# Taking indoor cats outside on a harness?



## jawramik (Dec 3, 2012)

Both my cats are indoor-only, so I'd really like to try to leash-train them and take them outdoors on a harness.

How many of you do/have done this? Was it difficult to get your cats to accept the harness? Do they walk with you like a dog, or do they just sort of wander around and you have to just follow them around while they explore? (Or both?) What sort of harness works best? My cats are about 2 1/2 and 7 years old (in other words, not kittens). Will this make it significantly more difficult to leash-train them?

Any and all advice and information on the topic would be much appreciated.


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## hal1 (Jul 16, 2011)

The best you can do is hope for them to wander in a straight line, they don't really walk like dogs. they hardest past is getting htem use to the harness. There's lot's of info out there if you google cat walk training harness.

I really like this harness I got, nice and secure..

I got mine here. Not cheap, but good. I like this general style because there I can pull Toby if I have to and it's not putting a lot of pressure on him.

Cat Walking Jackets | Cat Harnesses | Joy Katz


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Agree with Hal. Walking a cat on a leash is NOT like walking a dog....it's more hanging on to the other end of the leash and following them around like a dope. 

My young cat HATES it. He was fine with the harness once he got used to it but he WIGGED out and escaped his "escape proof harness when cars started going by.

The older cat liked it TOO much. When it's nice out he drove me crazy howling to go outside. I had to stop taking him because he was inconsolable.


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## dlowan (Jul 13, 2012)

One of mine walks pretty much like a dog....with a few stops to smell stuff on the way. I can even jog, if I take really good care not to let him tangle me up when he gets really close. 

My little girl is quite different....with her it's mainly follow her where she wants to go, although she will generally take direction.

The colourful harnesses Hal1 suggests look secure....I have found most of them to be crap that cats can get out of at will.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Margaux took to it right away - she was probably about 2 or so. Maybe that was partly because the harness was very light, like a thin cord (I don't think I'd recommend this, although I didn't have any issues), but probably more because she always wanted to go outside. I think she figured that if the harness was the only way she was getting out there, she'd put up with it. I brought her to the door and opened it a little before I put it on for the first time. She resisted a little, but I opened the door again so she could get a whiff of the air outside and then finished attaching the harness.

Yep, I'm in complete agreement with MowMow about what it's like "walking" a cat:

Only once did she actually let me walk her. The other times, it was me standing there while she sniffed a bush for 10 minutes, moving forward a few inches, standing again while she sniffed a second bush, etc. Occasionally, it was being nearly yanked off my feet when she caught sight of a chipmunk. And then it was growling and hissing when it was time to go back in. 

Celia would not have anything to do with the harness and got totally freaked out when I tried to put it on her. I tried a few times, but she's always been skittish and I think she's actually afraid of the outdoors, so I didn't push it.


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## soraiadigital (Nov 25, 2012)

Funny thing I tried it earlier today with my cat.
It was the second time he had it on him and everything went well, until the moment the "outside world" started making noises... 
He was abandoned in the street at some point and I think the memories are still quite fresh.... he was soooo scared he wouldn't move an inch, had to pick him up and even then he was flipping with every single noise.
We have a bit of communal grass at the back of the apartment, I guess we need to get out a little bit more.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Blaze is proof any cat can get used to going outside and love it.

I didn't leash train him, but I'm sure with persistence he would've taken to that as well. I allow him in the backyard to wander until he's had enough. When we open the door to let him in he either is wandering about not interested in coming in or comes running over like a puppy, all excited to see us. He's adorable.

Blaze pretty much had never left the apartment. Possibly 5 times max when he was quite young ... he's scared of everything; loud noise, plastic bags, strangers, putting him in his cage causes him to pee in fright. The one time my dad tried carrying him outside without thinking about it, Blaze peed all over _him_.

So anyway, at 15 years old we started letting him outside. At first he freaked out, peed everywhere and howled and wanted in desperately. We only let him outside for a few minutes and brought him back in. Tried again in a few days with the same results. Some people might just shrug at the point and say they don't like it outdoors but even for Blaze, the epitome of Scary Cat, after a few weeks he was gaining more and more interest in walking around and exploring. I remember the first time he really took everything in, he was looking up at the sky like it was fascinating. Now he runs out there to nibble on grass, he really loves it.


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## hal1 (Jul 16, 2011)

A word of caution. Even though Toby does well on a leash outside, if a car is coming or some other big thing happens like neighbors opening their garage door, I have to pick him up or physically restrain him, as he will go into full freak out, get me out of here, mode. After the car passes he's okay.


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## 3gatos (Nov 28, 2012)

Yup, all my cats walk on leash. The kitten does the best with it. I got my guys when they were 3, 9 mos and 10 weeks. They all tolerate the harness, but only 2 will walk without falling over. I give a tug on the leash and they change direction. I use the come with me kitty harnesses. My kitten will even jump in the car on his own now, so cute!


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

*Alternative to harness walking...Pet Stroller*

Based on your cat's experience after the buckles were tightened, it will be very difficult, maybe impossible, to get a harness on him again I expect. 

Another alternative is to take him for "walkies" in a Pet Stroller---they come in various models and sizes. Altho _you're _getting the exercise, he will still enjoy all the different scents and sights he sees and be very secure in the enclosed stroller which is great when you encounter dogs. My two cats love to go in it and it seems to satisfy their urge to wander. They like the walks but are also happy to come back home. If you do get one, get one with wheels _more than 5in._ in diameter. The larger the wheels the better they will go over rougher ground or bumps. You'll need one that encloses completely (often with a nylon mesh) for cats; some pet strollers for dogs are open.

In winter I occasiionally use the stroller as a grocery cart, as I don't take my cats out at that time of year.

Strollers Pet in Other Pet Supplies - Lowest Prices & Best Deals on Strollers Pet - Pronto.com


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## LilyC (Aug 23, 2011)

Tequila and Maya both walk with harness and leash but only where they want to go. Since, a 30 minute walk can become over an hour walk, we decided to get a pet jogger. The best investment we made. They get the fresh air, they are safe and I get some exercise. 

This is a clip of Tequila walking.
http://youtu.be/pH8YxZxwvTs

This is our pet jogger.


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

There's another hurdle once you get him used to the harness--then e needs to get used to outside. 

Mine doesn't mind the harness and let's me tighten it an attach the leash. He's not a big fan of the leash but he tolerates it. 

I thought it was finally time to go outside, but boy did he disagree! It was so sad looking. He immediately reverted to scared wild animal mode (and he has never been feral or wild in his life!). He flattened himself to the ground and shimmied back to the apartment building door as fast as he could. When he got there he balked himself in a corner and was panting. 

After that episode, I haven't tried again. We still play with the harness and leash indoors - I figure its good to have him used to it in case of an emergency or something, but outside has been out of the question. 


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## krazykiwi (Oct 21, 2012)

My boy cat loves his harness, once it's on, but it's always a small wrestling match to get it on him. He's fine and settles down and sits politely at the door like a puppy as soon as it's on, but the process of wrapping it around him and buckling it up took quite some practice and lots of time.

Tips that work for me: Fasten the body strap before the neck strap, and leave the leash attached to the harness body clip before you start, that way you can get hold of him again if he runs off with half the harness on. And make sure you know where his feet are, Sune would stick his feet through the harness in all sorts of directions before I got the hang of it.

Without the harness, he likes to door rush, but being a city apartment cat before he came to live with me, as badly as he wants to get outside, he's actually quite scared. So he is super easy to catch, usually goes no further than 2 meters from the door. 

But it did lead to a funny episode the other day, when I was taking boxes out to the garage, and he came out the door with me, I figured I'd let him follow, see how he did. As expected he stuck to me like glue all the way to the garage, (a whole 20 meters, but it's a big adventure for him!) But on the way back to the house, a bird flew up from the bush and he delightedly sprung after it. Directly into a snow drift about a meter deep, which he promptly disappeared into. 

He immediately bounced straight up in the air, the way you see baby gazelles do on nature documentaries, but he couldn't figure out what direction to go because snow everywhere he looked, so while I'm dying laughing, there is this huge fluffy orange boy sproinging in and out of a pile of snow, yowling like he was being murdered the entire time. By the time I rescued him he was shaking and shivering, and clung to me with his paws around my neck like I had just pulled him out of a shark filled ocean.

I think we'll probably put the walks on hold until springtime for now 

Sune's big day out has some pictures if you would like to see his harness though (from just about the last day of autumn it was nice enough to go out)


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## 3gatos (Nov 28, 2012)

krazykiwi said:


> My boy cat loves his harness, once it's on, but it's always a small wrestling match to get it on him. He's fine and settles down and sits politely at the door like a puppy as soon as it's on, but the process of wrapping it around him and buckling it up took quite some practice and lots of time.
> 
> Tips that work for me: Fasten the body strap before the neck strap, and leave the leash attached to the harness body clip before you start, that way you can get hold of him again if he runs off with half the harness on. And make sure you know where his feet are, Sune would stick his feet through the harness in all sorts of directions before I got the hang of it.
> 
> ...


I literally laughed when I read this! Too funny! I can just imagine a big orange kitty afraid of the snow!

My kitten hasn't seen snow up close yet, he is a door bolter as well when his harness isn't on and boy does he RUN! I'm going to put his harness on, on Thursday when I'm off and see what he thinks.


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## jawramik (Dec 3, 2012)

I actually bought two Come With Me Kitty harnesses a while back, so I'm glad to hear that that's a good choice.

I'll definitely take it slow. Coda was a stray, and is always looking out the window, and I found Cal outside, so I think they may be okay once they get outside so long as they're comfortable with the harness.

Thanks for the advice.


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## mimi3908 (Aug 25, 2010)

my cats were once strays as well and one of the three had always seemed like she wants to go outside, so I also put a harness on her and walked her in my backyard. She was okay with the harness, but I guess once outside a new environment, she didn't seem interested and walked back towards the door. I think it is a matter of time before the kitty start getting use to it again although I don't do it often and only in warm weather time. A few caveats that I did hear about getting your cats use to the outdoors again is that once they are use to it, they might be more willing bolt out the door if someone leaves it open by mistake, and of course, the possibly of getting ticks and fleas if they don't have outdoor collars. Just be aware of those potential issues.


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## jawramik (Dec 3, 2012)

I use Advantage on both my cats, so I'm not too worried about fleas or ticks. One of my cats in particular will already bolt if the door is left open, so we just always have to be really careful and be bossy with guests about not leaving the door open. That's also part of why I really would like to be able to give both my kitties safe, supervised outdoor time; it seems like Coda especially really wants to go outside, and I don't feel good about having an indoor/outdoor cat. Maybe if I lived in a quiet, low-traffic neighbourhood I might feel differently, but I live right along a main road and it just wouldn't be responsible to allow either of my cats to roam unsupervised. 

Coda has gotten out a few times. Most of those times she hasn't made it much farther than the front porch before someone's grabbed her, but once she was missing for a few days. Thankfully she came back healthy and unharmed, though she was missing her collar (another reason I'm glad she's microchipped).

Cal got let out by my friend shortly after I brought him home, and I was convinced that we'd never see him again when I lost track of him after I'd run after him, but he was sitting in front of our door when we got home after going out to get some food, bless his little heart.


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## Zilla (Oct 29, 2012)

Please note Advantage does NOT protect against ticks... Which I've never understood why... :| but yea... 


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## jawramik (Dec 3, 2012)

Zilla said:


> Please note Advantage does NOT protect against ticks... Which I've never understood why... :| but yea...
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


I thought it did. Which is the one that prevents against ticks?


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## Zilla (Oct 29, 2012)

The Advantage II for dogs takes care of ticks.... I'm not sure if there is a cat topical that kills ticks.... I think Frontline might... And or revolution... I don't remember 


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## Zilla (Oct 29, 2012)

Sorry not advantage II for dogs.... I meant to say K9 Advantix.... 


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## bombyxmori (Dec 29, 2012)

Supervised, dash-proof wandering is more like it. 

Also, since the neighbor's muscle-boy cat taught mine to climb the back fence, but she has trouble getting back, I tether her when I'm outside or sitting at desk just inside and have a constant eye on her. Feel pretty guilty about this, but she still manages to catch flies and moths.


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