Wednesday, February 8, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Paw
Prints
Jodi Schneider McNamee
Columnist
Walk your cab
on a leash
You adopted her as a tiny
kitten and now she’s eight
months old. She’s an indoor
cat and it’s gotten nice out-
side. The windows are open
so fresh air circulates around
your home. Kitty loves to
curl up on her window perch
in the sunshine taking in all
the glorious aromas of the
great outdoors. But lately
she’s been lurking by the
front door just waiting for the
perfect escape. Everybody
has a touch of cabin fever,
and, after all, living inside
isn’t an entirely natural envi-
ronment for felines.
It’s hard for Kitty to
express her innate urge to
explore, climb, and hunt prey
from her perch at the window.
Unfortunately, letting her
run around loose outside is
unacceptably risky.
Cats with free access
to the outdoors are much
more likely to be exposed
to viruses and other disease-
causing agents — not to men-
tion poisons, predators, and
speeding traffic.
Indoor cats need environ-
mental enrichment, and one
of the ways to broaden your
kitty’s horizons is to get her
outdoors on a harness and
leash.
Walking your cat on a
leash offers her safe access
to enjoy all the sights and
sounds of the great outdoors.
It’s also an excellent way
of revving up her exercise
routine and can alleviate
boredom-related behavior
problems. Outdoor activity
provides fun experiences for
pet parents and their feline
friends, and enhances their
quality of life.
According to Dr. Frank
McMillan, director of ani-
mal well-being studies at
Best Friends Animal Society,
walking outside can be great
fun for cats — it gives them
new things to see and sniff
out.
So, if you want your cat to
join you on outdoor adven-
tures, you first need to find
her a harness that fits com-
fortably and teach her to walk
on a leash.
There’s no question that
a cat’s personality plays an
important role in deciding if
she’s game for the fresh-air
challenge. An adventurous
cat will probably go for the
opportunity, while a skit-
tish scaredy-cat may resist,
preferring the view from her
kitty condo or perch instead.
It will probably be easier
to introduce the idea of a har-
ness to a kitten or younger cat
than an older one. But either
way, patience is the key. Cats
do everything at their own
pace.
The key to getting your
feline friend used to a harness
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is making it a positive expe-
rience — and that means
food. A good way to start is
to leave the harness by your
cat’s food dish, or by sim-
ply holding out the harness
so Kitty can sniff it and then
feeding her treats afterward.
New noises can be alarm-
ing to some cats, so practice
snapping the harness together
or undoing the Velcro to get
your cat accustomed to the
new sounds.
Now that Kitty is aware
of the harness, slip it on her,
but don’t fasten it. Provide
more treats as a distraction
and to help your cat associate
the harness with a positive
experience.
Try putting the harness on
right before mealtime, so that
the dinner distracts her from
the new sensation and keeps
her from focusing on remov-
ing it.
If your cat is comfortable
at this step, you can fasten the
harness and practice adjust-
ing the fit. You should be
able to fit one or two fingers
beneath the harness – but no
more than that. Keep in mind
that cats can back out of the
harness when they are fright-
ened, and you certainly don’t
want Kitty getting away from
you outdoors.
It’s completely normal for
cats to freeze up, refuse to
walk or walk very strangely
the first few times they’re
wearing a harness. Your cat
has likely never experienced
the sensation of something on
her back before, so it’s going
to take some time to adjust to
it.
It may take several days
or even weeks to get your cat
comfortable in the harness,
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23
PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE
Tinkerbell enjoying nature outside.
but once Kitty is used to hav-
ing it on and walking nor-
mally, it’s time to attach the
leash.
If the most your cat has
interacted with the outdoors
has been through the window,
it’s likely she’s going to be on
high alert when you take her
outside for the first time, so
take things slowly.
Going immediately out-
side to a busy street or neigh-
borhood will certainly over-
whelm Kitty. Start in a quiet
backyard. You don’t have to
take your cat far to help her
get used to nature.
Keep in mind that walking
a cat is different from walk-
ing a dog. While Kitty may
happily accompany you on
your walk, she may prefer
to simply sniff around your
yard and doze in the sun.
Other cats may hike for a
little while and then decide
to stop and just look around.
It’s important to pay attention
to what your cat is comfort-
able doing. Don’t force her
outside her comfort zone.
Just like at home, Kitty is the
one who’s in charge.
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