Bengal Cats Outdoors
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There are many dangers for cats being allowed to roam free outdoors. I used to allow my cats free access before the Bengals came along but since then I have become more educated on the subject & realised the risks. Obviously breeding cats should not be allowed to roam or to have contact with other cats who do (due to unplanned matings or risk of infection to unvaccinated kittens), but now I no longer allow any of my cats to roam free outside, not even my little moggy Cusack. When you take into account the potential disease or infection from other cats, the roads, dogs, foxes, people who don't like cats & may harm them, car antifreeze, poisonous plants, an unscrupulous person who sees a pretty cat & decides to take it home or even worse, sees pound signs & steals your cat to sell it...it just doesn't seem worth the risk of allowing our beloved family members out alone. They do however love the outdoors & it seems such a shame to deny them the experience, even though they can be kept safely indoors with plenty of stimulation & company to keep them happy. If you have the space in your garden, it is a fabulous idea to either fully enclose it or have a purpose built cat enclosure for them to play in. It needs to be fully enclosed including the roof, with some sort of mesh or netting or else your inquisitive Bengal will find an escape route! If it is not feasible for you to have an enclosure, then you can train your Bengal to walk on a lead. They are such curious & intelligent creatures that it usually doesn't take them long to get used to this, especially when they realise that it results in an adventure outdoors with their humans. You can get a harness from most pet accessory suppliers, or even better...a walking jacket. Start off with a normal lead while they get used to it but eventually you can progress to an extendible one to allow them to run & climb more easily. Be warned though, once your Bengal gets a taste of walks outdoors, you may have to keep it up as a regular occurance just as you would with a dog, or you may end up with a frustrated cat howling at the door to go out. Set a routine & it should keep everyone happy. **Never leave your Bengal
tied up or unattended on a lead!
This could result in a tragic accident.** Slavess Bengals Recommends...
Having seen several different designs of walking jacket on the market, I can happily recommend the ones made by Maria at Mynwood. They are very well made, sturdy & up to the challenge of keeping boisterous Bengals secure. Your cat won't wriggle backwards out of it as they could with a harness, as long as it is fastened well.   With
the generous amount of velcro used for the fastenings, they can be used
with different sized cats easily, as modelled by my adolescent girl
Aggie, my big butch boy Monty & a young upcoming kitten, Adora.
  They
are also fully reversible, as Adora shows below.
  The pictures below show the difference in size between Monty & Adora, wearing the same jacket comfortably. One size fits all unless you have an extra large cat, in which case Maria will make a larger one if you ask her.   Please do consider one of these jackets if you want to take your Bengal out for walks & be sure to let Maria know you were recommended by Slavess Bengals. |
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