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Teaching your cat to walk on a leash is a great way to not only let your cat go outside of the house and get some exercise, it also enables you to spend some quality time with your pet. By having your cat on a leash you won’t have to worry anymore about him jumping over fences or even running away. Following are several easy steps you can take to help you make exercising with your cat a walk in the park.
Harness
The first thing to do when preparing your cat to become accustomed to a leash is to make sure that you have the right kind of leash. A harness is the best thing to purchase as a collar will allow the cat to find a way to slip out of the leash. It is important to make sure that the harness is not too loose or too tight. In order to make sure that it fits properly, you can place two fingers between the cat and the harness. If you can not do this, it is probably too tight, and if you can fit more fingers, than the harness is too loose. It is also important to keep in mind that the tension from the harness should be able to pull from the chest and not the throat.
Jackets
If you don’t want to use a harness for your cat, there are also jackets that are available to attach leashes to. The leash will usually be attached at the middle of the back, making it comfortable for the cat. The leash should also be fairly lightweight. This is because most cats are not that large and it will be hard for them to move quickly when walking.
Getting Accustomed To Leash
After the right things have been purchased for the cat, you can leave them by the cat’s sleeping area for a couple of days. This allows the cat to get used to the leash and harness as a normal thing. They will be able to grow accustomed to the smell and the look of the harness and leash, making it more comfortable for them when the time comes to begin training them to walk.
Positive Reinforcement
When trying to get your cat used to walking with the leash and harness, be sure you always use positive reinforcement. To help you get your cat used to the idea, after about 3 or 4 days, put the harness on the cat for awhile. To encourage him in doing this you might want to reward your cat with food, thus allowing your cat to react positively to the harness and leash.
Step-by-step
You can start with only putting the harness on the cat, and allowing them to get used to the feel of it. The next step is to add the leash to the harness so that they get used to the feeling of having it attached to the harness. For the first few days, you can let them wander around the home with the leash and harness attached. By doing this, they will begin to feel like it is natural to have the materials attached to them.
Let Them Follow
Eventually, you will be able to take the other end of the leash, holding it loosely while you let them walk around the house. After the cat gets used to having the leash held onto at your end, you can teach them to follow you, instead of you following them. Usually, you can do this by simply pulling on the leash, which will redirect the way that the cat is walking in relation to the leash.
Slow But Sure
If the cat is an indoor cat, it is probably best to also slowly train them to get used to the outside sounds and smells at a slow pace. If not, it will make it difficult to control them when you are walking them for longer periods of time as they will be unsure of their surroundings and what the different things are in them.
Patience
One of the most important tricks to teaching your cat to walk on a leash is to use lots of patience. After you have let the cat become used to the leash and harness, you can slowly train him to walk. Patiently training your cat to walk on a leash will mean that both of you will be able to spend quality time together. |