Hello all

I am devoted to my two beautiful Bengals, Mungo & Barbarella - they're litter mates, 3yo in April, both neutered.

I currently live in Johannesburg, South Africa, where I bought these two beautiful felines, but am returning to London in May.

In Johannesburg Mungo & Barbarella have free run of the garden - some long grass, lots of shrubbery, six great climbing trees - during the day. They spend their nights indoors, usually occupying most of our bed. Both cats have been known to wander around the neighbouring properties. The climate here is conducive to outdoor living, and our kitties are quite boisterous.

In London we will be living in an apartment - it's spacious by London standards and has a balcony - but the cats will only have access to the outdoors when we take them on a nightly walk. (We'll both be working all day.) Realistically, some nights the walk will not be feasible, due to the weather.

Long story short: Mungo & Barbarella are going to go from having easy access to the outdoors to being mostly (but not completely) indoor cats.

So, to my question. Is this a change that my kitties will be able to bear? My vet thinks so - her view is that the cats are bonded with Heather and me. My view is that cats are intrinsically adaptable, so there might be some short-term adjustment issues but they'll get used to it. Heather is vehemently opposed - she thinks that cats should be outdoor creatures (I agree on that, but I also agree with the "bonding & attachment" argument made by our vet). I'd be heartbroken to be parted from Mungo & Barbarella, but I want to do the best for them.

Please let me know your thoughts on this. Any advice will be gratefully received. I'm especially interested to hear from any of you who might have had a similar change.

Many thanks
Oliver

I think they'll adjust. You may have to put in more play time with them since they can't burn their energy outside but I think that between more interactive play time and nightly walks they'll be fine.

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

You have gorgeous kitty cats! I can tell you first hand how difficult it is to take a free roaming outdoor cat and turning them into an indoor cat. My neighbor owned Raiden and let him roam free. After a multitude of cat fights and severe injuries, he gave the cat to me and I decided Raiden would stay indoors. Oh the nonstop crying and scratching at the doors. So, I decided to take him for walks using a harness and leash and he loves them. We also built a cat enclosure on our deck which he can access 24/7. Since you are moving to an apartment with limited outdoor space, taking them for walks may help. If it were me, I'd purchase a covered pet crate (some of them even fold flat) that would fit on your balcony (if you aren't permitted to cat proof it with fencing) and allow them to enjoy the outdoors. Once a cat has tasted the outdoors, they don't want to give it up without a fight. Raiden has now (after 2 years) settled down. He still wants to go outside for his walks. Unfortunately, we've had a bad ice storm and everything is solid ice out there. No walk yesterday and none today, but he's used his cat wheel and I've played with him. He may survive!

Good luck with your move. It will be a change for your kitties with their new environment. Give them time to get adjusted.

It's impossible to predict how they will react imo, but I think you should look at it like this: however they initially react, you can make it work out really well for them. I definitely believe that. Lots of Londoners keep bengals in their apartments and make it work really well. And you can give them a great life given enough effort, and determination and patience. And as an added bonus they will also be safer. Like Sherry said, you should see if you can make your balcony into what Jackson Galaxy refers to as a "catio". And if you are worried about them missing their climbing trees, there are definitely equivalents that you can have indoors (like hicat, climbing poles, and cat shelves).

There's absolutely no reason why you should be thinking thoughts of having to rehome them right now imo. But will there be an adjustment period? Very likely. And will you have to make some effort to "catfiy" your place? Also very likely.

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The little monsters 3

Wow that will be an adjustment for them at first. Moving, air travel, new home, apartment life… I have been told that a cat's memory lasts about a month. If that is true, maybe you will only have a few weeks of upset to appease. Your cats are beautiful; I could never part with them.

Get some cat towers and make the inside fun and exciting for them. I have 3 towers for my cats and they love one that is 7 feet tall and one cat ops to play on it even when the patio door is open. I just ordered another climbing pole that I plan to attach to the wall so they can go from the tower up to a triangular opening in the wall that starts at about 8 feet and goes to the ceiling. I see them looking up there wondering how they can explore it.

There are all sorts of sites but this one is my favorite for cat furniture: http://www.catsplay.com

Hi all - thanks very much for the input. Very useful to get the views of other owners, and I really like the look of catsplay.com :-) I can see our apartment being catified in short order...

What a beautiful baby!

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes