Leash training a kitten?

[Jennifer]

Has anyone tried this?

We have a 3 month old Persian kitten - who is destined to be an inside kitty - although we are looking into screening our deck to allow her semi-outside access both for her and so she can hang out with us...but she is SUPER interested in the outside. I don't think she'll be a good candidate for defending herself...hence being an inside kitty - but we thought about leash training her so she can have outdoor "excursions".

Am I totally crazy? It seems that if we were going to start this she's probably at a good age...

[kagbsc7]

No personal experience, but I know it can be done....

[tlew12778]

My cats are leash trained. They are strictly indoor cats since we live in the city but we used to live in a Melrose Place style apartment building so we'd take them out to the common area.

We have harnesses, not collars for them. They are H-style harnesses like this:
http://www.petsmart.com/media/ps/images/products/detail/standard/i/in01/in010917_10b31.jpg

as opposed to Y-type harnesses like this:
http://www.petsmart.com/media/ps/images/products/detail/standard/January05/55571_41b47.jpg
that can choke your cat if s/he pulls.

(Y and H are my designations for them. I have no idea what they are called professionally.)

You should start out by letting your car roam around your house with just the harness bc s/he probably won't like it at first. Once it gets used to it, try attaching the lead but it it free reign. That way s/he gets used to being limited at some point (but far away). Then you can try outside.

We have retractable leashes.

ETA: You could also invest in a kittywalk for her. They sell them on drsfostersmith.com.

[Sabrina]

We leash-trained our cats. It isn't that difficult, but you have to keep in mind that it is not like walking a dog. The cat is on the leash, but you don't really lead it around, you follow it! Lol. You will need to get a walking jacket or harness; a walking jacket is safer and more secure for the cat. Here's a link the one we use: Walking Jacket (http://metpet.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/walkingjacket.html)

A cat's leash cannot be secured to a collar like a dog's because kitties' necks are much more fragile than dogs' necks.

You will also need a leash. Cats feel more secure on a shorter leash, I would suggest 6 feet at the longest.

Once you have the jacket and leash, just leave them lying around for a few days so that the kitty can check them out. Then, put the jacket on the cat for a few minutes and let her walk around with just the jacket on for a short while. The next day, you can add the leash. Hold the other end of the leash and follow the cat around. It's pretty easy, espcially if you have a young cat. Have fun!

ETA: Just wanted to add, a cat should never be tied outside on a leash unsupervised. Not that I think you would ever do that, but just wanted to put it out there!

[meganth]

My baby girl loves her leash and harness. We didn't have to do any training to get her used to it either. She was over a year old the first time we put it on her and she wanted to go outside so badly she didn't mind it.

It has created a monster out of her though. She's a big talker and when she wants to go for a walk she certainly lets us know. And any time we go near her leash she thinks it means she gets to go outside!

[greenbunny]

Bella loves to go out on her harness. Definitely get an H-style one, like tlew says.

I wouldn't stress too much about "training" your kitten. Our cat is seven years old and spent her whole life in an urban area of New Jersey, right outside NYC. We've only had her since April, and she's taken to the harness like a duck to water. Once she figured out what all the green stuff was all over the ground, she really loved it.

[tlew12778]

It has created a monster out of her though. She's a big talker and when she wants to go for a walk she certainly lets us know. And any time we go near her leash she thinks it means she gets to go outside! Oh yeah. I forgot about that aspect of the leash :rolleyes:. My cats start scratching at the door and no matter how much I try to cajole them, when they want out we MUST go out.

I looked at that walking jacket but I think it would still pull the cats neck if the cat tried to take off fast. It doesn't look like there is anything going down the chest that would keep the collar part from choking the cat.

BTW, we have small dog harnesses. The cat harnesses I saw were all flimsy.

[Jennifer]

I'm so glad to hear that this has worked for all of you!

I looked at H harnesses yesterday...I think Annabelle is too small for most of them...but a friend suggested ferret harnesses and I got one. It seems to be a cross between the H harness and the jacket harness - I put it on her last night - she wasn't thrilled, but got over it pretty quickly to play with us...I think we'll try this a few more times to get her used to it, move onto attaching the leash and then test this out in the back yard!

DH is laughing pretty hard at me over this - thinking I expect this to be like walking a dog...but mostly I want a way to let her see the outside safely...and hopefully be able to interact with us while she's doing so, more so than she could do in those walk-about tunnels (although I'm looking at those as well!).

Thanks for the tips and experiences :)

[tlew12778]

OK well if you think the walkabout tunnel thing is too limiting, you could actually build her a gigantic enclosure... depends on how much space you have. I know ppl that did this for their 2 dogs but they also have about 5 acres of land. They have a dog house and beds and stuff in there and they pretty much spend most of the day there when their owners aren't home.

[Sabrina]

I looked at that walking jacket but I think it would still pull the cats neck if the cat tried to take off fast. It doesn't look like there is anything going down the chest that would keep the collar part from choking the cat.


The leash attaches to the back of the jacket. It does not pull on their necks at all, although mine do not try to "take off". I always hold the leash firmly and close to me at all times.