Hex Goes Walkies
Karl and I took a trip to a local pet superstore today, and purchased one "cat harness". I'm personally against the majority of cat collars and I hate strapping cats up, but as Hex lives in a first floor flat he doesn't really have the means or opportunity to go out and explore. What's more, until he's neutered (soon kitty, soon) unsupervised outdoors time is a no-no.
Anyway, we bought this harness and it's ..an odd contraption. A velvet-y collar that sits around the neck, over the back and behind the front legs. We put it on him and after giving him time to get over the urge to twist out of it, we clipped on the included lead and set out...
I say set out, but that suggests actually going somewhere. This is not really the whole truth because we spent the next 15-20 minutes exploring The Forbidden Hallway (outside the flat) before plucking up the courage to go anywhere. Even then it was greatly assisted by me cuddling him close and wandering around slowly. When we finally opened the bottom door to actually go out into the big scary world beyond the comfort of home, Hex got spooked by a 4x4 (SUV thing) and shot up out of my arms, up my neck and attached himself to my shoulders... all claws out!
Nonetheless we recovered, played in the golden yellow leaves that are collecting on the floor, and met some new people. Hex is all safe and sound back inside now though (fed and pampered) and purring away on Karl's lap. It was an experience to say the least, and I mean for me!
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 19:38, Smith said:
I don't like collars, and neither do my cats! They just wonder through the flap when they please.
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 20:00, Julie said:
I would love to take my cat out, but I've always been putting it off and now winter is coming. Be careful when you let your cat out even once he is neutered. You know, they could fall off the third floor or something...
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 20:02, Hannah said:
Aww, how cute. My cat would go nuts if I tried to put her on a leash.
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 20:55, Kelly said:
Aww
It's a great idea to put Hex in a harness seeing as you live on the first floor. What a cute kitty.
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 20:55, Rachael said:
Awh, take him out again! He'll get used to it, don't worry. He's just a bit of a pussy (no pun intended) at the moment. Be brave, Jem, be brave!
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 20:59, Chantelle said:
My cat is an indoor cat and even now (12-ish years later) when I take him outside to go somewhere or to brush or just because he gets clingy (all claws in the shoulder - "screw you; I'm not coming down").
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 21:54, Amelie said:
*Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee* That is all.
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 21:55, Mumblies said:
Of course there is always the problem if he decides he really likes being out there, and drives you nuts continually meowing to be taken walkies hehe but i am sure that you will oblige. Jem.......... yer nuts, i wouldn't take mine out on a leash
) Couldn't help but notice he stole the "cmon" fella you bought for other purposes hehe.
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 22:09, Kaylee said:
I can't imagine a ninja playing with her cat in the leaves, but I suppose I'll get used to it
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 22:25, Claire said:
Reminds me of the harness/leash contraption my sister had for her giant pet lop-eared rabbit as a kid - if you thought getting a cat into a harness was bad, you should've seen our attempt with a bloody-great rabbit!
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 22:45, Aisling said:
My cats aren't allowed outside, because they like it too much and try to escape. I put Kizzie on a leash once, and she refused to go anywhere. She flopped down on her side, and had me drag her around.
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 22:47, Renate said:
Sounds like you had a good run with him.
We tried the cat harness on Link, to try and get him accustomed to being outside (our cats are outdoors cats, but like you said about Hex, letting them outside unsupervised before they're neutered is not an option), but he would mostly just refuse to go anywhere except up trees. I got a lot of funny looks from people passing us, as from a distance it looked like I had a leash attached to a huge tree.
On Sat 13th Oct 2007 @ 23:42, Lene said:
Those pictures are adorable, Jem! I don't like collars on car either. However, there's something about those harnesses that looks incredibly cute in both cats and dogs. Heh. I lol'd with the 4x4 situation, poor thing!
On Sun 14th Oct 2007 @ 00:10, Hev said:
Just don't declaw him please. It is cruel and if by chance he gets outside he won't have any defense against any other cat. You might try having an open window with a shelf for Hex to sit on so he can get use to the sounds and sights outside. But the halter is better then a collar if you are going to take him on walks and until he gets used to the outside carrying him is also a good idea. But these are just my suggestions. I used to have three cats that lived in my house and I would take them for walks every now & then. I had to do the above to get them used to the outside before they were comfortable with it.
On Sun 14th Oct 2007 @ 02:07, Aaron said:
Aww, that's so cute. We have three cats but only one of them can go outside. Gus, the oldest, always runs far away. he comes back, but we don't like him being gone. So he stays in. Bandit is afraid of everything and thinks you're going to give him up when any door outside is opened. That leaves Simon. He's kind of stupid but he doesn't wander too far. Although, he falls asleep in the woods and forgets where he is. He's quite annoying, though. He spends most of the day meowing at the door to go out.
On Sun 14th Oct 2007 @ 02:43, Kimmie said:
We put my cat out on a leash outside. We've got all sorts of posts all around our house just for the purpose of him picking one that he wants to be attached to. Then, we put him on the leash, head back inside, and check on him every 15 minutes or so. I'll also take him on walks up and down my street and piss off all of the neighbor dogs. It's fine. :-D
On Sun 14th Oct 2007 @ 14:17, Lisa said:
I recently had a very similar experience, but after the first few days my cat would sit in front of the door and cry constantly, and wouldn't stop. Someone would take her outside and the cat would get bored and decide to come back in, and ten minutes later she would cry to get out again! So we can't let her go out anymore. =/ It took a month for her to stop crying. A month! Hope it goes better with your cat.
On Sun 14th Oct 2007 @ 22:50, Renay said:
We tried a collar and everyone hates them, so probably I'm going to try a harness next. Our poor Luna is getting too squishy for her own good! Hex is so cute! Shojo hearts in his direction!
On Mon 15th Oct 2007 @ 20:45, Maja said:
Well, I have that catshop so I sell a variety of collars and harnesses. I have one in particularly that doesn't go around the neck like a a collar, it lifts on the chest. It takes some getting used to, but is very effective and won't harm the cat if he or she suddenly makes a run for it.