[faile]

so i got a harness and leash for cujo because i thought he might enjoy going outside every once in a while. but my boyfriend thinks it will just tease him, and make him try to escape whenever the door is open. i live in an apartment next to a busy parking lot and busy street so it would be very bad if he got outside.

also, he may have been an outdoor cat when we got him, i think the humane society said he was wearing a flea collar when he was found.

so would it be mean of me to take him out only on the harness? would he hate being inside then?

 

[Ioana]

I have read something about this not long ago in a thread about indoor/outdoor cats (?I think). What drew my attention was a member saying that his kitty was waiting in a calm manner next to the door when he was letting him know they were going to go outside. That made me re-think my decision to keep Frosty strictly inside.
To this day I am still inclined to just keep him inside though. You have raised a good question, Faile. I can't wait to see more opinions on it because if through trainig there are positive outcomes mainly I would love to give my kitty a change.

 

[AngelZoo]

I've had indoor, indoor/outdoor, and outdoor kitties.

Yes, for some cats whom are leash trained, it can make them want to go outside all of the time, and become door bolters.
Others will not.
And some will be ok provided that you take them out often enough for their tastes.

With Asim and Isha I used to bring them outside a lot more often in their first years, they were always indoors except for those times and I never had any problem with them becoming door bolters, sometimes they did however like to wait next to the door to let me know they were interested in going for a walk.

However, with another cat whom I believe used to be let outside before I brought her in as a foster, would try and bolt out the door all the time. I tried walking her on the leash once in a while for her enjoyment as well. She would always be at the door when I would come home. I'd have to stomp my feet right in front of her to scare her back so she wouldn't bolt out past me. Eventually she wised up and stopped hanging out at the crack of the door as soon as anyone came up to it.

 

[faile]

bumpity bump.

more harness thoughts, anyone?

 

[queen of the nile]

I've found with my cats that when I first started to bring them outside, Levi and sometimes Lucas would try and bolt out the patio door everytime I opened it. It has taken some time, but they have realized that they are not allowed outside without their leashes on and that "outside time" is a regular occurence. Now they rarely bolt. I am so glad that I have gotten them used to their leashes because they love their time outside. My boyfriend lets them out at least once a day. We just tie them to a stationary object and let them wander. We can see them through the patio doors and they let us know when they want back in.

 

[Newt]

Newt was a bolter. We got him a leash and he loved it...didn't stop the bolting but he was more calm/less boltive after going outside for a few hours.

After a while, when we got the leash out he would come right to us and rollover so we could put it on him.

 

[kristi]

We've taken Frodo out on a harness a few times. He didn't get in the habit of bolting too much, but it was a rare ocurrence. He actually got overwhelmed quickly (within 10 minutes) and wanted to come back inside. We didn't take him out this year at all, actually. He seems happy enough inside...