Cat Owner: How Did They Get You Used To Wearing A Harnesses (Instead Of You Forcing Them To Wear Them) When Going Out?

This requires time and patience. Most cats can gradually learn to wear cat harnesses and walk freely if they are still young. Old
er cats tend to become stubborn and it is difficult to force them to accept new things.

My black kitten, Tangyuan, has been constantly surprising us since we brought it home two years ago. It was not until recently that I began to train it to wear a chest harness. Tangyuan will be two years old soon. I chose a high-quality adjustable chest strap for it. Before officially starting the training, I first measured its neck circumference and chest circumference with a flexible tape measure to ensure that the most suitable size was selected.

The first step of the training is to enable Tangyuan to recognize the chest harness “without pressure” at home. I placed the chest strap beside the cat bed where it often slept, and even let it rub and sniff on the carpet by itself. After about ten days or half a month, Tangyuan had become accustomed to having this new “toy” right beside it.

The second step was that I began to gently try on the chest strap for it. Every time, I would pick it up, stroke and comfort it first to make it feel secure. Only then did I put the chest strap on it. I repeat this action two or three times a day, for about ten minutes each time, and reward it with a few of its favorite chicken snacks each round.

Next, I adjusted the fixing rings and buckles of the chest strap to ensure that it neither tightened too much nor slipped off easily. For the first few days, Tangyuan always chose to lie motionless on the ground. I lured it forward with snacks. Or use its favorite feather stick to make it chase forward. About two weeks later, Tangyuan was finally able to walk around the living room by itself wearing a chest strap. When I saw it take its first step, the sense of achievement made me burst out laughing.

Then, I began to connect the traction rope to it. Some people say that you can directly let the cat practice by dragging the rope, but I prefer to hold the leash and throw snacks and play guiding games in the room. In this way, the tangyuan will follow actively. Sure enough, it soon grasped the rules of the game and often trotted after the snacks I gave it.

On the day I actually went out, I first carried Tangyuan to the rocking chair on the porch and let it look around. After a few minutes, it began to relax and even stuck out its PAWS to touch the gaps in the floor at its feet. I remained quiet and motionless. As long as it cooperated slightly with the movement, I followed gently beside it to make sure it did not retreat or try to break free.

The entire process, from when I got the chest strap to when the tangyuan could wear it freely and walk around, took about one and a half months. This summer, we look forward to enjoying the gentle afternoon breeze together on the porch. Maybe one day we will also try to explore the small garden near the apartment – of course, there are many large dogs in the community, and I don’t want Tangyuan to be frightened.