Harness & leash vs. cat tent/small enclosure - which is better?

[momto3cats]

My cat Charlie really loves the outdoors, but I don't feel safe letting him out. My other cat, Crumbs, can go in the back yard with me and will stay close, never trying to go over the fence, but Charlie wants to go farther away and explore the neighborhood (yes, he's neutered). I carry him around the yard in my arms so he can enjoy the fresh air and sunshine a bit, but this is not really a long-term solution.  He gets very upset when Crumbs and the dog get to go out and he doesn't. 

I plan to try either a harness to take him out with me in the yard (this would let him explore more of the yard, as he can go wherever I go), or one of those pop-up cat tents (so he can stay out longer and I'll have my hands free to do other things). Any opinions on which is better? What do your cats like best?

 

[catbehaviors]

I would go with the harness and leash. He'll probably soon think that one of those little tents is too small and he will want to explore beyond its limits. With the harness he would be able to explore the whole yard, and possibly more if you decide to expand your walking territory. Let me know what you decide to do with Charlie!

 

[silverpersian]

The cat tent worked "better" for us. I tried the leash and harness on my kitten, following all the instructions for a gradual start that is likely to succeed, but all he would do was flop down on the pavement if the harness was on. He is feisty and not a big fan of the tent, but will tolerate it for 10-15 minutes, as opposed to the zero minutes we got out of the leash. We take his cat toys into the tent. I feed him in there sometimes.

 

[sophie1]

My cats love being outdoors, but even supervised backyard roaming just isn't an option.  I tried that a few times, but one of them spotted a rabbit, took off like a bullet and next thing I knew was in the middle of the street.  And the other one nicely demonstrated his ability to jump a 6 foot smooth vinyl fence.  (Yes, both neutered.)

Definitely leash walking is the way to go.  They do need to get used to it, so don't be discouraged if it takes a few tries before he's willing to walk with it.  I bought a "Walk your cat" book on Amazon that had lots of helpful hints for guiding your cat and keeping control.  I tried a Happy Habitat enclosure, but they didn't get the "happy" part.  Cats want to explore territory, sniff bushes, chase sticks & bugs, nibble on their favorite grassy plants, and stalk squirrels and rabbits.   Only the leash will let them do that safely.  Your other alternative is the enclose a big chunk of the backyard, but that runs into serious money.

Be careful what you wish for though.  After being introduced to the great outdoors, my cats went from being door-chargers to being very aggressive, constantly meowing door chargers.  I can't say that I blame them.

 

[rachelinaz]

We leash trained 3 of ours and will be working on the new 4 cats we have now.

Is it possible to put a stake close to the house or middle of the yard as well as walks?
We did it with the 3. It isn't allowed in AZ at all. So no go here. They feel it is cruel. We would let them out starting short periods and extended it as time went on.

We moved with the 3 and did a road trip from Skagway Alaska to Phoenix Arizona. Potty stops.. the leash training was amazingly helpful.

 

[catbehaviors]

@rachelinaz  Did your cats ever try to go beyond the stake's limits? I've seen cats been "tied up" before, and wondered if the cats are content to stay within their boundaries. I know that the times I've tried such things with Wessie, (when I'm busy and trying to keep him in one place while we're outside together) he never wants to stay within the leash's limits. 

 

[rachelinaz]

No never, but we started them (with us outside with them) at about 4 months old. However they never tried to go past the limits.

@rachelinaz
 Did your cats ever try to go beyond the stake's limits? I've seen cats been "tied up" before, and wondered if the cats are content to stay within their boundaries. I know that the times I've tried such things with Wessie, (when I'm busy and trying to keep him in one place while we're outside together) he never wants to stay within the leash's limits. 

 

[catbehaviors]

No never, but we started them (with us outside with them) at about 4 months old. However they never tried to go past the limits.
 

@rachelinaz
 Did your cats ever try to go beyond the stake's limits? I've seen cats been "tied up" before, and wondered if the cats are content to stay within their boundaries. I know that the times I've tried such things with Wessie, (when I'm busy and trying to keep him in one place while we're outside together) he never wants to stay within the leash's limits. 

Thanks for the response! That's neat that they were happy to stay within your boundaries. Sometimes I wish Wessie was more like that- laid back, I guess.  

 

[rachelinaz]

Our biggest issue.... Remember we lived in Alaska... A black bear wandered through the yard. My husband I were arguing who was getting the cat.
But the bear looked and sniffed het... She swatted him a good one and he moved on.

I later found out bears eat only fish (in Alaska) as a meat sourse unless they just woke from hibernation and can't find berries, other natural sources of their diet or sadly... Trash cans.

Luckily the bear issuissue only happened once.

Thanks for the response! That's neat that they were happy to stay within your boundaries. Sometimes I wish Wessie was more like that- laid back, I guess.