Increasing Visibility- Reflective Collar Or Led Light?

[Diana Faye]

I am working on harness training my 2 cats, at least to let them explore the yard a little. The times that I would be able to take them out, and would have the less foot traffic with dog walkers, would be around dusk. Daylight would depend on the time of year.

After being out with one cat closer to nighttime, it occurred to me how hard it was to see him, and that this might pose a problem if he was in a shadow or worst case scenario, end up tangled or get away from me. This had me start to wonder if other adventure cat owners have addressed this issue.

Neither cat has a collar, ID, or microchip. I've been on the fence about that, since collars can (and hopefully should if snagged) fall off, they're indoor cats, and in my area I'm skeptical if anyone would even think to do a scan on a cat. My only defense right now is to keep them close to me. I'm considering at least adding a reflective collar and ID for when I take them out, but I'm not sure if that will get in the way of the harness or be enough to see them or even stay on them if they get away. I really like the idea of attaching one of those LED pet lights to the harness so I can see where they are at at the end of the leash, but I'm worried that they might be a little bulky/ distracting.

Does anyone here have any thoughts or opinions on this? Or does anyone use some kind of LED light on their cats?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

... they're indoor cats, ...

I would just say that they are not necessarily indoor cats if you let them out on a harness, however infrequent. That said, if it were me, after microchipping, I'd sew on bright neon or reflective material all up and down the harness and leash, plus I'd wear a light myself, and it would probably be great to use lights on the cat's body harness.

 

[amethyst]

If you are using a harness and lead anyway I would, like PushPurrCatPaws said, just put reflective stuff on the harness and leash. They also do make small LED lights that you could also attach and LED leashes so the whole leash is lighted up. I got my dogs these they are very bright and they just sit over the collar (or just around the neck if no collar). You cut them to length so I think they should be able to be trimmed small enough even for a cat.

 

[Diana Faye]

I would just say that they are not necessarily indoor cats if you let them out on a harness, however infrequent. That said, if it were me, after microchipping, I'd sew on bright neon or reflective material all up and down the harness and leash, plus I'd wear a light myself, and it would probably be great to use lights on the cat's body harness.

I'm not very handy or experienced with sewing. Do you know of any type of material that might work?

 

[amethyst]

I'm not very handy or experienced with sewing. Do you know of any type of material that might work?

You could just buy the sticker kind (Like these) , they wont last as long but no sewing required. There is also an iron on kind, no sewing either.

 

[LTS3]

A tailor shop may be able to add reflective material (that you provide) to the harness and / or leash. Fabric stores sell reflective fabrics / trims/ etc. as well as many places online such as these:

https://www.joann.com/utility-fabric-safety-fabric-yellow/10173367.html
Reflective Piping, Cord, & Trim | Reflective Fabric Tape

You an also try iron-on reflective tape: https://www.joann.com/high-intensity-iron-on-reflective-tape-1inx60in-grey/9448994.html

A walking jacket might have more surface area than a harness for reflective material to be added.

If you keep the cats on leash and close to you while out walking, there shouldn't be any issue of you not being able to see your cats. Carry a small bright flashlight if needed. How long is your leash?

 

[Kflowers]

One of our leather leads was chewed in half. Figuring a cobbler would have the tools to work with leather I took it to one to fix. Nice secure job. However, if your harness is cloth, a tailor would be a good choice.

 

[Diana Faye]

A tailor shop may be able to add reflective material (that you provide) to the harness and / or leash. Fabric stores sell reflective fabrics / trims/ etc. as well as many places online such as these:

https://www.joann.com/utility-fabric-safety-fabric-yellow/10173367.html
Reflective Piping, Cord, & Trim | Reflective Fabric Tape

You an also try iron-on reflective tape: https://www.joann.com/high-intensity-iron-on-reflective-tape-1inx60in-grey/9448994.html

A walking jacket might have more surface area than a harness for reflective material to be added.

If you keep the cats on leash and close to you while out walking, there shouldn't be any issue of you not being able to see your cats. Carry a small bright flashlight if needed. How long is your leash?

The leashes I have right now are just something generic that I got in Petsmart.. maybe 4 ft. I have a Voyager fully adjustable harness, but I don't like how it quite fits, and recently tried the "come with me kitty" harness for the other cat (so now I have that leash), but I don't like how it fits on him either. I considered a jacket, and ended up splurging a bit on these super cute ones that look like vests off of Etsy, so I'm waiting for those to be delivered.

The harnesses and leashes are dark colored. I keep them fairly close but sometimes I like to let them go to the length of the lead to explore a bit. I can really only take them out one at a time, and right now it's just for a few minutes. My lot is wooded and shady, on top of being out around dusk. One kitten is gray, so he can blend in the shadows pretty well. It just started me thinking that if I had to act quickly to grab him, or if he slipped out of a harness, being able to spot him quickly would help.