I've got a 3-year-old Bengal who's lovely and very friendly. I let him out in the garden on a harness, but he wants to go further... Just to give some context, we moved into a house exactly a year ago; before that, he always lived in a flat, so it was never an issue. Now, he won't tolerate being on a lead because we used to take him out around the neighbourhood every now and then, but we can't do it every day. As a result, as soon as we put him in the garden on his harness, he's really unhappy. He’s wearing us out. What should I do? I'd love to give him total freedom, but I'm so worried about the dangers of the road, especially since there's been a lot of pet theft in the area lately...
Thanks in advance for your replies.
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I completely agree but he is very, very stubborn... and trying to fully secure the garden is a real nightmare, we’d have to redo everything and it’s almost impossible. I’d be willing to rehome him to someone with a cat-proofed garden and other cats; he’d be much happier and safer... it’s breaking my heart but I just don’t know what to do anymore. Does anyone know anyone?
I completely agree with the others – the best option is a cat run or a cat-proofed garden like the ones in Kelinda’s photos. If you want to lose your cat for good, then by all means let him roam free. A Bengal or any other pedigree cat can be resold in a heartbeat on sites like Gumtree or Pets4Homes. Given that some people are even bold enough to steal cats from enclosed gardens or right off a lead, just imagine what could happen if he ran into someone with bad intentions while out on his own.
They’re a unique breed that needs lots of space and they’re prone to wandering off. Don’t tempt fate and don't give in to his demands to escape, or you’ll risk never seeing him again.
That’s not even taking into account all the other dangers he’d face, as Kelinda mentioned.
Securing the garden so you can let them out is a great idea, using some netting or a fence topper to stop them from escaping, something like this:
Letting a cat roam outdoors is just too risky—there are far too many dangers like road accidents, poisoning, injuries, and so on.
Bengals need to burn off much more energy than your average cat, so you'll need to give them plenty of extra play sessions with lots of jumping and exercise.
It's going to be a struggle... and he's being so stubborn. He sits right in front of the door meowing his head off, and it’s drawing so much attention. I’m honestly at my wits’ end.
Everyone is telling me to just let him out because I spend my whole day watching him or getting him unstuck from between the furniture; it’s a real nightmare.
Maybe you could make the garden secure, or just a section of it if it’s really big? You could use some large netting, or maybe an aviary-style enclosure...
