Taking cats for a walk

999unity

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 1, 2021
Messages
1
Purraise
0
We recently got 2 kittens, they're 10 weeks old as of yesterday and I was thinking about buying harnesses to take them for outdoor walks since they have a lot of energy and love looking out windows. I have a couple of questions though-

Is 10 weeks old enough to take kittens for a walk?

Will I need to buy medication or flee/bug products?

Will they be annoying if they want to go for a walk again? My moms biggest concern
 

Krienze

Officially a cat lady now. No regrets.
Super Cat
Joined
Feb 2, 2020
Messages
988
Purraise
1,787
Location
Louisiana
I, personally, am not a fan of walking my cats - so I've never done it before to give you first hand experience, however when I was doing research on it I feel like I remember reading that 8 weeks or so is a good age to start (but to keep them secluded to your backyard)

The only thing I worry at that age is that fleas may pose a problem - but again I've never walked my cat to be sure. I've always mostly been of the mindset that I don't want my indoor cats being exposed to outside because I don't want them to ever get that urge to -go- outside, etc. x.x so if you aren't planning on walking them consistently/making it a routine, I maybe wouldn't do it (I remember my cousins cat went on walks every day as a routine with my cousin, same time etc, like you'd walk a dog)

IF you make it a routine, eventually you'll def need to make sure there is flea protection going on, yeah.
 

Jcatbird

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
10,301
Purraise
58,378
Location
United States
Definitely get bug prevention meds. I have three cats that like to walk and yes, if they enjoy it, you will want to make it a part of their life. They can get exposed to fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Better to prevent that with something. I do that for all my cats anyway. If you like walking then this can be good for you and kitties. Some people love doing this and others find it a pain. I enjoy it and there are times I cannot walk them. They are older cats and they do ask to go out but have learned I can’t always do it. One of them tried to door dash on me. That is a worry for me but after a few tries, he stops. I have an enclosed yard so mine are safer than if they walked near the street or something. Be sure to get a perfectly fitted harness. Practice with it inside first until the kitties understand they are not to try and escape the harness. If they don’t like the harness inside, then you know they will not cooperate outside and it is risky. Have you looked at some of the people on YouTube whose cats don’t want to walk on a harness? My cat , Flowers just falls over like I sprayed her with starch and refuses to move! She hates it. Lady loves it. My cat Banjo will rip it off. Purry struts his stuff. Test your kitties well and for some time before you even think of trying it outside. You want them well trained and safe before going out. You may find it just isn’t something the kitties want so this may all be a non issue too.
 

StanAndAlf

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 27, 2021
Messages
416
Purraise
489
I have harness trained my cats and they love it! They both come running the moment I open the drawer where I keep them and purr up a storm while I put them on. I started out by putting the harnesses on inside and getting them accustomed to it, and kept the walks short until they became more confident outdoors. I also let them lead me, unless they try to approach something dangerous like a road or a hidey whole where something nasty, such as a snake, may live.

As mentioned, you want to make sure the harnesses fit well, but even then don't underestimate your cat's ability to wriggle out. If they start to panic or get a fright, don't trust the harness to restrain them. Either get them indoors again ASAP if you are close enough, or bring a carrier with you to put them in until they calm down. Personally I just pick my boys up, but I know how to and am capable of restraining them while in my arms so they don't hurt me if they continue to wriggle and try to flee.

Also put some research into where you walk them. A loose dog can do some serious damage, so you want to try and avoid walking them past yards with dogs that run out and bark, or large grassed areas where people may take their dogs. My boys know when it's walk time and will scream for me to let them out. But if I'm too busy and can't, I just ignore them and they settle down. They used to door dash even before I started walking them, but I manage easily enough and now they mostly just sit by the door and watch as I come in. Even so, I open the door as little as possible and make sure to get inside quickly.
 

Purr-fect

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
1,843
Purraise
5,563
We recently got 2 kittens, they're 10 weeks old as of yesterday and I was thinking about buying harnesses to take them for outdoor walks since they have a lot of energy and love looking out windows. I have a couple of questions though-

Is 10 weeks old enough to take kittens for a walk?

Will I need to buy medication or flee/bug products?

Will they be annoying if they want to go for a walk again? My moms biggest concern
I think 10 weeks is a bit young to take them for walks. Its might be too young to expose them to flea, tick meds. If you take them on walks and they get used to it they will be very disappointed if they are then kept indoors forever.

Do you have room to build a catio? Its an enclosed structure to keep them safe while they enjoy the outdoors......AND you dont have to walk them everyday.
 
Top