Harness

Dave2006

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I live in the UK and i am looking to buy a harness, any recommendations for the best ones.
 

di and bob

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After my little escape artist got out of almost every harness I bought, I finally found one she couln't escape from, called the figure 8 cat harness. She had a habit of turning around and sliding out of the others, no matter how tight I had it. The figure 8 harness, actually tightened as she turned around and pulled. She was also the hardest to get used to a harness, although later she loved walking around in one. (I think she was figuring them out!) At first she would just fall over sideways and lay completely still for as long as the harness was on. :thud:i just left it on for longer periods of time, in the house, until all my cats were used to them. Don't take them far from home. Just around yoru neighborhood. after having her escape numerous times when an unexpected dog would rush out, etc., (and the unexpected ALWAYS happens) it would have been awful to have her far from home and lost.
 

glittercat

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Try Mynwood :


The lady who makes them is really helpful.

Here is a picture of my cats in their jackets, apparently carrying out some sort of summoning ritual..... :) 20190423_153006.jpg
 

Sararainmaker

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We use this one. We got an extra small one when she was a kitten and it worked wonderfully, when she out-grew it we got another one that was less substantial, and she was able to get out of it with ease so we got her a larger size of the first one. It's padded and comfortable with a reflective strip on it.
 

Spookyandsammy

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What is a good kind to use for a cat that does not like to keep a collar on she somehow gets the break away ones off
 

syzygycat

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I live in the UK and i am looking to buy a harness, any recommendations for the best ones.
I tried a bunch off amazon this one was the best one over all, its padded bellow all the straps, the top goes on over the cats head, so you only have to deal with one buckle. but; there are a lot of good harnesses out there.

IMO features to look for are:
-it closes with buckles, not Velcro
-buckles should be strong but still break away (similar to but stronger than a cat collar)
-the part that goes around the neck tightens and is secured separately from the part that goes around the waist (some are connectes or shaped like an "8" so if the cat rocks hard enough the neck gets tight/waste gets loose, those are both choking and escape hazards.
-the fabric along the spine and belly should be wide, look for something that's covers a lot of the chest and back not a bunch of collars sewn together.
-the better ones are have padding or made of a soft webbing, so if theyre tugged its not biting into their skin.
-the leash should attach in line with the cats shoulders, not the neck or arm pit.
-harnesses that have 2 rings for the leash to connect to are more secure and more comfortable, this is preferable not necessary.
-more expensive doesn't mean better, the ones that look like a full vest
 
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syzygycat

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Kaylee can get any breakaway collar off, but she doesn't get her harness off... it's not breakaway, but I only have it on her when we are taking a walk.
The break are easier to put on and take off than most(all?) traditional buckles.

A cat won't be able to open a breakaway buckle on any decent harness, they should stay secure with over 50 pounds of force on them. (as opposed to a collar that comes off with 2-5lbs of force). If a cat escapes a harness it won't be because of the break away.
 

glittercat

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Years ago I had some fantastic harnesses from the States, they were a full jacket but fastened with buckles and straps (bit like a girth on a saddle). They also had a wide collar strap that fastened with a buckle so the cat was secure but there were no single, tight pressure points.

Unfortunately when I came to buy them last year I couldn't find them for the life of me (similar but not what I remembered). For me Mynwood were the closest.

I will be honest though, I did not persevere with the walking and had a catio built for them instead!!!

I now have three jackets that are very very unlikely to get any use (and two retractable leads).
 

SpecterOhPossum

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Specter is insane and escaping harness has always been a fear for us - which has come true but fortunately I'm very agile and she never goes but a few seconds till I "tackle" her ( run at top speed & drop to my knees and hold her in place; gently and firmly to re-clothe her.)
Nowadays she has not escaped once with her simplycat harness. She's 8.6lbs and a pain in the arse ESPECIALLY TO WALK I'll tell ya. From casually backflipping and doing... Summer salts? and deciding to do "zoomies" around the country hills, along with darting up trees or even jumping tree to tree.. The harness has NOT failed us. Which shocks me because it was under 20$ at walmart or something.
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the leash is stretchy, and it hooks on the back so tugging your cat away from the animal poop they may or may not wanna put their face into; or the berries they wanna eat, or the deep dark cave they want to explore..or any other dumb stuff they wanna do is easy on your and the cat. The neck and chest part is firm fabric separate from the other parts so if they manage to somehow undo the buckle, they're still not going anywhere. Lastly my favorite part is that the left strap is sewn in, so all you have to do is place the harness on their head, lift their arm into the left arm bit, and hook the right side under your cats other arm. Pretty painless.
 

Spookyandsammy

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I will have to try it but is 8.31 lbs overweight just want to know I switched to wet food she gets fed in the morning I don't give her alot
 

SpecterOhPossum

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I will have to try it but is 8.31 lbs overweight just want to know I switched to wet food she gets fed in the morning I don't give her alot
No one here can give you medical advice, you're going to have to see a professional about that in real life.
 

bengalcatman

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We have been through a bunch of harnesses. Couple of things we learned along the way... If a cat really wants out of a harness, they can get out of just about any harness. The Mynwood ones mentioned above seem to be the most secure. We eventually figured out that it was best if the cat didn't really want to get out of the harness. Yeah, they are cats, I know, easier said than done! But once they actually like the idea of a harness, and are good at walking, it becomes more about what is comfortable for the cat, rather than what is escape proof.

When we started walking Makena, he was frustrated by the harness. We were VERY careful about where we took him. We made sure there were no dogs, people etc that would scare him.... and more importantly, lots of things interesting for cats. He slowly learned to like his harness because it meant he was headed out for adventure. We learned too: what he really liked to do, where he liked to go. And that a cat can "back out" of a harness, so don't allow tension on the lead when they are backing up. It takes time. A lot of time and a lot of patience, to get a cat really comfortable on lead

The harness we use with Makena is a heavy duty dog harness. Makena has a very thick neck and large shoulders: cat harnesses aren't comfortable for him. He also needs a harness he can easily back out of..... While out hiking he climbs a lot of trees and sometimes he gets the lead hopelessly tangled in branches, so he just backs out and climbs down to us. We then gently tease the lead and harness back out of the tree. He has no interest in trying to get out of the harness otherwise.

We also found the velcro jacket style harnesses were too hot for Makena in the summer, but then he is probably more active than most cats while outside.

Makena's harness


Makena's harness also has a large triangle pad in the front. When he is racing fast, once in awhile he miscalculates how long the retractable lead is (26 feet) and he bangs into it hard. The front part keeps him from hurting his chest/neck.



When we got June Bug as a kitten, we had her wear harnesses to get used to them. This one is too big for her but she was a kitten and would always stay within 10-15 feet from us.


When she got bigger we used one of Makena's old harnesses. Not a perfect fit, but she is not interested in trying to get out of it. She still fights a bit when we put it on, but then she sort of forgets she has it on.


I have a lot of customers that walk their cats. In talking with them I found that a harness that works good for one cat, doesn't work well for another. Some need ones that are easy to put on, some need ones that are more escape proof, etc, etc.
 

Spookyandsammy

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I think I'll end up getting a dog version Idk if I'm gonna to take her out or not I'm afraid to take her out of my room I don't want her getting sick or getting fleas
 

kittenmittens84

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I think I'll end up getting a dog version Idk if I'm gonna to take her out or not I'm afraid to take her out of my room I don't want her getting sick or getting fleas
If you buy a dog harness try to get it from a place with a good return policy because in my experience some of the harnesses made specifically for dogs are entirely the wrong shape for a cat. Frequently the neck hole is too big which can make it especially easy for the cat to escape out of it, since cats have weird free floating collarbones
 
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