I have to move to a small apartment.

[zanana1]

Since my husband died, I can no longer afford our house, so I have to sell it and rent a low-income apartment. After waiting for two years, a Public Housing apartment finally opened up. It only has two rooms; living room, bedroom. There's a tiny kitchen and a bathroom.
I won 't mind living in a small place, but I'm worried about my cat. He's used to having a whole house to run around in and I'm concerned that he'll be bored out of his mind. He's an active cat and I love him to death.
Have any of you ever faced this problem or know of someone who has?

[Sanity Claws]

1. I did it and it was no problem

Not only did the cats have the run of a house, they also were indoor/outdoor cats. When I moved to an apartment in a different city, they had a lot less space and were indoor only. They adjusted fine.
He may even grow closer to you because he will have to spend more time near you.

[katmondoo]

2. When I moved to a small condo my cat loved it. Why I do not know.

[spooky3]

3. I was temporarily in a small apt. Two of my cats had

No problem. The other adapted but he was thrilled when we moved back to the house. One thing that helped was teaching them to walk on a leash. They could then go outside and have more stimulation.

By the way, all three gained weight while they were less active in the small place!

[safeinOhio]

4. Moved a couple of times.

Kitty is good as long as I don't leave the house for more than two days or her dish is empty for more than two hours.

[mnhtnbb]

5. If you have a friend with carpentry skills

or have some funds you could spare to hire a carpenter, have a cat walk built and installed on the walls. Kitty can run around on it, have a perch in front of a window. You can make it so it is easy to remove when or if you have to move out.

My son had one made for his indoor kitty and she loves it. Uses it all the time.

Google cat wall shelves or cat wall stairs for ideas.

[zanana1]

7. I bought him a "cat tree"

It's pretty tall and has all kinds of "hidey" places. I hope he likes it. As you can tell, this cat is very pampered.

[JuJuYoshida]

6. cats are pretty adapt at adjusting

[happybird]

8. We moved from a house to a tiny apt and my cats adjusted just fine

We made beds in as many windows as possible so they could sun themselves while taking in different views of the street and yard. One of our guys is fascinated by watching traffic and people walking by, so he's very happy.

For exercise, I increased the amount of feather-on-a-stick and laser play time. That tapered off after a few weeks once they found their own routines. Also hung a birdfeeder out in the yard. Even though it's further away than ideal, they love to watch the birds and squirrels. A neighbor commented that her cat likes to watch it, too (it would be nice if she pitched in on some birdseed, lol!)

The cats picked the very short stretch of hallway between the bedroom and bathroom for zoomies. It's funny to watch because they turn on a dime to run back the other way and leap on the bed.

They adjusted quickly and are as happy as they were at the farm. We get more snuggles now, too. I think the most important thing to the cats is just being with us, no matter where it is.

[Doreen]

9. I have had to make a couple of moves.

After living in houses I had to move to an apartment then to a much smaller one to get subsidized. My cats fell into place smoothly. Do not worry, they do really well at taking over.

I have claustrophobia and my apartment drives me nuts on that leve but the cats do better than I do.

Get trees and tunnels for them it makes them feel like they still have places to explore. I have those crinkly tubes for cats to run through and move them around.

I must admit getting around my apartment is a challenge because of all the cat toys, tunnels, and their tree but the brats are happy.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. A decade ago I moved myself and my three cats

from a two story home with a full unfinished basement, a total of about 3,000 square feet to a two bedroom two bath apartment of about 950 square feet. Divorce. Need I say more? In the house the kitties had plenty of room to avoid each other if they wanted, and the newest cat had not been fully accepted by the other two, so there were a lot of territory squabbles. Blood was never drawn, but I sometimes found large hunks of cat hair in the upstairs hallway. Somewhat to my surprise, and definitely to my delight, they adjusted immediately to the smaller quarters. The territorial fights immediately ceased. All three would curl up on my bed at night, sometimes pretending the others weren't there, but they got along.

Cats are more adaptable than we sometimes give them credit for. With your cat, just make sure you get some new toys, and the cat castle/tree/climbing unit that's already been suggested.

[Fla Dem]

11. I have a relatively small 5 room home.

My cat spends all her time in the living room with me or asleep in the bedroom closet. I do have a screened lanai and during the warm weather she'll spend a couple of hours out there warming in the sun or watching the birds and squirrels. Your pet will adjust.

[akraven]

12. Shelves and climbs!

Seriously, it works. Put up padded shelves where you have a bit of room, put in a good cat-climb tower - he'll adapt and probably poop on your bed at least once but that'll be it. Mine were indoor/outdoor - we had to move to a MUCH smaller place with no yard. This worked for us.

Huggles to your kittles!

[zanana1]

13. Thanks everyone.

Your replies made me feel so much better. DU people are the best!