Hi, humans and non-humans! I’m pretty sure you’ve seen one of those videos where the
cat falls downs or freezes when they are in a harness, or maybe your cat is one of them.
Today, I’m teaching you how to gently put the harness onto your cat without them acting
like they can’t walk. Many cats can be trained to walk on a harness, and walking around safely
is not only a good way of getting some exercise in and going on future adventures, but also
a great bonding experience for you and your cat. We are Furry Diary, and we make multiple
videos a week on helping you provide the best care your pet needs. Please consider subscribing
and tagging along our journey if you want to become a better pet parent.
Here are the things we need.
First, it’s a confident cat. The reason I say this is that not all cats are good candidates
for harness training. If your cat is scared of new things, new people, and you don’t
have a good relationship when them, let’s work on that first before worrying about harness
training. If we force an already scared cat into learning something new, this experience
is doomed to be horrifying for them.
We are harness training, so we need a harness. Because a cat’s neck is built differently
than that of a dog, I do not recommend using a collar made for dogs. Instead, find something
that’s cat-specific, and you want the harness to fit snugly but allow free movement. I got
this harness off Amazon, it has multiple sizes, it’s adjustable, and comes with a safety
buckle.
We also need some treats and toys. Many cats will fall over or freeze when they feel the
harness because it triggers a survival response that they would employ if they were grabbed
by a predator. We need to use highly attractive motivation, treats, and toys, to distract
that instinct. I use two types of toys, one is this station-like interactive ball toy
to keep them distracted while putting the harness on, and another one is a wand for
them to get used to the feeling of running around after putting the harness on. I’ll
show you more in a moment. Have some treats to reward them in the process so they can
associate harness training with positive things.
There are 5 steps in this process. But every cat’s reaction will be different, and patience
is key in training a cat. So let them take their time if they are not ready for the next
step, and repeat any step as many times as needed.
First, you want to get your cat familiar with the harness, to let them know that this thing
is safe and does not do harm to them. To do so, place the harness near where they play,
eat, and sleep. Once your cat accepts the existence of the harness and acting like the
harness is just another household item, you are ready for step 2.
Once they are familiar with the harness, this is where the fun starts. Place the interactive
ball station on the ground, and he will come and want to play. When they are playing and
so distracted by the toy, we want to place the harness gently on their back to get them
used to the feeling of something is on their body. This is another reason why I chose this
station because I knew he would be distracted while staying fairly steady instead of running
around. If your cat notices the harness on their back or acting not comfortable, give
them a treat, or what I call a double distraction. Then repeat the act of gently putting the
harness on their back.
With this specific harness I use, it wraps around the cat’s body from the bottom, so
his chest and feet are also the areas we want to desensitize. If your harness wraps around
the neck, do the same thing with the neck. While he is playing, we want to again, gently
rub the harness against his chest letting him feel something is there. If your harness
has holes like these, it will be a little bit harder to get their legs in. That means
we need to add some treats to distract them. This step will be the most difficult step,
and please be patient and repeat this step as many times as you need.
This is a key moment, while you are rubbing against their body with the harness, and they
are distracted by the toy and seem fairly comfortable, you want to connect the magic
strips, or the buckle if that’s the one you have. Once you do that, give them treats
to double distract them. After several seconds, instead of keeping the harness on, you actually
want to unbuckle it and repeat this action to desensitize the sound and build a positive
association with buckle sound and treats. So buckle on, give them treats, and buckle
off, and repeat.
Once you have repeated this buckling up buckling off thing, and your cat seems okay with it,
you are ready for the final step. Once you buckle on, take out their favorite toy, in
my case, is this wand, and start to play. This is for getting them used to the feeling
of moving around with the harness on. I kept the harness on for half a day the first time
we got Manju into the harness, just for him to get used to the feeling. Then we slowly
decreased the amount of time he wears the harness a day. Right now he only wears it
when we go out and when he eats. I put it on when he eats is because tends to get his
fur on the chest and neck area dirty while eating, and the harness covers that area.
Again, if your cat doesn’t seem comfortable or you are getting very frustrated, stop the
session and come back later. Please do not force the cat into the harness, as it will
only make the experience more unpleasant for them, and once they have this bad association,
it will only make the future sessions more difficult.
That’s how we were able to get Manju into a harness in 5 steps. Putting the harness
on is only the first step in this whole walking your cat experience, and if you found the
information helpful or would like us to do another video on how to walk a cat, please
leave a comment down below. We are Furry Diary, and see you in our next video, bye.