A dog on a leash is something that we see often, but to teach an independent cat to do the same thing ain’t that easy, but it’s not impossible.

If you live in a city there are many reasons not to let your cat out on its own. It could be hit by a car, locked in somewhere, stolen, physically abused, eaten by predators, injured by other animals or chased away by other cats. These days there are life threatening diseases like FIV and FIP a cat can contract from contact with infected cats. An outdoor cat in the city lives on average 2 – 5 years and an indoor cat can live a lot longer sometimes 20 years or more.

Many people think it’s better to offer the cat a shorter more exciting outdoor life than letting the cat live their life inside a home. I’m absolutely sure that an indoor cat can be a happy cat and definitely a lot healthier. We have a wonderful Abyssinian named Costello. He doesn’t know anything about life outside our apartment so he doesn’t know what he’s missing but he has a very good life anyway. However if you still want to let your cat outside but not on its own, one way could be to teach your cat to walk on a leash as we did with our Tabby Tess. She was found when she was six month old and to be outdoors was a big part of her life, perhaps the only part, but she’s enjoying a safer life indoors these days.

The pet shop has many different kinds of collars and harnesses but the best one is a harness that buckles both around the neck and around the stomach behind the front legs. Cats, since their front legs are attached only by muscles (no shoulders!), are very good at crawling out of a harness so make sure it’s tight enough but not too tight. Before you start going out with your cat you have to let it get used to the harness. Give your cat a lot of praise and treats and don’t let it wear the harness more than a couple of minutes to start with. Try this a couple of times the first days.

When the cat is a bit more used to the harness it’s time to go out and see what behind the front door. I use a flexi-leash (a retractable leash) which extends out up to five meters (16 feet) and it makes it easier for both of us - and I don’t have to go after her in to every bush!. If you live in a flat I would recommend that you don’t carry your cat down the stairs. The staircase is also a part of the outside world and Tess always gets very mad at me if I carry her. Your cat will find the way out and the way back home. I let Tess decide where she wants to go as much as possible. I can’t, of course, let her go where I can’t follow her and I don’t let her go in under parked cars.

Tess and I go out almost every day and every season of the year, usually right after I get home from work. She tells me she wants to go out by cratching the door, and as soon as she gets the harness on, she starts scratching the doormat getting ready for some wildlife!

Compared to walking a dog, the "catwalk" won’t really give you any exercise. It’s quite a slow activity as it takes some time to "see" what other cats have been visiting our territory. But be patient, your cat loves it! We’ve met some of the outdoor cats and the boss in the neighborhood is a big, black male Tabby named Esse. In the beginning Tess was pretty scared of him and he wanted us to leave (we did!), but now they are getting along better. I never let her get in physical contact with any cats we meet because we don’t know if they have any diseases. And beware of dogs! On a leash your cat can’t run away from them, so it’s up to you to make sure your cat is safe. Tess loves to run up in trees so it’s good to have a long leash, and it’s also good if she takes the same way down. Sometimes I have to go after her to get the leash out of the branches…

When we get back in she’s a big cuddler and very pleased with herself. The walk is the highlight of her day!