2008.01.25
Keeping kitty fit, entertained, and sanitary
Here are a couple of WikiHow articles on leash training your cat and making a jungle gym for your favorite feline.
And apparently just like Robert DeNiro's character did for Mr. Jinx in the movie "Meet the Fockers," you too can toliet train your tabby.
The warnings on these cat lessons are most amusing:
Warning: Never leave the cat on the leash in the backyard alone. The cat may try and hop over the fence and get stuck, resulting in an imminent cat funeral.
Warning: Do not teach your cat to flush. Although it is possible, once they learn they seem to enjoy it and will do it all the time.
Disclaimer: I would never dream of putting my cat on a leash (I bought a stroller, remember) nor would I ever entertain the idea of teaching him to use the bathroom.
Do these things at your own risk. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
I walk my cat on a leash from time to time and she loves it. She is an indoor cat and balked at the leash until she realized it meant she could go outside. Now she runs to the door and stands patiently while I put the leash on her. We only walk around the yard and I NEVER leave her unattended or tie her up. She has a blast while we're out there!
For anyone that wants to try it, I bought the small dog harness and leash set and it fits her perfectly. Expect a very unhappy kitty the first few times you try to put it on but they catch on pretty quickly!
Comment by Kim — January 25, 2008 @ 11:53 am
I have used leashes in training all three of my mother's cats to not leave her fenced in backyard.
One cat came into the household as a just weaned kitten. She was the easiest to train to a leash. She was not allowed outside without a harness and a leash and would wait patiently for you to put them on. I used a very long leash so she could do a fair amount of exploring away from me and would tug her gently back when she tried to leave the yard.
After a few months we tried letting her go outside without the leash and from then on she was only put back on the leash if she left the yard. She became very trustworthy outside and in fact would come and get my attention if another cat left the backyard. She is 15 now so the early leash training was very effective over the long term.
The other two cats were young adult strays. One was so grateful to have found a home that quickly it became apparent that she hates to go more than 20 feet away from a door into the house and prefers always to be near where my mother is. The stray male had to be leashed trained for a couple of years before he was allowed out without a harness and leash. At 14 he still understands that the backyard is his limit.
It did take a lot of commitment on our parts to out on the harnesses several times a day but they accepted that they were the price of going out so it was rarely a struggle. So it was with delight and relief when finally the cats agreed that not leaving the yard was a good price to pay for not having to wear a leash and harness.
Comment by Lynne — January 25, 2008 @ 3:30 pm