Cat harness

Some of you may remember Little One getting away from me outside, and the problems we had getting her leg healed after being attacked. Well, she is still limping...the vet thinks she may have permanant damage, but she still tries to get out on us! Stubborn girl. (Don't worry, she is NOT allowed outside, no matter how pathetically she looks at us)

Anyway, we were thinking about getting a harness for her so we can take her outside supervised. Do any of you use them with your cats? I was looking for them on ebay, but I'm not sure what size...does it go by weight? Are most pretty adjustable? Do your cats like them or fight them? Our pet stores around here are pretty sad, so I'm not going to get good answers from them, so any advice would be great!

I'll move this to care and grooming

I have two cats. One loves it and doesn't fight it at all, the other is too afraid of going outside so she doesn't like it. Just get him used to it inside.
They come in s,m,l,xl. Medium fits most cats and they all are adjustable. However my boy (15 pounds) needed large. Just let him wear it inside and get used to it, then add the leash, then add yourself on the leash, then try outside. Most cats love it.

Our Jamie is walked every day, and I find cat harnesses pretty useless, as cats can slip out of them too easily. I used a rabbit harness when Jamie was a kitten, and switched to an adjustable dog harness with a chest strap once he got bigger.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/jcatpics/August2004vacation059
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The "figure eight" harness is worthless with cats. The "H" harness is much better. And a "walking jacket" is best. I use H harnesses to walk my cats and they have to be cinched pretty tight. Even then a cat cat sometimes manage to get free by pulling backwards, so you have to be careful not to get in that situation. That's doable so long as you're always on the other end of the leash. But if you use a harness and leash to just tie a cat out, you can pretty well figure the cat is going to be gone when you go check.

Here's Rocket walking with me. You can see the H-type harness.

Thanks guys! (and thanks for moving it to the right forum...sorry about that). I was looking on ebay, and they had some walking jackets I'm thinking out. I definitely want one that is secure. Little One only runs on three legs now...but she can really move! It surprised me, just seeing her run around the house.

Hopefully, she won't have a problem with it. When she was a kitten she used to love wearing my hair scrunchies around her neck. It was so cute...she thought she was the queen of England! But I never got her a collar so I don't know if she will have a problem with it or not. Maybe I ought to start with a collar and get her used to that first? What do you think?

I don't really think it's relevant. A collar is so different from a walking jacket. I really don't think you need to take that step unless you plan to have her wear a collar all the time.

i have an H harness and Abi loves going outside so much that she starts to purr when the harness comes out. she hated it at first but after almost a year she is fine with it. we go to he arboretum together and she hangs out with me near the pond when i am reading or weeding

mine is meant for a small dog. and has a breakaway clasp.

Originally Posted by jcat

Our Jamie is walked every day, and I find cat harnesses pretty useless, as cats can slip out of them too easily. I used a rabbit harness when Jamie was a kitten, and switched to an adjustable dog harness with a chest strap once he got bigger.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/jcatpics/August2004vacation059
.jpg

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We had to get a dog harness for Bijou because I couldn't find a cat harness to fit his chest.

Mika can get out of anything we've tried. She should have been named Houdini.

I vote for the H harness, too.
I've tried them all, including the jacket.

jcat, this is a little OT, but what kind of collar do you have on Jamie?

Originally Posted by AnneRiceBowl

jcat, this is a little OT, but what kind of collar do you have on Jamie?

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He always wears a breakaway reflecting cat collar, XL, in silver or neon yellow, because he has a tendency to ambush us on the dark staircase, in order to clean our ears (apparently a cat's duty!)! He's a pretty big cat - almost 15 lbs.

I've tried the cat jackets, but even the XL sizes are too short for Jamie, who has a strange build - extremely long, with a small head. The cat harnesses are useless with him, as he can escape them in a few seconds flat. I've had more luck with the "H" harnesses for medium-sized dogs, provided that they're adjustable.

Cool, thanks! It actually looks like a silver collar on my screen. Maybe I need my eyes checked. lol My cat has a similar build, with the long body and small head, but he's more stream-lined because he's still young.

Originally Posted by jcat

Our Jamie is walked every day, and I find cat harnesses pretty useless, as cats can slip out of them too easily.

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I also prefer the dog harnesses, more secure and I like that they sit in a V down the chest rather than around the neck.

*They are called Roman style harnesses.

Originally Posted by AnneRiceBowl

Cool, thanks! It actually looks like a silver collar on my screen. Maybe I need my eyes checked. lol My cat has a similar build, with the long body and small head, but he's more stream-lined because he's still young.

Click to expand...

It's a reflecting silver collar - your eyes aren't deceiving you. He's been wearing a neon yellow one for the past few months, but those photos are older.

Jamie used to be streamlined, but at 8, he's got a bit of a paunch, and my husband sabotages any attempts to put him on a diet (I "spoil the cat", but he's the one who lets him sit next to him at the table, and even take things from his plate!)