Outdoor to indoor

[SoRainbowRhythms]

Long story short, my husband has left me and i am having to put our home on the market. We have 2 cats, girl cat is his from long and will go with him and I will keep boy cat.

Boy cat loves being outdoors in the summer but never tends to leave the garden. Unfortunately I've been looking at my options and I will only be able to afford a 1 bedroom flat, and ground floor flats are hard to come by, so I'm being forced into the fact he might have to make do with a balcony. He loves sitting in the sun

Rehoming isn't an option as we are very bonded and he doesn't do well when I'm not there. He's like my little duckling.

Had anyone been in this position and made it work? I'm heartbroken that this is another shit thing in this whole shit situation but I have no choice. I'm already thinking of things like cat shelves I can add to enrich wherever we end up living.

I'd say it depends on the cat, you might be suprised.

My Boy cat did about 3km a day when I forced him to be an indoor cat - got fed up of him not coming home and terrorizing the neighbours.

He's actually fine with it. I have put in some activity of him at home, he loves his tunnel and climbing on to high cupboards but otherwise it's OK.

On the other hand Girl cat who never goes beyond the back garden absolutely needs to go out every day or she loses the plot. But she would probably be fine with a catio on a balcony.

if necessary it will be fine. Depending on the exact flat you may be able to let him out by providing a cat shelter that he can wait in until you let him in or go out in a cat tent etc. If you get a balcony you could secure that. Or leash training. There are always options.

My parents out door cat coped very well with being under house arrest, when my parents moved in with my sister for six months. It's worth a try.

Thanks all. Trying not to add it to the list of things to worry about but he's literally my world right now and I'd hate him to be upset!

Our current garden is quite long and he loves galloping up it to see me, but hopefully I can enrich his new environment well. We're probably going to have to stay with a friend for a few weeks between houses too but he's a resilient little chap so I hope he won't be too unsettled.

He’ll be ok - he’s got a very loving owner who has his best interests at heart. Totally get the worry though, I used to feel guilty leaving my girl to go to work!

My friend did this with her cat who had tendencies to climb in to cars when doors were open. Tunnels, cat tree things and lots of playing helped. She was a very active cat who loved to play, so the games just changed. She was never stressed or unhappy but my friend spent a lot of time playing with her.

The galloping will continue - it will just be a circuit rather than a straight run! (So make sure you have things he can do “big jumps” on to!)

I've had indoor cats before but they were generally fiv / old / poorly (I have a soft spot for old guys nobody else wants) but I adopted my boy cat at 9 weeks and he's always been my little sidekick. I really hope he adapts.

Also have the added complication that he ADORES girl cat (the feeling isn't always mutual!) and I would like to get him a companion further down the line but need to think about who would be happy indoors.

For what it's worth, my boy cat had a couple of years being an outdoor cat before I moved to live on a very busy main road and made him become indoors. He's fine.

My girl cat has always been indoors and has no interest in the outside world. I do think it's nice that they've got each other to interact with, though, so a new companion is probably a good idea.

Don't worry too much. If he's very bonded to you then rehoming just for a garden isn't the best option for him versus at least trying him being an indoor cat.

Rex, the very long term TempCat grew up in a very rural location with his sister, at the very end of a long upaved lane with barns and woods to explore. I'm in a 2 bed 2nd floor flat in London!

He has settled in remarkably well, given he's only 3 and a big lad. He does get a massive attack of the zoomies a couple of times a day and gallops up and down the hallway and leaps around after wand toys. He needs lots of physical play and mental stimulation, to substitute for what they get when outdoors, or he gets naughty (which is quite funny as well as annoying - he sent a Teams chat message to my boss on Friday). Get a big cat tree and lots of playthings (Rex loves a tunnel as well) and also catnip/silvervine toys. Be a bit careful about his food, as being indoors it's easier for them to put on weight, certainly Rex has got a bit podgy and a diet is looming!

He does meow a bit piteously to go outside (into the flat hallway) but luckily my neighbours are quite amused by him and he gets lots of pats and attention. He spends a lot of time in the windowsills looking out the garden or the main road, and likes the windows on the latch for the breeze and all the smells. But mainly he likes his bed on the windowsill directly above the radiator!