So, story starts a month and a half ago when I asked my roommate if it is okay for me to get a cat which he says "Yes, as long as it doesn't destroy the furniture." Which is reasonable. So fast forward to recently where I adopted a stray cat who is 4 years old and weighs about 4 pounds (which I was told is on the underweight side). The cat is very friendly and I haven't really seen her scratch furniture but the one issue I do see is that she constantly meows a bit too much for attention, food, and possibly wanting to leave a room with a door closed (still trying to figure if that is what the meowing is about but it appears to be).
Now my roommate is telling me to keep my cat in my room as he doesn't want the cat to be here anymore and obviously I refuse to just abandon or give her away. The problem I see is how much of a toll can this have on the cat as I do not think my room is big enough on it's own. I would describe it as big enough for a full sized bed, with 4-5 feet of free space on the side and 5 feet from the front with a tiny closet leading to a 4'x4' room for a half bath. There is a window overlooking the neighboring apartment's courtyard but I do not have a piece of furniture for her to perch on to look out of it at the moment. I am also working a full time job so I am gone for about 10 hours during the weekdays.
So advice I am looking for is:
1: Is this enough room for a cat or do I need to tell my roommate she has to roam the rest of the apartment otherwise is it considered animal cruelty?
2: What are some ways to entertain a cat? I got her a detachable feather teaser I can hang over a a scratching pad, a ball with a rattle inside, and a plush mouse for her to play with and I try playing with her with those toys but she is uninterested. She is also uninterested in catnip it seems but she does respond well to treats.
3: Any further details on stopping the excessive meowing? I heard that in order to deter a cat from excessively meowing, you basically need to ignore and not give the cat attention till she tires. Also, once the cat starts taking longer pauses between meows, to give the cat a treat. Is this right? Also if the cat jumps on me when I'm trying to ignore her during her meowing sprees (she kind of stops meowing when she does this) do I give her attention at this point or do I take her off my lap and continue ignoring her once she continues meowing?
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/dkf882/new_cat_and_roommate_problems_need_advice/
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