Cat wont go outside anymore & is crazy

Question
QUESTION: We recently moved from one house to another, about 25 miles away. Previously, our cat would go out for days at a time with no problem and everything was fine. She'd go to the bathroom outside too. Since moving, however, she has been behaving very differently. We knew this would happen but it's been going on for about 2 months now. When we first arrived, we kept her inside for 2 weeks, during which time she was getting stir-crazy and wanted to get out very badly. After that, we sprinkled some of her litter around the backyard (I read that as a hint somewhere) to help her remember the smell of her new home. The first time we put her outside, she disappeared for kind of a frighteningly long amount of time, over 24 hours, and we got scared. Eventually though, she came back. Since then however, she will not go outside. She'll stare wistfully out the window, but if we open the door, she won't go. If we put her outside, she scratches against the door forever. I've carried her out into the yard and petted her, eventually she runs back every time. This is kind of a problem because you can tell she's getting restless inside, because she's not running around outside & hunting/killing like she used to. We've been providing her with lots of extra love and brushing her fur, which we didn't do before, but she absolutely loves.

Do you have any suggestions?

ANSWER: Hi
sounds like your cat has lost her confidence and has discovered that she has new competition for territory outside and she feels a little insure of herself.
My advice is to spend time with her outside with doors closed so she can't race back inside. Play with her and give her little bits of food around the garden. This process can take some time weeks even months but the more time she spends outside the more she will find her feet.

Kate
http://www.our-happy-cat.com/moving-with-cat.html

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Our cat is doing a bit better with regards to going outside, however she has developed a habit of waking us up every night, around 3-5AM. She'll meow at the door, scratch at it. So we now sleep with the door open, but then she comes in and meows at us. It's extremely disruptive to everyone in the house and she hasn't really done this before. Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi
cats are naturally more active at night time and this kind of behavior is very common as she is trying to get your attention so that you will play with her or just give her some attention. The trouble is there is not other way of stopping this behavior other than getting your cat to realize that if she meows nothing will happen and so she will give up. Unfortunately this means that you have to have nerves of steel and make sure that you never let her into your room or respond to her meow, not even once. This can be hard.

I often suggest to people that they play with the cat about an hour before bedtime in an effort to tire them out a bit and to try and satisfy their need for attention.

Here is my link about cat meowing which might give you some more information. /cat-meowing.html

best wishes
Kate