leave cat on harness outside?

I know this title sounds ominous but here's my question:
My indoor cat would really love to go outside and sniff the grass. Before I go to the trouble of putting up a cat fence around the back yard, I'm considering a simpler solution: setting up a harness (a light webbing figure 8 harness which cat has had on before and seems to be OK with) and tethering the harness to a (very heavy) brick in the center of the yard, with about say 10-12 feet of nylon rope. The idea is to leave kitty out there for up to an hour/day. I would be at home and could check up on him frequently the first few times outside.
Before I took this step, though, I wonder if anyone has had bad or good experiences with this method. Much appreciated, Namo1

Under NO circumstances should you leave your kitty tethered outside. He could get tangled up, in the leash and strangle, other cats or dogs could enter your yard and attack him or he could slip the harness and get away.

I have a figure-8 harness, for Rowdy and always hold the leash and walk her around the yard. Even so, I have to untangle her, as she likes to roll in the dirt.

My dogs aren't even tethered. If I didn't have a big, fenced yard, I wouldn't have dogs.

I couldn't have said it better. Please don't tether your cat.

Originally Posted by katl8e

Under NO circumstances should you leave your kitty tethered outside. He could get tangled up, in the leash and strangle, other cats or dogs could enter your yard and attack him or he could slip the harness and get away.

I have a figure-8 harness, for Rowdy and always hold the leash and walk her around the yard. Even so, I have to untangle her, as she likes to roll in the dirt.

My dogs aren't even tethered. If I didn't have a big, fenced yard, I wouldn't have dogs.

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One good roll on that harness and she could get tangled up, or what if she slips out of the harness altogether? Bad idea to leave a cat outside tethered-

Check into Purr...fect Fence

One stray dog and you could lose your cat. Also since the cat isn't used to being out a loud truck or kids etc something could cause a scare and in the frantic moment to get away cats can get tangled up or even sometimes get out of their harnesses.

I have a dog peg for the garden and Tibby and Molly go out on that. I NEVER leave them alone There's generally two to three people put with them) and follow them religiously to make sure we have no tangles. I am also always within reach if they get scared and leave the 'entry' door open, so they can tell me when they've had enough.

We allow Bijou out with a harness and a tether, BUT ONLY if we are outside with him. If he is sitting quietly under a tree we may go in to get a tea or coffee, but will be back out almost immediately.

As I believe it was Hissy that mentioned it, if they get out of their harness (and believe me they are very good at it), they could get frightened and run away and hide, or run in front of a car, or any number of equally scary things.

The harness and tether is fine if you are going to be there to supervise.

Thanks very much for your feedback. All 5 replies are unanimously very much against leaving unattended kitty in harness. With this collective wisdom in mind I've trashed the idea.

You can still let him go outside, just make sure you watch him. I do it with Buffy and Willow all the time, and used to tie their leashes to tree branches (the leashes were 15 and 20 feet) but the cats both liked a little more freedom, so I let them drag their leashes around now. Mostly I keep the leashes on just for my sake, since I can stomp my foot on the leash when they're not wanting to go back inside, and that makes it easier for me to catch them. The more freedom they get, the crazier they act, so I have to be careful how much freedom out outdoor time they get, lol