Cats, Walks, and Harnesses

You cant expect a cat to know what's going on, even though you know! You need to leave him inside with his harness on for a while & let him adjust to the feeling of it, then you can encourage him to walk to you or treats with it on. After he's gotten comfortable with that, add on the leash & see what happens. If nothing, leave the leash attached & let him do his thing. Eventually you'll be able to walk around inside & can venture out but remember, a cat wont do anything when they first go outside anyway - it's HUGE out there, i remember all my kittens just standing on the top step & such, it took a couple of weeks before they even went over to sniff the garden. They're very different to dogs so getting them comfortable outside & with a leash/harness will take a while. Maybe instead of that, you should make him a caged run, then he could be outside on his own but inside the run where he cant escape!

My cat does the same thing. What Iam goingto do is get him a coller and use that instead of the harness. I will attach the leash to the coller and see how that works. You might want to try that too.

Of course he wont know what to do...He is probably frightened of it and thinking OMG what is this thing... He has to be taught. Leave the harness on him a couple of times a day so they he gets used to it. when you attach the lead, never pull on it. Try and entice him towards you with a treat or toy.Take a step away further each time. Just be patient he will get it soon.

I had a friend that used to walk her cat. She said it took time for the cat to get used to the leash. Try no harness, just a collar and leash. My dog would not walk with harness as a puppy, he would just sit and not move. He liked being free and would just follow. after a while he started to walk with a leash, but no harness. I would say keep trying, these things take time.

Cat runs are different from dog runs in they usually have the fencing on the top as well to keep those little climbers inside. Cats usually do well with harnesses once you train them. My mom taught several cats to use them the way everyone else has described. Good luck in your training.