# Cat Harness



## Shortbug (Feb 1, 2007)

*..I bought this harness for Frappy and it is adjustable for most cats..it is a 3/8 in x 18 in....and the ones at the pet store are like a 3/8 in x 16 in...but when I put it on him...he does the crazyiest thing...he stands there and then falls on his side like a tree getting ready to timber..and he jus lays there like he is paralized..very strange..am I tourting my cat????*


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

Almost every cat I've put a harness on will do exactly that. Just let him run around with it on and he'll get used to it. 

I used to dress cats up when I was a kid. Put baby doll clothes on them and push them in a stroller. (My mother should have realized back then that she wasn't getting any human grandchildren from me...... :lol They all fell over like fainting goats!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

CataholicsAnonymous said:


> (My mother should have realized back then that she wasn't getting any human grandchildren from me.....


 :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

It is like the constricting (even though it really isn't tight) harness acts like a mother cat grabbing them by the scruff and they just stiffen up and fall over.

I've also used this knowledge to my advantage...when having to medicate a cat by myself, sometimes I can put a clothespin on their scruff and actually have TWO HANDS to do my task while the clothes pin 'holds' the cat! :wink: 
Heidi


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Oooooohhhhhh, Heidi........you come up with the greatest suggestions!! I can always use an extra hand.....even if it's wooden with a spring inside!! :lol:


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Me?! <laughing> I thought everybody knew about clothespins!
I'm glad I mentioned it...I'm sure it will be helpful information for everyone. I do have to caution though....it doesn't work on all cats. My Mister cat would just slink away with the clothespin attached to his shoulder skin. Most of them, they freeze right up!
h


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## Shortbug (Feb 1, 2007)

*Cat Harness...pt 2*

ok...i have it on him and he tipped over..then got up and now he is moving really slow and low to the ground...he is walking around like he has diarehha..or a really old cat..only been 10 mins!!!is he alright..or is it possible it is too tight????


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

If you can fit a finger underneath it isn't too tight. He just doesn't like the feel of it and is trying to slink under it...but it is attached to him so he keeps slinking.
Eventually he will get used to how it feels and ignore it.
Heidi


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## Shortbug (Feb 1, 2007)

*Cat Harness...pt 3*

he is just under my bed..not moving..how long should i let him wear it?..like how many hours a day?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Maybe just for a half hour to start with, then slowly increase it by 10 minutes every other day or so. You can let him wear it longer when he seems to forget about it.

Maybe give him a treat when you first put it on, eventually try to engage him to play and move around...but that will take some time before he gets used to wearing it. I really don't think it will take too long.

Pretty soon, if he enjoys going outside for the fresh air with it, he will look forward to it. We used a harness/leash for out cats when we moved from WA to GA. We had to stay in an RV park for 5 months until our house closed and we could move in. If the kitties wanted to go outside, we had to use the harness and leash. They all enjoyed being outside so much, they barely paid any mind at all to the harness/leash.
Heidi

ps...after a while, I'd also let him drag the leash around so he can feel it tug on him. I had one cat who would panic if he felt the leash pull on him too quickly.


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## ChevyIIMan (Nov 8, 2006)

We got one of those for dusty and she did the same thing :lol: she wouldn't move off the bed so I put her in the hallway and she fell over, so I slid her around on the floor a bit  

We took her outside and she did exactly what yours did walk around real LOW and headed for the front door. Now that shes older I need to try again/


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## Bethany (Jul 19, 2006)

My housemate when I was in grad school decided to try to get her cat used to a harness by putting it on and leaving it on until Autumn abandoned the "creeping around like a poor crippled kitty" routine.

About 6 weeks later we were watching a movie when out of the blue she said to Autumn, "Ok. You win." and took the harness off. Autumn had never once broken out of her persona of a poor, crippled kitty the entire time. She wouldn't even chase toys. She'd bat at them if she could reach them without moving, but she wouldn't run after them... after all, she was a poor, crippled kitty.

It may all depend on how stubborn your cats are. 

I got harnesses for my ladies when I got them, but I just tried them on the other day and it turns out my cats didn't realize the harnesses were supposed to be one-size-fits-all-cats and they merrily proceeded to outgrow them. I forsee a trip to Petsmart for 14"-20" harnesses in the near future, since I want to let the kitties explore outside a little.


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## Jimmyness (Dec 31, 2005)

Just put the harness of the cat when he's being fed his dinner then hopefully he'll be too preoccupied to notice. Thats what worked with me anyhow.


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## MattH (Oct 26, 2005)

When we got one for Dorn last summer to go outside, he did the same thing! LOL I didnt have a leash so I found some rope to tie him up to for the time being..haha.. Anyways...I took him out right away...you tell me the results...


























He absolutly loved it...as soon as the snow here melts, which is alot, I will be taking him out again..


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Those are lovely pictures. And the snow is melting fast today, so hopefully it won't be too long. :wink: 

You don't leave him tied out there alone, though, do you? That would also be a lovely picture for a hawk soaring overhead or a fox in that field in the background (using "lovely" in a completely different context.) Not to mention cats are known to be able to slip out of their harness.


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## morea (Feb 8, 2005)

CataholicsAnonymous said:


> They all fell over like fainting goats!


most of my cats have never taken to the harness, but the 'fainting goats' analogy is priceless!

fainting goats: http://www.compfused.com/directlink/765/


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## Sky Eyes Woman (Feb 26, 2006)

Yeah, that fainting goats comparison cracked me up! :lol:

I use this to my advantage when Dude is being an obnoxious butthead and beating up on Kit N. I put a small doggie t-shirt on him and he instantly does the fainting goat thing and lays there glaring at me until I take it off.


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## Bethany (Jul 19, 2006)

On the other hand, I tried to take my cats out back for a picnic lunch this weekend. (Well, the lunch was just for me while I watched them.) I put on their new harnesses and tied them out. 

I figured Stormy would be pleased as punch. She's a serious door-darter and always goes straight down the stairs to sniff under the bottom of the stairwell. I've had her out on a hand-held leash sometimes but it turns out her attention span for sniffing the stairwell is a lot longer than MY attention span for watching her sniff the stairwell. So I thought she'd be pleased at the chance to sniff under the stairwell to her little heart's content. Instead Stormy -- the adventurous one -- immediately tried to run back up the stairs and into my apartment (which she couldn't do because the tie-out wasn't that long). When I untied her she immediately voluntarily went back inside.

I wasn't sure how Misty would do with the outside thing, but I figured that if I was out and Stormy was out, she'd want to be out, too, since that's usually how it works with Misty. She actually explored a little before trying to head back inside, then I untied her so she could follow her sister back in.

Then I finished my picnic lunch all by my lonesome.

I really don't get it. The cats love being out on my screened-in porch and Stormy loves hanging about in the stairwell. What was different?


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

They feel secure in the porch and stairwell. Being cats, they're very curious about being out in the big, wide world, but once they're out there, sometimes their bravery doesn't quite match up to their curiosity.  

At least you know what your cats will do. You know they won't take off into the wild blue yonder.


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## Bethany (Jul 19, 2006)

coaster said:


> They feel secure in the porch and stairwell. Being cats, they're very curious about being out in the big, wide world, but once they're out there, sometimes their bravery doesn't quite match up to their curiosity.
> 
> At least you know what your cats will do. You know they won't take off into the wild blue yonder.


Yeah, when Stormy first started door-darting, I would drop everything to run after her. Now I've become more laid back about putting everything down before I go retrieve her since she never goes far.

Last night I was carrying my laptop and two heavy bags of groceries when she made her escape so it took me a tiny bit longer than usual to put everything down. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, no Stormy! I immediately started worrying that I'd become too casual about chasing after her and she'd wandered off into the Great Unknown. Then I looked up and she was standing at the top of the stairs looking down at me, "What are you doing down there when I'm up here?"

Her tail was all puffed out, so maybe something spooked her back up the stairs. I do sometimes wonder if I just waited for a few mintues after she darted outside, if I'd open the door to find her sitting there wondering why I hadn't come out to keep her company. 

What surprised me though is that I put her down in her usual sniffing-spot before I went to tie her up (I called it a stairwell but it's really an outdoor staircase that goes up to the landings the apartments open onto) and she still freaked out. Maybe I was sitting too far away and she wanted me closer to be more secure?


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## MattH (Oct 26, 2005)

Coaster, 

I am always out there when he is out with me... I am not to worried about the hawk, but more about him slipping out...but he gets to the end and just lays or meows...he doesnt really try to get out from what I see...but then again cats are sneaky like that when nobody is around..

Ona side note... I have the patio door open right now and he is a crazy cat right now because of the fresh air...he is running around, meowing and try to catch a few leaves out on the patio..quite comical.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Cats ARE sneaky....that's for sure!! :lol:


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## clintsworld (Apr 12, 2005)

I have always trained all my cats to wear a harness and walk them with a Flexi-Leash without any difficulty. If you would like to know how to do this, then send me an email ([email protected]) and I'll give you the steps needed to make it happen.

Clint


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## LoJo (Jan 14, 2007)

Can any "behavioralist" tell us WHY cats do this lying down on their side and wobbly behavior?

Mine did exactly the same thing....like he couldn't stand up with the walking jacket on. Though, when I distracted him with his favorite play toy, he was fine.

I wonder how long it takes for them to get over the "fainting" bit. I really want to be able to walk my cat w/ the jacket, and I know he'll love it.


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