Kitten/cat going outside on leash

[sherrymyra]

Ok.  I have had cats before that went outside/ roamed and came home when they wanted to.  I don't want this with Izzy.   I had initially thought she is not going outside at all.   I live in a house with a fenced yard.  But fenced is not secure by any means especially since she can just climb up with her claws or under with little holes here and there.     

But now I have been considering using a harness and letting her out on a leash at times.  With summer I would spend more time outside in the evenings.   So Izzy is kept inside during the day and then she would be stuck being alone inside for another couple of hours.

What do you guys do?  

I got a harness for her today and put it on her and she was not impressed and just kind of hid out.    I'm sure she would get used to it evenutally.   If I would go with the harness what is the best way to get her used to it.  Just put it on her and hope she will get used to it or put it on for short periods of time at first?  

 

[tammyp]

We walk everyday - they love it.  You may also be able to secure your backyard a bit more?  We used chicken wire, nails, cable ties, tall metal stakes and wire - we will take it down when we vacate here, so it all had to be temporary and yet very secure.  Works very well.

As to cat walking, here's how we do it: http://catstuff4aussies.weebly.com/2/category/walking a cat/1.html

Oh, and I should say, we started with a leash.  Lots of those outdoor pics are without the leash, as these days, in safe sections of the walk, we have graduated to leash-free walks.  You really need to have eagle eyes and anticipate any problems though eg: what freaks your cat - for us, diesel engines, so we get to the cat and hold them in place crouching over them if a car is approaching (or get them to go into a garden bed), and we also have a resident nemesis cat who roams freely, so we have learned to carry a spray bottle of water to prevent any fights (my guys don't mind water, but nemisis cat hates it, so it is effective and humane).

 

[sherrymyra]

oh my it sounds like you have every avenue covered.  I can confidently say I "could" secure the lower yard.  But what do you do for the upper fence.  I picture chicken wire hanging over similar to prison methods.  Which I suppose is possible with a little creativity.    Hmm.  Thinking here.  

 

[tammyp]

Yep, creativity is the key!  If you scroll down a bit to 'cat enclosures', here's some poor pics of what we have done to our little outdoor area (it wasnt very sunny).   http://catstuff4aussies.weebly.com/3/category/outdoors walking903eed9a2f/1.html  

Essentially, we have made a 'roof' (we also had to weave it through the tree branches with no gaps as we have escape artists).   The roof isn't a full one - it is about 1/2meter wide all around.  Because the chicken wire isn't rigid, the cats seem to know they can't jump up onto IT, and the fence tops are obviously now no longer accessible.  I also heard Jackson Galaxy say that if you do a 'lip' with a 45 degree downward angle, cats are effectively blocked.  Anyway, our 'lip-roof' is why we used the metal stakes and wire - so there was somewhere to attach the chicken wire.