Cat harness - a good or bad idea?

Sirbendy

both my boys have harnesses, and take to them well..:) They may try to sit on the latches or whatever to stop me doing them up, but once they've got it, they love it.

We do get some funny looks, the 4 of us..but it's due to a) Living in a top floor flat with no catflap, and b) Reassurance - too many idiots out there for my liking.

picklepick

RacyRed wrote: »

Yesterday I invested in some interactive toys for them, including a feather tickler (they all love that!) and a ball you put dry food in so they have to roll it about to get it out.

Hello a bit off topic i know, but where did u get the ball from? thanks

kr15snw

Parents cat is a house cat but is allowed in the garden (big garden lots of bushes to play in) on her harness. She loves it! She gets to run around the garden with the dogs (she thinks she a dog bless her), but still is nice and safe

Plus in the summer she likes to go on walks with the dogs to the moors and plays in the long grass on an extendable lead while the dogs run around and such

RacyRed

picklepick wrote: »

Hello a bit off topic i know, but where did u get the ball from? thanks

I found it in Pets at home but it isn't on their web site, it is made by multivet and is called Slim Cat food distributor. There are more details here You can adjust the hole sizes to match the food you want to out in.

Daisy has been grumbling a little about having to work for her snacks, but the "work" bit was the general idea. I parked it where the communal bikkie bowl usually is. All three cats have had a go at it so far, Yogi isn't a fan of dry food so has been playing with it as a toy.... with Daisy following along behind hoovering up the food that falls out :rolleyes: Back to the drawing board.

picklepick

ooh thanks thats brillant. was it cheaper from pah? sorry for all the qs!

RacyRed

picklepick wrote: »

ooh thanks thats brillant. was it cheaper from pah? sorry for all the qs!

It was about the same. Amazon have a better choice of colours and are £4.45

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Ok bad idea because:

• cats are roamers as a rule. They enjoy going exactly where they want as opposed to being led about on a lead by a human.
• it's certainly not natural (not natural for dogs either).
• i personally feel it is cruel to put a harness on a cat & restrict where it goes.

I guess my list could include more reasons, but there's a few. However, your cat belongs to you, so it is up to you how you choose to "care" for it.

lostinrates

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

Ok bad idea because:

• cats are roamers as a rule. They enjoy going exactly where they want as opposed to being led about on a lead by a human.
• it's certainly not natural (not natural for dogs either).
• i personally feel it is cruel to put a harness on a cat & restrict where it goes.

I guess my list could include more reasons, but there's a few. However, your cat belongs to you, so it is up to you how you choose to "care" for it.

I agree with your concerns: however, some times circumstances are not ideral. In a cat restricted from out door access because of a health condition, as in this case, access to outside MIGHT be preferable on a harness rather than a life confined to inside. Restriction in wandering isn't natural to anyspecies, really, but it happens to everything, including us! I really do share your ideal, but its not an idel world and sometimes the best we can do is the best fit possible.:)

RacyRed

Lostinrates has explained it very well Devil, I also understand what you are saying and have no intention of using harnesses on 2 of my 3 cats because they do roam, as freely as they wish. But it isn't an ideal world for little Daisy.

Daisy cannot live a normal "cat life" which is not to say she is not a happy cat, she is, but I'm constantly trying to think of ways to further enhance her enjoyment of life. Poor little mite looks so fed up sometimes when her housemates hop over the fence and set off on their adventures leaving Daisy, who cannot get over the fence, behind.

If handled properly I really think the harness walks could become something Daisy really enjoys and are special to her. Although physically restricted, her personality is such that Daisy is absolutely sure she is queen of the world and having something special to share with me that the other 2 cats don't might really appeal to her.

It might not work, but the early signs are that she doesn't object to the starter harness I got for her, She is already happy to have it draped over her back (unfastened) after only 2 days. (Of course, being the little princess she is, the colour had to be just right or she would have had none of it!)

RacyRed

picklepick wrote: »

ooh thanks thats brillant. was it cheaper from pah? sorry for all the qs!

Did you find one Pickle? I'm now reducing the amount of dry food in the bowl and transferring it to the ball, lets hope I get away with making it the main dry food source.