Ok He Walks On A Harness, How Do I Get Him To Move?!?

[danteshuman]

So my boy does great on his harness and I like to take him for walks so he has more space then just my ‘yard’. That said sometimes he stops and won’t move. Today he wanted to hunt something (possible a small bug?) or confront another pet by going onto their patio..... I refused to give him enough leash to do so. I kept calling him and gently tugging on the leash (not enough to move him or hurt him) & the punk sat down..... completely entranced with his hunt. I tried talking to him and encouraging him.... no dice. Eventually I just picked him up and carried him the 25 feet to or apartment.

How do I get him moving? He will not move for treats, I have tried.

Any ideas on what to do with his crazy drive to explore in/under the tree/bush hedge that separates my complex from the golf course? He can get really tangled under there, it would hard for me to squeeze under there and get him. So I just keep not giving him enough leash to go under the hedge.

My ‘yard’ beyond my concrete patio .... and in the background is the hedge I won’t let him go into.

 

[Furballsmom]

Lol, this is a cat getting him to move means waiting for him, or picking him up as you described.

The hedge is a no-go, as you're thinking. The problem is it's likely a mouse et al highway and I could imagine it smells absolutely entrancing to your boy.

 

[danteshuman]

He went in the hedge once and I had to crawl under to get him ...... and he came out smelling like something dead or a bit of a skunk. So I washed his harness and gave him a bath. There is at least 4 inches of dead leaves under those bushes! (I think there was something dead under the leaves.)

I do let him sniff under the hedge and get his body length under it from the other side by the walkway where it is more open. I also let him go and smell/roll around in/and climb the occasional tree in the entrance/path through the hedge. I’m trying to get him used to walking my around my apartment building so he knows how to go home ...... but he is a bit stubborn! Mainly I follow him around with most of his 26 foot long leash looped up. He really wants to go straight to everyone’s sliding glass door that has a cat! His hyper ass gets an hour outside in his ‘yard’ and about a 15 minute walk every day. It really does work to get his hunting done outside instead of inside!

Oh and I’m working on trying to get him to eat treats every time someone else comes by but he refuses all treats outside.... even when no one else is around. Any ideas?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hmmm, something extra smelly that can compete with all the outdoors smells?

 

[maggiedemi]

What a little cutie...You could try using my excited voice. When I want to get Demi & Maggie to do something, I make it sound really exciting, and I say C'mon Hurry, Hurry in a really excited voice and they follow me. It's worth a try.

 

[Suru]

you can bring treats along with you or some kind of '"toy" to distract him. I often go on walks with my cat un harnessed, whenever my cat goes somewhere I cant get to (like someone else's yard) I can call him back with a treat or a long stalk of grass which has the seed stalk dangling on the end as a more enticing "prey". If he goes farther than I would like I usually just pick him up and walk him back to somewhere I prefer him to be.

 

[5starcathotel]

I like the toy idea! Something like Da Bird, that you can "plant" under a bush and let him hunt/kill it!

 

[5starcathotel]

He really wants to go straight to everyone’s sliding glass door that has a cat!

Haha, decades ago, had an indoor/outdoor cat (I was young and dumb, forgive me!), while living in an apartment. ALL the neighbors knew him - he'd literally walk into anybody's apartment if they left the door open!

 

[nunnc84]

View attachment 289083
So my boy does great on his harness and I like to take him for walks so he has more space then just my ‘yard’. That said sometimes he stops and won’t move. Today he wanted to hunt something (possible a small bug?) or confront another pet by going onto their patio..... I refused to give him enough leash to do so. I kept calling him and gently tugging on the leash (not enough to move him or hurt him) & the punk sat down..... completely entranced with his hunt. I tried talking to him and encouraging him.... no dice. Eventually I just picked him up and carried him the 25 feet to or apartment.

How do I get him moving? He will not move for treats, I have tried.

Any ideas on what to do with his crazy drive to explore in/under the tree/bush hedge that separates my complex from the golf course? He can get really tangled under there, it would hard for me to squeeze under there and get him. So I just keep not giving him enough leash to go under the hedge.

My ‘yard’ beyond my concrete patio .... and in the background is the hedge I won’t let him go into.
View attachment 289085

treats. take a hungary cat. the cat's meal dry food. make the cat work for each piece. take the cat wand with a ribbon. pick up the cat, and put them next to a wall, they will walk along it. those are all my secrets. sometimes cars, noise, and pets will scare the cat. be ready no matter what