Training a cat to walk on a lead?
bestia diligo asked:
Anyone have any tips for training a cat to walk on a harness and lead?
She is a 2 and a half year old indoor cat and so far hasnt taken too bad to the harness and lead, she doesnt seem to pass much heed to the harness but doesnt understand what the lead is for and just rolls over!
Anyone have any tips for training a cat to walk on a harness and lead?
She is a 2 and a half year old indoor cat and so far hasnt taken too bad to the harness and lead, she doesnt seem to pass much heed to the harness but doesnt understand what the lead is for and just rolls over!
Thanks for all the answers but keep them coming!
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January 24th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Attach some cat food to a stick which will dangle said food in front of the cats face.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:20 am
make a game of it befor you put it on her and she will not be so afraid of it
January 30th, 2009 at 10:01 am
First, put the harness on your cat, and then laugh hysterically when they fall limp and pretend they can’t walk. :op Seriously, that’s their very first reaction. That, or they back-up wriggling to get the harness off. However, they’ll get used to it quickly.
Once your cat is used to the harness, attach the lead. Let the cat walk around with the leash. Then take treats and gently pull the lead while offering treats. After a while they’ll figure out that a tug means “go here.”
It takes a while, so have a lot of patience.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Here’s a link, just don’t drag the poor cat.
February 1st, 2009 at 4:56 am
that is wrong and you should not do it, cats hate it and if the cat gets away then it can go mad and strangle or hang itself by getting the lead caught in a tree or something, it’s happened alot. cats are not animals meant for walking leads none are really except for dogs, besides why do you want to do that anyway?i’v never seen anyone ever walk a cat on a lead, im guessing you must be american or equally stupid.
please leave the poor kitty alone i feel sorry for it and if you want an animal to train then get a dog
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:31 am
Depends on how old the cat is, of course!
But even then, on his or her character.
Usually, the younger the cat is, the better.
You could put the harness on for a short time at first. (Without the lead, and without any expectations.)
Remove it as soon as the cat shows signs of discomfort.
Keep this going; until your cat becomes used to the harness. (One of ours used to get upset when we took it off; he loved it so much! But they are all different.)
Attach the lead, but don’t pull it. Let your cat get used to the draginess.
Again, if there is distress, remove and try again later.
You can start bringing rewards for your cat at this stage; if you think it will help.
Then you prolong the lead attachment time, and hold the lead, but don’t force the cat to follow you. Let your cat go where he/she wants.
Keep up the training; step by step.
Go outdoors together. Preferably around your garden at first, if you have one.
Give a reward.
After the cat is comfortable with that, try a short stroll down the street when it is quiet.
Don’t go too far and never tug.
If the cat backs off, or refuses, carry him/her home and try again another time.
Keep going in this manner; a little bit further, a little bit longer.
Never punish a cat, but reward when you want to do so.
Cats will follow their humans freely anyway. They love going for walks. It is their natural instinct to follow “MUM”. But they don’t like to be controlled.
It is the “control” factor you need to work on, with any advice you get!
Good luck!
February 4th, 2009 at 9:51 am
I have always used leads with my house cats.
The best way is to get the cat used to wearing first a collar, then upgrade to a cat harness.
Make sure that their favourite treat is always available at first when they are wearing the harness.
Then attach the lead (still inside the house). Use the treat again, so that s/he doesn’t think too much about hte weight of the lead.
Then start opening the door, and standing just outside. Let the cat come out by itself. Once you’ve done that a few times, take the cat to a quiet area away from the house all dressed up in the harness and lead (cuddling it is the best way - not a cat box) then just put the cat on the ground and let it choose its own path.
Do not push the cat, it will do this at its own speed and the older the cat the more time is needed.
Some cats never get used to it.
But good luck. It is very useful having your cat trained to the lead.
February 5th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Patience, patience, patience. I am glad you mentioned you will be using a harness. That is the safest way to lead a cat. Younger cats will train faster, older ones are incredibly stubborn and resistant to walking on a leash. Good luck to you and your feline friend.
February 8th, 2009 at 6:19 am
* Purchase a comfortably-fitting harness and lightweight leash with a secure clip. Do not use a collar, as the cat may be able to slip out of it. You want the leash to pull from the chest rather than the throat. The cats’ Walking Jacket is a fine alternative to a harness, virtually escape free, and with the leash attached mid-back, for comfort.
* Put the harness and leash somewhere near kitty’s sleeping area and leave it there for several days to accustom him to it’s appearance and smell.
* Wait until just before his normal mealtime, then put the harness on the cat. You should be able to comfortably slip two fingers between the harness and his skin.
* Immediately feed him his favorite meal and praise him when he is finished.
* Let him wear the harness for awhile. If it seems to bother him, distract him by playing with a favorite toy.
* When your cats seems to be accustomed to the harness, take it off.
* Repeat steps 3 through 6 for several days, leaving the harness on longer each time.
* Next, attach the leash to the harness and let kitty walk around the house, dragging the leash. Watch him carefully that he doesn’t get tangled up around furniture.
* Praise him for being such a good cat, and give him some loving hugs.
* Repeat steps 8 and 9 for a few days, until the cat seems to accept the harness and leash.
* Now, let him walk around as usual, but pick up the business end of the leash and follow him in his wanderings. Keep the tension slack, so as not to restrict his movement.
* Practice step 11 for a few days.
* Teach kitty to follow you by talking to him in a cajoling manner and lightly pulling on the lead. Don’t fight him. Leash-training should be a pleasurable experience for the cat, not an adversarial one. On the other hand, if he tugs at the leash, simply stop until he relaxes, then move on.
* You’re ready to move outdoors now. Do it gradually, and take your first short excursions in your own back yard, or in a quiet area.
* Gradually increase his exposure to the sights, sounds and smells of the outdoors. Soon, the two of you will be able to enter walkathons together.
Tips:
Patience, patience, patience. Stay tune to your cat’s reactions and let him guide you at his own pace. Don’t let this training become a battle of the wills, because you will surely lose.
If you have more than one cat, it may actually be easier to train the second one, because she will want to follow the first.
February 10th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
i’ll be interested in reading all your answers cuz i have same problem with my 3 year old cat tried her on harness took her in garden a motorbike back fired and she couldn’t get in the house quick enough now if i go near her with harness she runs and hides under bed.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:38 am
u dont walk cats on leads
February 14th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
My best advice to you is don’t even try! Cat’s are not MEANT to walk on leads, they are different temperants to dogs, your cat will HATE it, and you may give he deep rooted problems if you try. I am wondering WHY you would even THINK of it!!??If you do do it you are setting yourself up for a fall.
February 15th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Its a headache, and its much easier with slightly older more docile cats.. younger ones just think its a game..
I had an older cat that needed the excercise and living in a flat, or a very very busy main road the only way to get him to the woods where he could run was harness…
It just takes hours of patience and practice, around the house as much as you can…
You will NEVER get a cat to walk on harness and lead the way a dog does.. imagine the cat more like a child using reigns (you never see those nowadays) where they are purely a restraint from danger.. the lead and harness is used purely to stop the cat running into a road, or running into any danger, you will never get it actually walk beside you lke a dog would…
just hold it very relaxed and allow the cat to just do what it wants. use the lead purely to restrain it from danger if needed…
I do personally think they are daft and ridiculous, but i appreciate where they are useful, for instance as before where i lived breifly in a flat with no garden and no safe areas nearby so i needed to take the cat daily to open ground to exersise cos he was getting fat…
February 18th, 2009 at 6:31 am
I had a Persian cat who loved going out on a lead. It was the only way I could take him to the vet as if I put him in a cat box he was totally stressed when we got there, and very difficult to examine. I asked the vet about a lead and he said to use a harness and see how he was. It took a lot of time and patience but the next time we went to the vet he was on a lead and not stressed at all.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:39 am
According to Norman_b i must be American or equally stupid because i too put a harness on my cat and take it for a “walk”. Reason.. because i moved from a house into a flat and whilst my cat enjoys sitting on the window ledge looking out, i know he wants to be out there so every evening i put his lead on (no problems even the first time) and i take him for a walk round the block. At the end of the day for the first 18 months of his life he went out when and where he wanted, why should i deprive of that just because i moved house. Back to the answer, put the harness on your cat and leave it on for a while till he gets used to it, like a collar. He’ll take no notice of it eventually.