could have been on a fishing boat but was probably a tracking glitch.

The behaviour you’re describing is territorial- howling, pissing everywhere, clawing. Plus some stress . He can smell lots of new cat scents in a new location, new local cats who already live in your new neighbourhood have probably already marked/been marking your new garden as their own, so he’s lost outdoor territory so has to start again, it probably stinks of strange cats to him outside who he’s never met. So he’s feeling threatened & unsettled.
It might take awhile for him to re establish a new territory. Do you have feliway or similar inside the house to make him less stressed inside?
I’m sure he’ll settle down given a bit of time- but just keep an eye open for possible cat fights with the new neighbourhood cats.
Do your new immediate neighbours have cats?