On a harness

[GGG]

Hello all,
Just need some advice...
Our kitty is 2 y/o indoor ONLY but... my kids have been bugging me about putting her on a harness and taking her outside with us while we're are sitting on our porch or fence backyard to sit with us. ( no walks down the street or anything like that) just with us while we're sitting outside on our property.
What do you guys think?

Thank you

 

[Talien]

Nothing wrong with going out on a harness, as long as you don't do something silly like set the leash down.

 

[She's a witch]

You need to consider that when she tastes the outdoor, even only on a leash, she may spend hours by the doors begging to be let out. It’s absolute nightmare to deal with.

 

[GGG]

You need to consider that when she tastes the outdoor, even only on a leash, she may spend hours by the doors begging to be let out. It’s absolute nightmare to deal with.

That's why I've been holding off taking her out... I feel bad when we're sitting outside and she's just at the window watching us

 

[molly92]

Our kitty is 2 y/o indoor ONLY but... my kids have been bugging me about putting her on a harness and taking her outside with us while we're are sitting on our porch or fence backyard to sit with us. ( no walks down the street or anything like that) just with us while we're sitting outside on our property.

I used to do this with my cat all the time when I had a porch. She wasn't much of an adventurer (cars are very scary to her, which I'm not complaining about!), but she would spend some time exploring in the grass, and then a lot of time just sitting with me on the porch watching the world. The harness was very confusing to her at first, but after she realized it meant outside time, she didn't notice it anymore.

My biggest problems were that she loved to eat grass outside (She very specifically never eats any plants that are inside. Only outside. What a cat.) Also, a possessive mother squirrel lived nearby and tried to attack her a couple times, so I had to be watchful.

I didn't have any problems with her being inconsolable about going out. The harness quickly became a cue to her that we were going out though, so I think if you build the daily outside time into your schedule and keep the harness in the same place, you can train her into expecting it only then, and ignore her if she asks for it other times.