3 cat owners take their cats for a walk on a lead and 1 is successful!

 Three cat owners take their cats for a walk and one of them is successful, the guy who adores cats. His adoration of cats is not the reason why his cat accepts being in a harness and going for a walk on a lead. It is because the cat either has got used to it or is naturally more relaxed in a harness with a lead. And isn't he a handsome cat?

The other couple of ladies struggled. It is not their fault. It is absolutely normal to struggle when you first take your cat out for a walk on a lead. Cats simply do not understand and the harness often either causes a cat to become limp and passive as if being carried by their mother by the scruff of the neck or they want to wriggle out of it.

Why Does My Cat Fall Over When I Put a Harness on Him?

The second point is important because you will see 2 different types of harness in the video. The guy who loves cats has a very robust looking harness which is easier to put on as well. It is the kind of harness which a cat cannot wriggle out of. That's important because once a domestic cat experiences a harness for the first time, outside, and they successfully wriggle out and run away, you have a problem on your hands obviously.

The two harnesses used by the women are unsatisfactory I would say. Too lightweight. Get something more modern and expensive! Thicker, broader and safer. And some harness are much easier to get on. You can how important that can be in the video 😢.

The reason why cat harnesses often don’t work and how to fix the problem

The harness must be wriggle-proof. The dwarf cat in the video does quite well but then simply packs up and lies down. Once again this cat is feeling the effects of the harness and it is making them passive. The other black-and-white cat simply rejects it and tries to wriggle out of it.

And importantly you can hear the lady say that this is a stressful situation. It is stressful when you see your cat clearly unhappy and struggling to get out of a harness which they might succeed in doing and then disappear into the bushes.

Despite that difficulty, I think if she tried again and again inside the home where it is safer she will eventually succeed in training her cat to walk on a lead.

Walking your cat on a leash to explore and stimulate. A lifestyle to aspire to?

The same would apply to the other lady. Although some cats immediately reject a harness for the two reasons stated above, eventually they will accept it, I believe, and start to enjoy the experience.

Walking a cat on a lead is a great way to safely allow a domestic cat confined to the home to explore the outside and be stimulated by all the smells and sensations that are available to them outside.

It is something that they will miss when confined to the home which often has nothing natural about it in terms of nature. The domestic cat is essentially a wild cat at heart. The Wildcat as you no doubt know is just below the surface. Their instincts and pleasures need to be fed by their owner and one way to do this is to allow them to experience nature but it must be safe and that's where the harness comes in.