The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.
Learn more »
Hi, I’m Dr. Maja! Read my introduction to learn more about me and Miki, the kitten who made me a cat person.
So, as you may have figured out by now, I am still learning the ropes in cat parenting. Miki is my first cat and we are coming up to a year of knowing each other. I have two dogs, and have had dogs since I was a kid. So I approached my rescue kitten like I would a new puppy. Of course, I wanted him to be safe above all, but also to be able to join me on outdoor adventures and trips, so I decided to teach him how to walk on a lead.
Luckily, it didn’t take him long to get used to wearing a breakaway collar and then a harness. We started practicing when he was only a few months old, and he accepted wearing a collar and a harness without a complaint. The collar would sometimes drop off, as it had a safety breakaway mechanism, and he would get it stuck somewhere on his short outdoor ventures. At this point, he only wore the harness for short periods when we walked outside together and it had no real purpose, but to get him used to wearing it.
Cats Are Not Small Dogs
Having two dogs, for quite some time I treated Miki as a puppy in a sense, although a very independent one. He still follows us for walks every day, he plays with the dogs, the only thing he doesn’t do is fetch, but living with two dogs, from a kitten age, has made him form a very special bond with the dogs. Sometimes as if he forgets that he’s a cat. I fell in love with him from the moment I saw him, and I couldn’t believe what I was missing in my life, from never having a cat before.
So, after a few months of getting used to wearing a harness, I decided it was time to attach it to a lead and start exploring! Being a vet, there are so many things you need to know and be familiar with, that are stored somewhere in the back of your head, or at least know where to quickly find the information if not.
Oftentimes as vets we speak to first time cat owners and try and ease their mind, seeing how many things they worry about, and often how clueless they seem in the most caring and sweet ways. And soon I realized, being a brand new cat owner, using my vet perspective, there are so many things I didn’t know, or even thought of, one of them being harness safety. But soon I realized that Miki is a cat in the truest sense, and as much as his lifestyle fits in with the dogs’, he is a totally different character.
Sleeping in his harness
Trees and Harnesses Don’t Go Together
I greatly underestimated the importance and several safety precautions that come with harnesses and cats. On one cold winter evening, like many nights before, instead of letting Miki roam on his own and get into various kinds of trouble, I took him out for a walk on a lead. Same as every night before, we would meet my brother’s farm dogs, that he got used to and which would follow us on our walks.
Miki was only around 6 months old at the time, and he wasn’t a great climber. Well, climbing is one thing, getting down is something else. On this particular night, we explored the farm environment, with Miki sniffing and leaving his scent rubbing on objects, until we got to this tree. It wasn’t particularly big, probably around 14 feet. And Miki started scratching it and then made an effort to climb it. As an inexperienced cat owner, enjoying looking at him having fun, I let him climb up to the second branch at around 8 feet. And then trouble hit.
Miki is working on his tree-climbing skills
Disguised by the Dark
As Miki was proudly going up, I started to realize he would get stuck, and slowly panic hit. Miki went up a couple of smaller branches and the lead got stuck. He tried to come down but realized he couldn’t, and ended up hanging in the air by the harness, barely touching the actual tree. He froze, and refused to climb back up the tree, now too high for me to grab him.
As the lead was attached to his harness, fortunately, there was no danger to his health as such, but let’s just say it was a rather stressful situation. Initially I didn’t quite know what to do, as if I let go of the lead, he is still hanging by the harness and the lead is still stuck around the branch, and I cannot reach either him or the place where the lead got stuck.
Awkwardly, I turn around to see if anyone is watching, but my brother is asleep, thankfully, and there is no one else to witness my stupidity. So, the only thing left for me to do was to climb up on the tree, which wasn’t one of my brightest moments, and grab Miki, while untangling the lead stuck on a rough branch. Luckily, Miki seemed unphased by this whole experience, and wanted to continue his evening walk, but it could have been much worse.
Miki enjoying an evening walk on the farm
Do’s and Don’ts With a Cat Harness
This experience has taught me one thing: kittens are masters of getting into trouble, when combined with inexperienced owners, like I was at the time. Being a vet has taught me how cats behave in the clinical settings, how to get them to cooperate and treat them, but not how they are at home and how curious and adventurous they can be. And how we can unknowingly get them into awkward situations, where they may get injured.
Cats should not wear a harness unless they’re supervised and there is a lead attached to it held securely by their owner.
Cats could get stuck by their harness in awkward situations and places, where their owners may not be able to find them or help them, if they’re on their own.
Cats on a lead should not be allowed to climb trees, as the unexpected may happen, and in my case, luckily the tree wasn’t too high so I could quickly climb it.
Shy cats that are not confident walking outside, unlike Miki, may easily get scared while wearing a harness, particularly if another animal tries to approach them, and an ill-fitting harness may detach or they could get it off, running away.
A lead should never be attached to a collar, as unlike dogs, cats will not walk where we want them and they hate being restrained. Miki sets our pace and direction when we use the harness and lead, as anything else would cause him more stress than enjoyment.
Collars are easier to break and come off or may lead to choking or injuries if pulled on too hard or if a cat gets stuck somewhere, and the breakaway mechanism is disabled. So many little but important things to be aware of, if we are to keep our kitties safe.
And finally, not all cats will enjoy being walked on a lead, and this should be respected. Miki enjoys it, and it’s something he’s learned since a young age. He is allowed to explore on his own during the day, with only a breakaway collar, and the harness is tucked away for any future adventures that will not involve trees.
