I live in a city and after the crushing experience of losing a well-loved cat that was run over, I decided to do something effective in order to ensure the safety of my fuzzy friends. I trained my three cats to wear a harness and go outside on a tether. As you may know, cats are quite wily, can wriggle into and out of the most incredible spaces. So, of course, a cat can slither out of a tether without any problem.
Getting my oldest cat - Mr. Max A. Million - used to the harness was a feat in itself. The very first day he went along with it okay. He let me put the harness on him, hook up the tether and was able to go through an open window to the patio or be inside as he pleased. I thought there was no problem. The very next morning, Max was sleeping cozily on the couch without the harness on! Rascal cat!!
In order to get Max used to the harness and tether, I just persisted. He got used to the new set-up within a week.
Since teaching Max, we have had two new furry friend additions to our household: Opie Taylor and Shielynn.
Opie was very easy to teach as he "had to" do everything that Max did. When Opie wanted to go outside with Max, he got his own harness and tether. He didn't balk at all, he was so happy to follow along and go to the exciting new world of the outside patio.
Shielynn, our tiny female cat, is a little petite princess and thought that she shouldn't have to have such contraptions - it was below her dignity. However, after one week and seeing that she could join the other two cats outside to chase bugs, catch lizards and spy on birds, she was convinced.
I'm really happy that I can be effective in taking good care of my little loved ones while at the same time letting my furry friends go outside and do "cat" things without harm.
