Recommendation for a cat harness?

momofmany

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Now that Spanky has decided that he MUST go outside (long story), I'm trying to find a good cat harness for him. He's simply too dog friendly to go out on his own, and he's told me in no uncertain terms that he's bound and determined to go outside. I can't replace screens indefinitely.

I looked at Petsmart and Petco yesterday and came up empty handed. Spanky is a very large cat and the ones they sold were too small. I want the kind that can be adjusted for their necks and torso independently - not the kind with one long strip that wraps around both with a single clip. The dog harneses were OK for his torso but too large for his neck.

The good of this: Spanky needs to shed some weight and a good walk will help, but in the mean time, he is too large to fit into harnesses that I'm finding in stores.

Can anyone recommend a good brand for me please?
 

eburgess

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No but Limerick has the same problem. He is a very tall cat and weights about 16 lbs, He cries when I put his harness on him to the point it seems to be hurting him. Other then keeping him inside, I don't know what else to do.


He is also having the problem of getting collars caught around his lower jaw. The lastest one was the elastic from the cat collar. Should I dare to try a dog collar?
 
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momofmany

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Originally Posted by eburgess

No but Limerick has the same problem. He is a very tall cat and weights about 16 lbs
That is Spanky - he is very long, his head/neck is disproportionately small for a cat and his torso is disproportionately large for a cat. He's definitely pear shaped. Dog harnesses were the same diameter neck and torso.
 

jlutgendorf

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We've purchase dog harnesses before and just increased the number of holes on the neck so that it can be adjusted smaller and we cut off the extra length.

~Julia
 
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momofmany

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Originally Posted by Arlyn

Walking Jacket
Those are cool - just e-mailed to find out how to measure for them. Neither the standard or large size is proportioned right for Spanky (small neck and large torso), unless I don't understand how to measure him for it.
 
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momofmany

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Originally Posted by AbbysMom

I highly recommend the collars, harnesses and leads by Lupine:
http://www.lupinepet.com/cat/index.html

I have had problems with different ones in the past, but the Lupine always works well.
I use nothing but Lupine for my dogs - they are outstanding!! I will have to check them out also.
 

zissou'smom

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I agree with the Lupinepet cat harnesses. Zissou has three of their regular collars- cherry blossom, sunset stripe, and flutterby. She also has the larger sized h-style cat harness in Atlantis and the 6 ft lead in Atlantis. They are awesome.
She likes the harness way better than the old figure-8 one I got when I first started because the way it's set up you never pull on the neck at all. Which is good, esp if they try to chase squirrels suddenly.
 

jcat

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The Lupine H-style harness looks like the one I use for Jamie, though his is a dog harness, because he's a little too long-bodied for a cat harness. His has an extra "chest strap" that makes it harder to slip out of.
 

zissou'smom

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Lupine also makes one just like that for dogs. The only difference would be that the buckles would look thicker and the sizing is probably different. Zissou's still small so I like the cat harnesses, but if she turns out to be a monster-size cat I'd probably get one of their dog harnesses.
Jcat, where'd you get that lead? I love it! Is it retractable?
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by jcat

The Lupine H-style harness looks like the one I use for Jamie, though his is a dog harness, because he's a little too long-bodied for a cat harness. His has an extra "chest strap" that makes it harder to slip out of.
That's what I use too, I like the way it sits more on the shoulders and chest rather than around the neck.
 
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momofmany

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I realized that I have an aquaintance that sells Lupine collars online so I've asked her for exact dimensions for the neck part - I can't find a site online that gives the dimensions of that one.

Jcat: do you know the brand of the one that you use? When I looked at those types of dog harnesses in the store, they all had neck openings that were too large for cats. I kind of like the extra chest piece to help them from wiggling out of it. Lupine didn't have it - theres are H shaped.
 
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momofmany

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Originally Posted by cat_lover_330

Okay, so not the best picture of Sherbert (not nearly!!!) but here's the harness that I use with him... It may not show all of the harness the best-it's meant for adult, large cats, and it JUST fits him! lol!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...0/100_5062.jpg
Oops - it says the image is gone!
 

cat_lover_330

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I deleted it off of the photobucket site...could that be what did it? I tried and it came up...I'll delete it and try again...
 

cat_lover_330

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Here it is...hope that it works!
It doesn't really show the harness though...it's not nearly the best shot of my kitty, either, but...

 

jcat

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Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Jcat, where'd you get that lead? I love it! Is it retractable?
It's a 5 m. retractable dog lead we've had for about 20 years. There are smaller (3-meter) leads for cats - try Wal-Mart.
Originally Posted by momofmany

Jcat: do you know the brand of the one that you use? When I looked at those types of dog harnesses in the store, they all had neck openings that were too large for cats. I kind of like the extra chest piece to help them from wiggling out of it. Lupine didn't have it - theres are H shaped.
Sorry, Amy, I don't recall the brand, and it isn't marked on the harness itself. I believe it was a German brand. There's a little dog face on the plastic clasps - it looks more like a bear face. I can post on a German forum and ask if anybody recognizes the brand, but it'll take awhile - I'm going to be out of the country for the next 8 days.
The Lupine Roman-style dog harness does look a lot like it. Jamie's is a small dog's harness.
 

jcat

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Well, I posted on the German (dog) forum, and actually got a few replies. Nobody has the little dog face on the clasp. but the votes are for the "Hunter Vario" and the "Bernina" dog harnesses. Both are fully adjustable and have the chest strap. I actually got two dog harnesses at WalMart that look like the one I have for Jamie, but the "small" was too small for him, and the "medium" too big. He's a big cat with a little head (which is what you can get when an Oriental is wooed by a Norwegian Forest Cat or Maine Coon).
 
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