5-y-o Burmese wont stop howling!

Question
Hi, I have a 5-y-o neutered male Burmese who is usually quite noisy. We recently moved (about 8 weeks ago) and have a garden which he has recently discovered. Unfortunately he's been a house cat all his life, and when I've let him out (supervised), he's sneaked off through neighbours gardens and I've had to go get him as I'm afraid he's to stupid to find his way home!! The problem now is he has discovered the garden that he howls persistently- almost screaming, and tries to get out at any opportunity. This is just manageable now, but during the summer, in a shared flat it may become a problem. Any ideas of what to do here? Should I train him to go outside or will he go missing/ get stolen (It's a quiet area)- or should i use a cat leash, or keep him in at any cost?? Any ideas would be really helpful!! Thanks so much for your time, Mark

Answer
Hi
in my opinion cats should be allowed outside. Cats are not like dogs who become dependant on us and are pack animals, cats are essential wild animals that keep all their natural instincts but choose to spend time with us. So keeping them in just seems wrong to me.

Anyway that is only my opinion and the final decision is of course yours. the trouble as you say that now that he has tasted freedom he will want to go out more and more. In my experience cats will do one of two things when they go out for the first time. they will either be timid and stay close to the house or they will go off exploring their new territory. My current cat went missing for three days then i found her sitting on my outside mat looking all dirty and pleased with herself and very hungry. After that she went out, did her cat things then would be back everyday for her meals etc. My sisters cat went missing for nine weeks. Then he too just turned up outside her house waiting to be let in. In my opinion cats are very intelligent animals and have very good sense of smell and direction and so can usually find their own way back.

However there are no guarantees and every cat is different. You could try leash training him but not all cats take to it and even if they do, you will have to make a commitment to take them out often. Here is my page about cat leash training for your info /cat-leash-training.html

Sorry i could not give you a definite answer that is not something anyone can do. You will have to make the decision based on your own circumstances. i hope all works out well for you both. :)

Best wishes
Kate