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I have two cats. Montressor is a 19 year old male cat, who is very skittish around our other cat Midway. Midway is a 15 year old male cat with a high play aggression/prey drive.
I ended up taking Midway outside to meet some kids a couple of weeks ago and that kicked in his desire to go outside again (he lost it a couple years ago). I bought a leash and harness after that and have been taking him outside every couple of days. Pretty much all he does is walk along the concrete path eating grass while I sit on a step. I left the door open most days and Montressor would walk up to the door, cautiously step a foot out and then back up. Yesterday he walked all the way out and lay down by the door so I made a quick run to the pet store and got another leash and harness and took both boys out together when I got back. This was Montressor's first time in a harness and leash.
Montressor was laying on the grass eating it on my left side, and Midway was roaming the path in front of me. A little bug started flying around Midway's head, and he saw it, head and eyes jerking around following it. Then it took off to my right. Midway went after it full speed, so quick I barely saw him move before he hit the end of the leash hard. When Midway went full speed, Montressor apparently thought he was about to be pounced or there was danger, and he went full speed to the left and hit the end of the leash almost as hard.
My husband came out to take charge of Montressor since he was terrified. Midway was clearly spooked by the sudden stop, and then he took off full speed for the open door behind me, which meant he was moving towards Montressor, who my husband had not gotten inside yet. Montressor in turn bolted a second time and hit the leash again. We got them both inside at that point.
This morning Midway was yowling his head off at the door, but I didn't feel well and didn't take him out alone. About an hour ago Montressor was at the door meowing, behavior he's not shown in well over a decade, so I put the harnesses on both of them and took them out.
They were both very, very jumpy. Montressor only lasted a couple of minutes before running back to the door but because of where we were sitting he couldn't quite reach the door and rolled like he was trying to wiggle out of the harness. That triggered Midway who ran to the door belly low (I've never seen that). Once inside they were both down low backing up, but much, much happier once the harnesses were off. Montressor just seemed to be afraid in general, Midway seemed to be afraid of Montressor, because he got lower on the ground and pulling away more with eyes locked on Montressor when Montressor and I got to the door after him.
A catio is not an option and they both clearly want to experience the great outdoors. I don't know how to remove the negative experience of hitting the end of the leash. Do I take them out the back door instead? Do I try and shove aside my loathing of the great outdoors and take them out more often separately and reintegrate them later? Do I sit really close to the door so they can run in and not try to get them calmed down and stay out longer (desensitization)? How do I get them to enjoy going out again? Taking them out without harnesses simply can't happen because as the bug showed it doesn't matter how much they cling to the door, something unexpected can happen.
I ended up taking Midway outside to meet some kids a couple of weeks ago and that kicked in his desire to go outside again (he lost it a couple years ago). I bought a leash and harness after that and have been taking him outside every couple of days. Pretty much all he does is walk along the concrete path eating grass while I sit on a step. I left the door open most days and Montressor would walk up to the door, cautiously step a foot out and then back up. Yesterday he walked all the way out and lay down by the door so I made a quick run to the pet store and got another leash and harness and took both boys out together when I got back. This was Montressor's first time in a harness and leash.
Montressor was laying on the grass eating it on my left side, and Midway was roaming the path in front of me. A little bug started flying around Midway's head, and he saw it, head and eyes jerking around following it. Then it took off to my right. Midway went after it full speed, so quick I barely saw him move before he hit the end of the leash hard. When Midway went full speed, Montressor apparently thought he was about to be pounced or there was danger, and he went full speed to the left and hit the end of the leash almost as hard.
My husband came out to take charge of Montressor since he was terrified. Midway was clearly spooked by the sudden stop, and then he took off full speed for the open door behind me, which meant he was moving towards Montressor, who my husband had not gotten inside yet. Montressor in turn bolted a second time and hit the leash again. We got them both inside at that point.
This morning Midway was yowling his head off at the door, but I didn't feel well and didn't take him out alone. About an hour ago Montressor was at the door meowing, behavior he's not shown in well over a decade, so I put the harnesses on both of them and took them out.
They were both very, very jumpy. Montressor only lasted a couple of minutes before running back to the door but because of where we were sitting he couldn't quite reach the door and rolled like he was trying to wiggle out of the harness. That triggered Midway who ran to the door belly low (I've never seen that). Once inside they were both down low backing up, but much, much happier once the harnesses were off. Montressor just seemed to be afraid in general, Midway seemed to be afraid of Montressor, because he got lower on the ground and pulling away more with eyes locked on Montressor when Montressor and I got to the door after him.
A catio is not an option and they both clearly want to experience the great outdoors. I don't know how to remove the negative experience of hitting the end of the leash. Do I take them out the back door instead? Do I try and shove aside my loathing of the great outdoors and take them out more often separately and reintegrate them later? Do I sit really close to the door so they can run in and not try to get them calmed down and stay out longer (desensitization)? How do I get them to enjoy going out again? Taking them out without harnesses simply can't happen because as the bug showed it doesn't matter how much they cling to the door, something unexpected can happen.
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