Leash Train your Cat!

Letting your cats outside is akin to

letting a three-year-old child go

camping by themselves. Maybe

nothing will happen, but it is just a matter

of time. I leash trained my cat at

about 9 months, and have trained

several other cats later in life.

Here's how:

You'll need:

 1. a harness,

 2. a cat,

 3. a leash,

 4. patience,

 5. a book,

 6. a nice cup of tea,

 7.  cat treats,

 8.  a quiet room free of

humans and animals.

Start with a harness that has only a

single strap down the back of the cat,

as the kind with two straps, (one on each side)

interfere with their shoulder movement. Figure

eight straps work for larger cats, but are very

easy to slip out of; I usually buy the smallest

dog harness. Train each cat separately.

Next, take you cat's favorite food or treat

and place it on the harness (obviously wet

food wont work!) place this in front of your kitty,

while asking if she wants to go for a walk. Repeat

this for a few days, maybe twice a day, or until you

feel that your cat does not notice the harness, and

expects a treat.

Next, you are going to put the harness on, without an

attached leash. Now this is the hard part for the

owners, not the cats. Most people believe that

parents have the right to control their child’s behavior,

even if the child objects, especially if it is a

matter of safety.

Those same people however, let their pets get away

with throwing tantrums, and say its "animal instinct".

I usually want to ask them why, if "animal instincts"

are so powerful are they living in our houses eating

kibble? Shouldn't they naturally go running off to the

woods to kill something? Or maybe we have bred

and domesticated their natural instincts down to

the basics, and left them completely dependant on

us, in a world that they cannot adapt to.  End of

sermon, but you get my point, I hope. You are

their guardian; don’t fail them.

As I was saying, place the harness on your cat,

being careful to leave at least a fingers distance

between it and your kitty's neck. At this point,

your cat will get very dramatic, usually miming

that the harness weighs two tons, and that it is

unable to move, or in some manner that the

harness must be taken off immediately. Ignore

her. If this sounds harsh, read the above paragraph.

Next, walk to the opposite side of the room, sit

down with a cup of tea and a good book, and

place several treats near you, in plain view

of the cat. Start reading. Sooner or later,

depending on the personality of your feline,

your cat will realize three things:

        1) It cannot take off the harness.

        2) You have treats in easy reach.

        3) The harness cannot be so bad, because

        you are not making a fuss about it.

Once your kitty comes to this epiphany, she will

get up nonchalantly, acting as if to say "who me?

I didn't make a fuss!" and wander over to the

offered treats. Keep ignoring her! Leave the

harness on, and act as if nothing is unusual.

You will need to supervise the cat wearing the

harness, so allow at least two hours or more,

depending on the stubbornness of your kitty.

Do not worry; I have yet to see a cat who misses

a meal or use of the litter box because of a new

harness. Cats have their priorities.

Repeat the same steps when attaching the

leash a few days later, let the kitty "meet" it,

eat off of it, hold a reenactment of Gulliver

tied up with rope, get over it, and come over

to eat the treats you have near your tea

and book. Don’t leave the leash on for

too long after your cat has become used

to it, as it can make a nasty mess in the litter box.

So, now you have witnessed a feline tantrum.

It is over, if you do not mention it, neither will your cat.

But wait! How do you "walk" a cat?

Here's how: After your kitty has made up it's

mind that the leash is a fashion accessory,

take up the end of the leash, and walk around

with your cat. After a few minutes of going were

your cat wants, start gently pulling on the leash

to direct your cat, in a few rare cases, the cat

will throw another tantrum, but usually, they

respond to the pull, and follow it. If you are

lucky, you have one of those charming cats

who follows you like a puppy. In my case,

my first cat just stopped dead in her tracks

and *STARED* at me. Have I mentioned

Patience? You will need lots of it; this

should not turn into a war of wills. If your

cat is stubborn, just put her by the door

with leash and harness on, take up the

leash, and open the door a crack. This

should get her interest, and if you have

a garden or somewhere you feel safe

practicing with your cat, take her there. You

should never punish your cat for acting badly

on leash, just take her back a notch. For example,

if your cat is in the garden, and starts acting

pesky, take her back to the house, and walk

her in there. If you are in an outdoor café, and

your cat stops cooperating, go back to the

garden. Your cat’s motivation for behaving is

the privilege of going out with you, and once

she realizes that her only way outside is

through good behavior, she will be a champ.

Remember to use a key phrase like “kitty want to

go for a walk?” so your cat becomes trained to

it. After a year of walking my Siamese mix, Isis,

she began to run to the door and meow loudly

whenever I asked if she wanted to go walking.

After four years, she brought the leash to the

door (much like a dog would) at our appointed

walk time. Well-behaved leash trained cats

can be taken almost anywhere, and are

much less apt to develop nervous behaviors

associated with boredom. They are safe,

happy, and are given a wonderful opportunity

to interact with their owner and neighbors. They

can also be a wonderful conversation piece, and

my friend credits her leash trained cat, Sparky,

with introducing her to her partner.

Good luck and many safe strolls!

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