I want to get my cat going outside, but wonder if it might not be too late. In April he'll be two; he hasn't been outside since I brought him home at about four months of age. Due to neighbors I'm afraid of and several busy streets nearby, I can't let him run loose.
I bought him a "walking jacket," which he's wearing more comfortably around the house, and a leash. Today I put him into his carrier, which he feels very safe in, and drove him to the city park about 5-10 minutes' drive away.
Making sure there were no dogs around, I took him out and simply held him, thinking he'd feel safer this way. I set him down, and he made a bee-line straight back for the car (I'd left the doors open). It wasn't a panicked, all-out mad dash to get back, but he was freaked.
Can anyone give me some tips on how to get him more comfortable being outside--always in my presence, of course? I'd like to get him out of the house, but I certainly don't want to traumatize him in the process. At nearly two years of age, is he a bit too old in the first place to even try this?
I bought him a "walking jacket," which he's wearing more comfortably around the house, and a leash. Today I put him into his carrier, which he feels very safe in, and drove him to the city park about 5-10 minutes' drive away.
Making sure there were no dogs around, I took him out and simply held him, thinking he'd feel safer this way. I set him down, and he made a bee-line straight back for the car (I'd left the doors open). It wasn't a panicked, all-out mad dash to get back, but he was freaked.
Can anyone give me some tips on how to get him more comfortable being outside--always in my presence, of course? I'd like to get him out of the house, but I certainly don't want to traumatize him in the process. At nearly two years of age, is he a bit too old in the first place to even try this?