Kitten has run off on leash please reassure me

[Khanny]

My 5 month old kitten has run off on his leash while my husband was outside with him. Near to home but he's not been out of the garden before and we can't find him anywhere :( We've only had him since January and are totally in love with him. Have we lost him :(

So glad he's home!

My cats go out with a harness and lead. It's not unusual.

@Khanny - pleased to read your update that your kitten is home safely.

I think we deserve a photo of him! So pleased he has returned.

If it ever happens again (fingers crossed it doesn't!) but the recommended advice is to hang worn clothes on the washing line and immediately empty hoover contents outside. He'll smell 'home' and be able to find his way back. It's not recommended to put litter tray out (can't remember why!)
So glad he's home though, it's so hard not to let your mind think of worst case scenarios! Atleast he's safe now 🥰

Here is little Marley!

Thanks everybody for your kindness❤️x

Can anyone recommend a good harness please. My house cat can escape out of his so I’d like an escape proof one for garden trips.

glad he came back OP

Thank God he's home but I'd be absolutely furious with your husband for being so careless. He could easily have died if he'd got tangled in something.

Ah he's a cutie op, so glad he is home. I

What a gorgeous lad!! If you have the money there are professional companies that will cat proof your garden.

Ohhhh he got told. He was so upset, he was out looking for him from him running off until he brought him home last night, it was about 6 hours. Marley was starving when he got in and playing around like nothing had happened!

So glad he is home, he is gorgeous

I got this one from amazon, bought it in extra small and its only just fitting properly!

amzn.eu/d/4MFPW4B

There’s no such thing as escape-proof really - cats can pretty much wriggle out of everything. If you want to keep your cat on your property then your best bet is to invest in a catio or to cat-proof your garden.

He looks like a little menace, he's gorgeous. Glad you found him OP, I'm sorry so many mumsnetters get off on being smug and sticking the boot in when someone is upset about something, it's a horrible part of this website.

Glad your boy is back safe and sound ❤️

Aww he's gorgeous. I'm so glad to hear he's home

Agree with this , our sons Siamese has a catio and I really wouldn’t trust a harness with her .
@Khanny he’s gorgeous but definitely has a mischievous glint in his eyes

I suspect he spent the entire five hours a couple of metres away from you, OP, smirking to himself. Cats need to roam.

Omg he's gooooorgeous 😍 glad you got him back OP

nev mind

Aww what a cutie. Welcome to cat puberty, he'll be a little bugger for the next few years 😅 But also a great time to try training to commands (yes really) and get him in a play routine. I get mine to let off steam by chasing a laser in the garden when it's dark.

We used a SupaKit harness on Elton which was pretty foolproof. The straps were really thin so he very quickly forgot he was wearing it which I think helped

Thanks, they do have a catio but one won't use it at all! She does like going outside if I carry her and will sit on my knee on a bench but I'd like a harness as a back up - she's so timid I can't imagine her running anywhere unless to the back door wanting to get back inside!

Well if OP has had him since January then he is certainly old enough to head off in pursuit of females.
Edit as I RTFT and see he is back now, glad to hear it

That looks good! I’ve just seen too many horror stories where cats have slipped their harnesses - recently one did a runner near us and it’s still not been found 😫

Oh he’s absolutely gorgeous. He looks a handful as well 😀