Ragdoll Cat Forums

I have a one year old male, George, who LOVES going outside. When he was only a few months old I would regularly put his harness on him and then take him outside for a limited and supervised outing. He didn't like it very much initially but knowing what it brought soon changed his mind.

Now I just have to open the cupboard door that opens to his harness and lead and he gets a bit excited hoping that I'll be taking them out.
If I actually take it out he gets really excited meowing madly and runs to the door where he patiently waits for me to put on his harness and purring with anticipation.
One time I dropped the harness and lead on the ground when I got it out of the cupboard and he picked up with his teeth and dragged it to the door!

Associating the harness with going outside means that I can open the door knowing that he won't run out however if
a visiting friend leaves the door open for an extended period of time then he might run out. Though this has only happened a couple of times and he knows he is in trouble when he gets caught.
George spends a lot of time at the door wanting to get out so I make sure that the outings are very irregular so as not to give in to his demands.

One of the first times that I took him out he was actually meowing to come back in and when I did he ran straight to
the cat litter which I thought was hilarious. You could imagine him thinking "quick let me in! I have to go to the toilet!"
Despite the fact that outside is basically one big cat litter.

I only walk him within my complex where there is only a long footpath and he trots along happily like a dog. A lot of the time I let go of the lead but still stay very close to him as he loves to do bursts of sprints and as I live in a small two bedroom unit its good for him to burn off the energy outside.

This is extremely risky, particularly letting go of the leash. I understand you believe you know how he responds, but it takes only one exception to be deadly. A trailing leash may mean he will be caught and unable to get away or defend himself. What if a dog or other animal runs up and attacks him? They both can be away from you in a flash.

I won't let mine outside. Most of my neighbors do though. I've always kept a windchime on my door and had a routine since they were kittens to rattle it when I open the door. Dillinger will run behind the door until I close it and Maggie and Capone both run into the living room.

Victoria

We never allow ours to go out but one of my domestic cats got out when we went home for the week end which was over 3 hrs away. Got home and could not find him and much tears. Then my neighbor remembered seeing her while we were gone. She never left the yard. She was under the deck hiding. What a lesson we learned. It is better to leave the air on then to crack the window a tad. So now we watch more careful and when we get Zeke he is going out only to the vet or if there is something we need to take him to.
I am so anxious to get an updated picture this week end I think she said.

One thing I do is to get a collar with their name and info on it just in case of this happening. Not that people would return him but would feel better just knowing I did what I could in case this would take place.

Better go so enjoy your day.

I have a fully enclosed courtyard which my boys absolutely love. They're only allowed to go out when I am home, just to be on the extra cautious side. But it's completely safe and they love chasing each other around, eating the grass and lying in the sun.

I also find that they often prefer to come back inside and curl up on the couch for a sleep even though the door is open.

My Raggie wasn't taught how to use a leash or get used to it by the breeder. It didn't bother me to be honest. I just put the harnas on the floor so she could sniff it, play with it (under supervision of course) and touch it.

Then I placed the harnas on her (just placed it on her back, not strapping it around her) when she was laying on the floor, only for a few seconds. I repeated this until she ignored what was on her body. (that took four days)

When she got used to that, I sat her down between my knees so there wasn't any room to wriggle and pulled it over her head, gave her a treat, picked her up and walked around so she would divert her attention from the lead around her neck to her surroundings. After a few minutes, I took it back off and redid this day after day. Only for a small amount of time.

Then I fully harnassed her, diverted her attention with a new toy and she forgot she was wearing it. (she occasionally did try to bite it but got annoyed and played with her new toy anyway)

I put it on day after day until she didn't fuss with me putting it on. (that took 12 days)

Then I put the leash on and let it trail behind her (under supervision so she couldn't get tangled up) until she got used to it.

For me I don't intend to walk her outside (too dangerous to my likening) but I wanted to carry her on the bus with the harnas. That way I could wrap three strong fingers around the harnass and my arms around her.

This way I've been doing short trips to get a newspaper, some fruits, my mail, walk to the postoffice.

It takes time. Little by little. Don't force, distract.

This may sound silly but she freaked one time when she tried to jump off my lap and the leash stopped her short. So I picked her back up and made purring sounds (like they do to calm themselves and that helped).

She has no trouble with it whatsoever now. Hope that helps

I purchased a small canvas and screen enclosure for puff apollo. He has his blanket, dry food and toy with him. He used to sit at the door and cry or climb half way into the window blinds to get to me,when I sit outside on our patio. with the enclosure- he is safe out doors- with the freedom to see birds, blades of grass, trees, feel the breeze without threat of bugs or traffic. we also have a fenced in yard. Since using the enclosure- he does not try to escape and listens to the word "NO" at the door. I feel comfortable with this and will use the enclosure in the car when we drive back to New Jersey in May. He is a great traveler. The enclosure is about 4 feet wide, 3 feet lenght and 4 feet high. Judy and Puff.

Thank you for your concern but when I let go of George's leash I am still very close to him and the complex that I live in is small and contained so no risk of big dogs. There is a dog in the complex but he is a scotch terrier cross and is about the same size as George. Its funny to see them play together as they take turns chasing each other.
I am planning on putting lattice on the fence bars around my courtyard so I can let him out knowing that he can't get out.
I loved the story from Lena and Emily of taking your harnessed cat on the bus. That would spin people out I would imagine.

gorgeous-george Wrote:I loved the story from Lena and Emily of taking your harnessed cat on the bus. That would spin people out I would imagine.

It does . I checked with my buscompany first to see if they allowed cats on without carriage and they do.

Mind you, I have only done it twice because it's winter here and with my buff coat won't be able to hold her against me but it's a quiet line so there's only about 7 to 8 people on there. I've had the looks .

She just sits there on my lap and looks outside as the world passes by. The driver checked his rear mirror a few times and smiled

Our raggies love to go outside on the leash,
I havent taken any pics of them recently but this was nikita about the first time she went outside on her leash,
She was very cautious to begin with with all the new smells and sounds but now she just rolls all over the grass and is very confident outside,