Does anyone take their Ragdoll out for a walk?

[JMSA]

Eldest daughter - who moved into her own place a couple of months ago - got a Ragdoll kitten a few weeks ago.
It's all going really well and it's a love affair between the pair of them
I'm just thinking ahead to when Remy is a bit older, and wondered if walks would be a good idea. On a harness obviously! My daughter doesn't have a garden but lives on a nice, quiet estate so could easily do little walks with him (being an outdoor cat is out of the question, however, due to a busy road nearby and the breed of cat he is).
He's such a happy little guy though, and I'm a bit worried that he'd develop a taste for the outdoors and want to be out there all the time! Is it kinder never to do it? I don't know, but daughter is wondering about what to do for the best.
Your thoughts and tips would be much appreciated.
She has high functioning autism and initially found it hard living on her own. I can honestly say he's the best decision we ever made!

(Sleeping on her shoulder with his paws on her face 💕)

I think it’s a good idea to try him on a harness. At the very least he should be familiar with the smells and sights of his street in case he ever gets out. And lots of enrichment activities for him indoors! Beautiful boy!

My daughter has one and takes her out on a lead into the garden. Personally I feel really sorry for indoor cats and could never have one, but ragdolls aren’t able to be outdoor cats. I know someone who has installed rollers around their back garden so the cats can go out but not get out of the garden. Obviously that’s not an option for your daughter.

We took our Ragdolls on walks with harnesses as they absolutely loved it. Don’t expect to get anywhere fast though because they stop to examine literally everything.

I had two Ragdolls (a brother and sister) and just let them outside like any other cats. People kept telling me Ragdolls shouldn't go outside but the vet just laughed and said if you shave a Ragdoll it is just like any other cat. They enjoyed being outside and behaved just like my previous cats, including climbing trees. They did need brushing but that's the price you pay for having a long haired cat.
My own view is that it is cruel to keep cats indoors. They need to go out and behave like cats.

I tried taking my Persians out on a harness. They were unimpressed. Cheddar was fine until she wanted to explore under cars. 🤣

My friend took hers out and then it spent all its time miaowing to go out and eventually she had to give in and let it be an outside cat.

Thanks everyone. Food for thought.

This was my fear!

My two don't like outside, they will go in the catio, the cat proofing I did to the garden was a massive waste as they won't step outside their area.

My ragdoll takes herself out for a little walk in the garden! We got her as an adult rescue, she would never tolerate a harness, I would suggest to try it as early as possible to get the kitty used to it.

Our Dcat literally goes no further than our garden but she loves that little bit of freedom.

I know a ragdoll with no garden who goes out for harness walks morning and evening. She is a bit of a tyrant and it’s a big time commitment which she won’t tolerate being skipped. She’s very feisty and has successfully grabbed small birds out of bushes whilst on the harness.

He looks gorgeous 😻
We have two. One is allowed out in the day until the afternoon, the other goes out in the garden (not secure) in a harness and long lead sometimes, mostly in summer.

It's worth a try with your DD's kitten. Advice would be to make sure you have a decent harness tightly secured. I've found with mine that if she's in a bush and I need to get her out (without going in myself) its better to repeatedly do a short pull and release of the lead, rather than trying to just pull her out. The latter, she just uses the resistance to wiggle out of the harness.
Sounds a bit silly maybe, but good to use some strategies you might use with kids. eg make it when your DD decides its walk time ('walk' in the loosest sense of the word! 😄), and not when there's demands at the door. If there's door scratching when she was planning to take him anyway, she can distract him with a toy or something, and then get the harness out. And when its the end of walk time, have a routine of a toy play/feeding/treats/... once he comes in, so he moves on from the indoor transition.
Also, do reassure your daughter that if he doesn't seem 100% thrilled with something (not being allowed out, having to come in...) that it doesn't mean he's deeply miserable. He will be living a happy life with her, and any disgruntled moments are a drop in the ocean.

I tale my rescue ragdoll out even though was told by rescue centre he had always been indoor cat so not to- complicated by he is on medication and special food so I do not want him to escape then be taken in by someone who does not know his history. He is desperate to go out though sometimes so take him out on lead so he can see the local area and have a long convoluted sniff at everything. It worked as he did escape once then came home soaking wet after a hour as he had got to know the local area on walks and wanted breakfast! He is quick to escape the harness so watch out for the wiggling backwards Houdini escape. Would love to leave him to be by himself but he is terrified of cars and panics and will chase any cat so will not look where he is going. Always had normal moggies before who can go outside but this one I chose despite knowing his complex expensive medical needs and he is a happy boy. Keep an eye out for them going where you can't on a harness less cat like under cars and in bushes! Just bought a set of retractible sticks with various toys on from mazon and he loves them so much and keeps him busy and happy

I don't know anything about cats (except this one is gorgeous!) but, those of you who take yours out on leads, how do they react if they see a dog?

My boy

My cat is fine with dogs as thinks he is one a d they are normally on lead but will try to attack another cat even if through a double glazed window

.

Mine..

Thank you! @Ghostofborleyrectory

Absolutely stunning cats.