Cat harness - a good or bad idea?

RacyRed

Hi

I am considering getting a harness and leash for my little epileptic girl Daisy so that I could give her better exercise and a change of scenery sometimes. Before I do I wondered if anyone else had tried them and what their (and their cat's) opinions of them are?

Daisy can't run very fast and climbing onto the sofa is about as much as she can manage, so I'm reasonably confident that she wouldn't be able to get away from me (for long) whilst out in her harness. There are some places close by where she can explore in reasonable safety.

This is not something I would consider for either of my other two cats, but they run about and play a lot. Daisy lies on my bed most of the time and my attempts to encourage her to play get, at most, a couple of mini pounces from her then she will roll on her back to catch things dangled for her for a few minutes. Recently while out in her carrier she was absolutely fascinated by the new sights and sounds, which is what gave me the harness idea.

The medication she is on (phenobarbitol) probably subdues her more than she naturally would be, but she still needs exercise and environmental stimulation and I'm running out of ideas.

moomin5

Sounds like a good idea i'd try it out in a garden to start with to make sure she's happy and can't get out of the harness etc.

I'd also take the carrier with you so that you can put Daisy somewhere safe if needs be.

denice37

a harness sounds like a great idea and like last post i would try in garden 1st to get her used to it, people use them round me and cats all seem happy. Good luck.

YorkiePud_3

What a brill idea!

My first cat, Holly, loved her harness. Having limited mobility, she had a harness on to go out and she took to it straight away.

The stinkeroonie I have been blessed (?!) with now won't have it anywhere near her ... *LOL*

You can clip the lead part off the body harness part, so I would try putting just the body part on your cat a number of times to see if she is ok with it on her ... it might take her a while, she may take to it straightaway or she may detest it ... *LOL*

But I would try that before attaching the lead ... oh, and I would say never buy a proper collar and lead .. always get a harness ... a cat's neck is very very soft and easily damaged by a collar and lead.

lostinrates

we have harnessed 'trained' cats, and TBF, I wouldn't say its their favourite thing: they certainly don't miss them now we don't need them, but it made living in a ciy easier with them and gave them stimulation. We've taken them to public parks (and carriers are ESSENTIAL dogs and people are always interested and even when very well meaning cats often don't feel so social, and in the case of dogs I have always felt it unfair to let them see cats are about).

The thing to know is that its not like having a dog on a lead at all. Cats will quite often just want to sit and watch, or perhaps chase leaves or climb trees.

We ade the choice under quite specific circumstances, as are you, and I would not suggest it to be a fuilfilling alternative for an outside access cat longterm, but it was very successful for us hen we used it. That said, I think the majority of cats would not like the harness at all.

SnowyOwl_2

Oh funny you asked Racy, I was considering this option for one of my kitties as well. One of my friends has a harness for her six month old kitten but the kitten has managed to slip out of it every single time it's on her. I looked at some harnesses on the internet but it seems that the cat getting out of it is quite a common problem. Therefore that is my main concern and which is making me hesitate from getting one. Do any of you experienced cat in harness persons have any tips or suggestions to avoid this?

lostinrates

SnowyOwl wrote: »

Oh funny you asked Racy, I was considering this option for one of my kitties as well. One of my friends has a harness for her six month old kitten but the kitten has managed to slip out of it every single time it's on her. I looked at some harnesses on the internet but it seems that the cat getting out of it is quite a common problem. Therefore that is my main concern and which is making me hesitate from getting one. Do any of you experienced cat in harness persons have any tips or suggestions to avoid this?

Buy the right size! In all seriousnes, its tricky, They do have to be fastened with no ''growing room'' and the elastic ones, in my experience, are not good because even when the cats are used to them if they scrap or catch on anything, eg wen you are climbing trees/chasing squirrels with your cats:o they stretch. We found the best ones to be very flexible and soft but not at all stretchy.

We got ours used to collars first (I'd never leave a collar on a cat when we weren't there though, ts dangerous) then just graduate to the harness. Our cats are clicer trained and so that makes it easier: having the right treat to reward the behaviour of accepting the harness is invaluable. Ours see the harnesses as good things, they don't run away if we get them out and will come up to have them put on. Its a slow process though, just a few moments at first, building up slowly to a few minutes.

deedeeliz

If you feel it'd enrich her life then i'd definitely try one

I let mine potter in the garden in theirs

Excuse the grass i've cut it since then lol)

lowis

i have read that the Cat Walking Jackets are the safest - some of the harnesses sold can be wriggled out of apparently.

i tried my boy on a harness and he refused to budge an inch...he hated it, so i gave up.

good luck x

lostinrates

lowis wrote: »

i have read that the Cat Walking Jackets are the safest - some of the harnesses sold can be wriggled out of apparently.

i tried my boy on a harness and he refused to budge an inch...he hated it, so i gave up.

good luck x

If you find the right harness and fit it ok, well, we have found them ok and have faith in them...so much so we are able to, for example, give our cats comfort stops on long journeys at service stations, like dogs . A jacket might well be a better solution if you cat shows a like for the ide of harness, but wriggleability. I'd still progress through training acceptance with a harness though, building up. Cats generlly don't like wearing things, and if we have to go to these unnatural measures we need to make it as easy for them as possible IMO.

RacyRed

Wow! I'm so glad I asked. :T

I'd not heard of the walking jackets before and they look ideal! Daisy might really like one of those (or not). A very, very kind person has offered to lend me one to see if Daisy will tolerate it before I buy her one of her own.

Moomin5, lostinrates, thanks for the carrier suggestion. I'll make sure I take it with us on our adventures but may need to find one of those toughened fabric ones you can carry like a bag so I have both hands free when Daisy is on the leash. lostinrates did you clicker train your cats when they were kittens? I've a feeling that any attempt to train my lot would be met with total disdain.

Snowy, are you going to give this a go too?

deedeeliz, what a really beautiful cat you have, and your garden looks like the perfect place for cat adventures!

I've taken on board all of your training suggestions and will be taking it very slowly with Daisy, she is a vain little madam so I might have to play that up a bit :rotfl: