Quick Question About Letting Kittens Out Into The Garden

My kittens are 12 & 13 weeks old. They have both attempted to climb out the window but we have stopped them.
Our vet said to leave it a while before letting them out and then when we do, try to supervise them.
Is it possible to put them on leads or something? Because you see people on the TV who love their cats so much they take them for walks as if they were dogs. lol

There are a great many members here who walk their cats of harnesses and leashes, and I am one of them. It is waaayyy different than a dog.

So yes, it is totally possible. In fact there is a huge thread on it in this forum from just a few days ago.

Cats are much safer if given access to the outdoors only under supervision. In fact, it nearly triples their life expectancy.

Buy harnesses and put them on your kitties inside several times or for a couple weeks for them to get used to them. Put them on the kitties for a short time, increase the time next time and so on. (Don't leave them on the kitties all the time.) At first they'll hate the harnesses most likely. Also make sure you get the H type harness (they can get out of the other ones) and ensure you have the right size for your kitty. It took us ages to find one big enough for our big boy Bijou.

After they are used to the harness, attach a leash and carry them outside. You will probably not be able to get them to walk where you want them to so the best thing is let them get comfortable and just follow them where they want to go. Eventually, they should be comfortable enough for you to gently persuade them to go where you'd like them to go.

Mika is very well trained now - she sits by the sliding door and waits for her harness to be attached so she can go outside. Bijou was the same until my hubby decided Bijou didn't need a harness anymore and that he was OK to wander on his own. (Don't ask , it's a big bone of contention in our house.)

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Bijou was the same until my hubby decided Bijou didn't need a harness anymore and that he was OK to wander on his own. (Don't ask

, it's a big bone of contention in our house.)

Click to expand...

I can imagine We actually let our kitty outside supervised without her leash fairly often now. She tries to bolt out the door whenever we open it, but she just sits on the steps within a metre of the door and rolls around. If she's playing with her mousey out there and it falls down the stairs, she runs down the stairs (there's only 3 of them), gets the mousey in her mouth and brings it back to the top of the stairs and continues playing!

So Lulu, yes, now is a good time to start harness training them, and letting them have supervised visits outside. Remember that they are just babies still so they may get very scared by loud noises such as birds and dogs and other things they've never seen before, so stay close.

Hopefully they'll get like my girl, and enjoy walks when the leash is on, and when it's not on, just hang on the front steps and get some fresh air

Lulu, check out the Walking The Cat thread, there are lots of hints and tips!

You can get fully adjustable cat harnesses at Pets At Home! If you want any help at all, give me a shout!

Thanks guys. You all so great and have lots of facts to tell each other which is helping me to learn more about cats

I am from the school of thought that keeps the cats in all the time. There are many health hazards outdoors, even if they are on a leash. Why do you want your cats to go outdoors? If they do not learn to be outdoor cats they won't miss it, and that will give you that much less to worry about. Cats can pick up disease by eating or drinking something outside. For example, my senior cat who I let in the yard because I knew she wasn't going anywhere, drank some water from a pigeon polluted plant saucer. Almost killed her. I recommend you keep your cats indoors if at all possible.