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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Cat harness

10 replies

Nutellanjam · 16/01/2021 11:48

Hi all
Following an earlier thread about letting kittens out for first time, and how nerve wracking it is, I decided to wait until spring, particularly as we’ve had snow etc. But the cat (7 months) looks so keen to go out now, I’m considering getting a harness, so he can go out. This would also help explore and hopefully get familiar with the outside area. I’m not sure how happy he’d be to go in it- do they come to like harnesses once they realise why wearing them ? Is he too old ?! And any tips for a good one ? Thanks very much

OP posts:

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 16/01/2021 12:00

Unless you live in a particularly dangerous area, why would you restrict your cat within a harness?

Just go out with him the first few times till he (and you ) get used to it.

Fatherbrownsbicycle · 16/01/2021 19:40

Is he neutered yet?
I did have a harness for mine before he was neutered & chipped, just to let him get used to the scent of the garden so, if he did wander out of sight, he knew where to come back to. I just got a cheap harness from Amazon for around £5. He was nervous for the first few trips but, after his op, he was happy to go off and explore.
It was fine putting it on, if I rattled the door handle he came racing over to go out so I was able to kneel down and put it on him before opening the door.

percheron67 · 16/01/2021 20:14

Pldogs to pull.ease do not get a harness for your cat. They are bad enough on dogs unless you have a husky!! Ridiculous things that encourage

percheron67 · 16/01/2021 20:18

Apologies! Spelling went bonkers. Please do not get a harness for your cat. They are ridiculous enough on dogs unless you are driving Huskies.
Awful things which give the owner no control over a dog.

Weedsnseeds1 · 16/01/2021 20:23

I use a butterfly cat jacket / harness if we are on holiday. Otherwise, he goes out under his own steam.
Current cat is the only one I have had that would entertain such an idea and the only one happy to come on holiday. He's quite a dog like cat. Previous models would have disembowled me if I tried it.
If you want to try it, don't go for a strappy style harness, your cat will be out in seconds, but if you aren't away from home, just let him out solo.

YesItsMeIDontCare · 16/01/2021 20:29

@Nutellanjam - I have a cat jacket from Mynwoods for my lad. They're made to measure and simple Velcro fastenings. Never had a problem.

Fluffycloudland77 · 16/01/2021 21:09

Look at Leroy doing his “Blue steel” stare.

Bargebill19 · 16/01/2021 21:36

These are two of mine in ordinary cat harnesses. They’ve been in them since 3 months old - will be 14 this year. They are worn 24/7. They wait to be clipped on their leads before they go out.
They are safe and happy. They will and do go for walks happily. It saves them from getting lost or drowning in the canal.
If you want them to wear a harness, the earlier you start, the better.
Our new kittens are the same.

violetbunny · 18/01/2021 08:30

Yes, we did exactly this. We got them used to wearing them briefly indoors first, just putting them on for a couple of minutes at a time. Then took them out on the harnesses - one cat panicked and tried to bolt over the fence (so thank goodness we had the harness as it was his very first time out), the other did some cautious exploring.

Followed it up with daily harness trips outside for a couple of months, they soon loved it so much that they would get super excited every time we got the harnesses out. In our case I think it was the right thing for them as they were absolutely itching to go out but still too small to go on their own (there are 3 huge cats who live near us who bully them... they would have made mincemeat of them when they were that little). Also meant they gradually got used to their surroundings, after they'd been in the garden a lot we started taking them for walks up the drive and towards the street, made sure they saw some cars and knew to steer clear etc.

I can see that some people find it ridiculous but it gave us a lot of peace of mind when we eventually let them out on their own.

Mumdiva99 · 19/01/2021 17:02

We bought a harness for our kittens for the same reason. One kitten wouldn't entertain it at all and went mental if we tried to put it on her. The other let me put it on but wouldn't move.

We started to let them out the front (the kept trying to escape....)... we stood with them and called them back of theu went far. We left the front door open. Gave them a treat if they came in. There was a couple of scary moments....like when one climbed up into the car engine....there were a few times I was on hands and knees trying to coax them out from under the car.
We kept a table tennis ball handy to get them to come if they ignored me.

Then we started with the back garden. Now (7 months) they love it and ask to go out. We still keep a bit of an eye on them. We still call them back after about 20 minutes just to check they are OK.

They no longer try to bolt out the front door every time we open it.

By the way I have a barely used pink cat harness up for sale.....

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