Quote:
Originally Posted by BlitzyBug
Ugh! I'm so jealous! How did you get her to adjust to a harness? My boy does NOT like it. I tried walking him a while back with one on and he would just lay there.
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For the first cats I harness trained it was a learning process, the current cats learned from cats no longer with us. My method:
Buy the harness and leave it lying around the house until it becomes a familiar object.
Then start draping the harness over kitty, so kitty knows the harness is his/hers.
Then put harness on kitty with explanations about what it is, and why, calm reassuring voice, a treat even. If cat freaks out, take it off. If cat just lies there, leave it on for a few minutes, then take it off. Repeat this daily, or even several times a day.
As cat gets accustomed to harness try to encourage movement in it, such as playing an interactive Game. Drag a string under a rug for Stalking and Pouncing, or throw a toy for Chasing.
Once cat is comfortable wearing harness, attach the leash and, holding on to the leash, open the door and see what kitty does.
Often once a cat makes the connection to the wearing the harness means a walk outside, s/he no longer has trouble with it.
Most of the cats I trained this way were adults when I trained them. Some took longer than others to adjust. Little Cat (the one in the video) was the first kitten I ever introduced to harness and she took to it immediately, even before she knew it meant 'outside'.
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