walking a cat?

I've heard that cats can be taught to walk with harnesses and I had purchased a leash and harness a while back for Kiefer b/c I would like to take him outside with me.
Has anyone done this?

 

Halaroo has great tips and pics on training your furbaby on a leash. Chessmind also walks his two babies Romeo and Juliet on leashes. Check out their posts.

 

mine are all harness trained. If your cat doesn't like the leash at first (harness is better than a collar - collar is too easy for them to get out of) just let him wear it around the house for a few minutes and each day a little longer until he's comfortable with it.

The one thing I caution though is when you start taking your cat outside you might turn him into a door dasher so you'll want to be on guard when you go in/out.

 

I only take one of mine outside on a harness....the others have no interest in going outside. Even though he had never worn one before he did'nt seem to mind one bit as long as he could go outside. I think (as the other poster mentioned) putting the harness on inside at first will help your cat get used to wearing one.

 

Kiefer has worn the harness before and I noticed that he gets used to it after a while, it's the walking with me part that we fumble. He likes to be outside and I'd like to give him that option. He tends to crouch down to the ground when we try going outside. I'm sure it will take him a while to get used to.

hehe he already dashes for the door, Matt and I have mastered that. It's definetly a chore guarding the door with two door dashers now and Lydia is quick, she races us everywhere.

I appreciate everyone's replies

 

My kitten did the croushing thing too....it took him about 2 or 3 days to get used to all the smells.

 

Hi. I think when we take our cat(s) for a walk, it's actually them taking us for a walk. :mrgreen: Does anyone have a cat, that actually lets you lead? Romeo and Juliet just go where they want. Most of the time I want to go 'this way,' but they think 'that way' is way more interesting. It's pretty funny with two kittens on harnesses, as they each have their own ideas of where they want to go. So, sometimes Romeo and I go where Juliet wants to go and other times Juliet and I go where Romeo wants to go. Maybe one day they will go where I want to go?

 

Doubt it. You're staff remember? :lol: :mrgreen:

 

haha

chessmind! that's too cute. yeah kiefer stopped crouching and started rolling. i consider that progress! teehee

 

my sister's cat is a little over a year old and from day one she has been leash training him. She wanted to be able to take him everywhere like a little dog, and she does! He loves to be walked but is just as content to be tied out like a pup. We have a stake in the yard with a line attached and when he wants to go out, he sits at the door and meows. We bring him to the stake and he sits as we clip on the leash, then he'll walk around the yard. When we unclip him to come inside, he doesn't even dash, he goes *right* to the door! His name is Mr Puppy and he's a good little fella!

-Crystal

 

i wish i had thought about that from day one! That's awesome I would love to do that with my kitties. They both want to go out very badly but I can't let them roam in my neighborhood.

 

I tried to walk my cat on a harness, but he was to old to figure it out. I also walked my rabbit on a harness before he died. I was getting him ready to go to 4-H the next year after he was a little older.