Training Cats To Walk On A Lead....

I have decided, after much thought, to try to train my cats to walk on a lead.

A friend at work had spoke of how she had trained her cats to do this, and that with some effort, the results could be pretty good.

I keep my cats mostly in the house. Occasionally they get out into the back yard. But that's it.

I worry about everything. So, with all the harm that cats can come to from other predators, beasties, bad people, cars etc, I think it is safer for them to be house cats. I saw a statistic somewhere that house cats live 2 - 3 times longer than cats that are given complete freedom. And that is where my dilemma comes in. They are not free.

I feel I am stifling their natural instincts, not that this is always a bad thing, but they should have more freedom than they are getting.

Enter harness training.

I went to the local vet and purchased some harnesses. I haven't bothered with leads yet, as I want to do this in progressive stages. I will help them become accustomed to the harnesses, until hopefully they see them as a normal part of everyday life. Then I will introduce the leads. Gradually I will introduce "walkies" around the house. Then the garden. Then out in the street and around the neighbourhood. All in stages and all at their level of comfort.

I put a harness on Pru and one on CC. Both harnesses are red, and look very pretty on the black and white cats.

CC lay down for a sec, I think to process the feeling of the harness. She then got up, and slowly walked, as if in a daze, into the corner of the room. She just stood there. I think she was in shock.

Pru has more fight in her, and fight she did. She then took a moment to process what was going on. I could see her thinking about it. The cogs were clearly turning. Of course, she was probably planning her escape, like Houdini, the Hungarian American magician and escape artist.

I am under no illusion that this will take real work and effort, but it will be worth it for Pru and CC.

I will keep you updated as to how I get on, what progress the cats are making and might even uploads some pics too.