Moving to house with small garden - worried about my cats

[newlife4]

I live with DH, our DC and two cats. We're in the process of selling our house and relocating, but the house we're looking to buy has a much smaller garden than our current place (we're deliberately downsizing to free up some much needed cash).

At the moment we're in a terraced house with a 70 foot garden on a long, quiet street, so there's plenty of space for the cats to roam safely.

The new house has a courtyard style garden and it's on a terraced street where houses are much more tightly packed compared to our current place.

I'm really worried that this is going to impact badly on our beloved cats and am wondering whether we should pull out of the sale.

DH says we have to go ahead as we do really need the money and the new place is near a good school for our DC.

What do you think?

I have a small garden and the cat is fine. There's lots of green space and woodland nearby though. Is there green space they could access?

Not really - only other people’s small gardens!

Is it on a busy road?

Lots of cats live in homes with small gardens.

Mine started off in a terrace house and I can't say they seem objectively any happier now we're in a detached house.

Yeah I think if not on a busy road, it's fine. They can go in the other peoples small gardens too!

I'm sorry you're having to downsize, OP, but I'm sure your cats will adapt. If the new house was near a busy road or something that would be different, but it sounds like it's quite cat safe, just potentially a bit dull. You'll just need to be creative to make the courtyard as interesting as possible for them. Maybe grow some cat mint in a trough or build an outdoor cat tree with a lookout. I'm sure there's lots of things you can do to keep them entertained and most cats tend to go out less as they get older anyway.

It’s on a quiet road. I just feel so guilty as they seem so happy and have a lot of space where we are. I hope they can adapt to the new place!

We moved from a house with a garden about the same size as yours to one a third of the size. The cats are fine and don't wander anymore than they did before.

They'll be fine.

They don't see the boundaries as 'the end of their garden' like humans do.

Their range will stay roughly the same but just with an interesting wall to climb over and sit on.

They have no concept of one bit of land being their garden and the next bit not.

The other thing I’m worried about is that my new neighbours might not be so cat friendly (where we are now nearly everyone has a cat, so it’s very cat friendly). But how can you really know before buying the house?

I wouldn't worry about that. Lots of people have cats so it's something most people just accept. It sounds totally fine to me as you said it's on a quiet road. The cats won't care. Just make sure you keep them in for at least 3 to 4 weeks before you let them out.

I have a small garden and it's cat proofed and he's fine, I wouldn't worry about it.

I have a small garden and it's cat proofed and he's fine, I wouldn't worry about it

We haven't had any photos of 'him' lately ...

Some of us feel cheated.

@YetAnotherSpartacus see my 'Free to a Good Home' thread...

i only have a tiny garden/courtyard in a very built up area and my cat is fine. she LOVES being out in the courtyard and I have no doubt she would roam for miles if she could, but she can't and she is still a happy friendly playful girl. I always think, I would prefer live in a huge house with a huge garden but I can't and don't, so I have made my peace with it and so will my cat!

I did exactly the same in February, old girl loved our old garden which was 100 foot long.
We now have a small gravel courtyard garden but it has a pond.
I needn't have worried, she just loves the pond and is out there all day chasing gnats and drinking out of it.
She isn't keen on the gravel so I've put some planks down for her to walk to the pond on.
I've done lots of planting and have a slim tree, 2 miniature apple trees and a big pile of logs she loves to sit on.
She doesn't seem to miss the old garden at all.
Take a look at the new garden and put some interesting things in it for the cats, a water feature is a big plus.

There are several cats round here and they pop up in our garden now and then, they all roam from house to house, my cat doesn't as she's 19 but they all seem very happy.

Give them something to climb and they will love it. There are specially made climbing frames for cats that can be bolted to an outside wall. Perfect for keeping an eye on the neighbourhood.