@cambia46 wrote:
Oh, more importantly, how can I get my cat to stop meowing at the top of his lungs to go outside?? 😜
Easy!! Go to your local shelter and adopt a sibling for him! That's what I'd do. 
And, of course, make sure they have plenty of things to occupy/engage them, like toys and catnip and scratching posts. Mine are all very content! 
And definitely do NOT let him out. There are a plethora a dangers to cats outside, including--where I live--coyotes. My next door neighbor, who was an elderly woman who didn't believe it was 'natural' to keep cats indoors, found what remained of hers one morning at the bottom of my driveway... Not a pretty sight. Nor are cats who've been run over by multi-ton vehicles.
@Mr_Mojo_Risin wrote:You received some great answers regarding SPs.
Now, more importantly, the kitty.
The cat runs the house now, and you're gonna have to leave that patio door cracked open.
We have a cat who will actually howl to go out, I've never seen anything like it, she's like a little wolf lol.
Enjoy the holiday weekend.
Cheers!
My most recent adopted cat was already a mature, sexually active, tom cat when I got him. He was an outdoor cat, surviving by his wits. I've been rescuing for many decades, so I had no qualms about turning him into a house cat!
The first few weeks were a little dicey. On the one hand, he was SO HAPPY to have an endless supply of food and, more importantly, fresh water at his disposal. (He was so thirsty when I first got him, you know how your glass or bottle sweats and makes little droplets? He'd lick those! Even though there were full water bowls in other rooms.) But, on the other hand, he'd continually go to the doors and howl to go out. He also sprayed (even though he was neutered by then) the wall in one area by my front door. With patience, some Feliway spray (it's a pheromone-based product you spray where you're having a problem), tons of positive reinforcement and love, he's now been a very content, happy, indoor cat for 10 years!
When the front door is open, he still sits in front of the screen door and looks around outside, but he long ago got over trying to get out.
Oh, he was also a scratcher!! My furniture has NO cat damage and I wasn't about to start now. Again, with Feliway, positive reinforcement, and a GIGANTIC, TALL scratching post strategically placed next to the chair he was scratching, that stopped, too. I moved that post a long time ago, and he uses it regularly.
Oops....sorry for hijacking this thread.