harness training update

[Sirrahsim]

well, things are going a little better, I was able to walk Boomer around outside our front door without him flopping over onto his side to pretend like he was dying. I still have it on him loose enough for him to escape, but will be gradually tightening it up to where it should be. At this point I'm beginning to consider possibly bringing him along to my husband's softball games when it gets warmer. Perhaps it would help him come out of his scaredy-shell What do you think? Do any of you take your furry friends to events?

[Craftlady]

It might scare him more being around allot of people and all noise of a baseball game (people cheering etc). If he isn't 150% used to the harness breaking away from it would be disaster. I'd say leave little guy at home.

[Desert Arabian]

If your cat is not fully harness/leash trained yet, I would not take it to a baseball game, way too loud and too many people.

Both my kitties are leash trained, Sammy more than Dudley. We take Sammy a lot of places with us, we can't with Dudley because he gets EXTREMELY car sick. We took Sammy with us last year to the Findlay Pet Talk Meeting in Ohio, he loved that. We also take him up to the cottage and he comes out in on the boat with us fishing. He also frequents the pet stores now and then too. I wanted to bring Sammy with us to Tennesee to the mule festival, it's a good thing we didn't, there were more people than I expected there.

[Sirrahsim]

oh, I don't mean right now! The games wan't start for another month or two! and they are just little squadron softball games, it's a miracle if there are even a dozen or so fans I wouldn't dream of taking him if there was any chance of there being a big loud crowd! thank you for your input there isn't even a loud speaker or anything, so the loudest noise would probably be the bat hitting the balls, but even that isn't very loud with softball

[catcrazylady]

I have to honestly say that I would not take Boomer to a ballgame. He is a nervous kitty and I don't think he would do well. It might not be so bad if you could go home immediately if things didn't go well but I don't think I would chance it. If you do decide to do it I would strongly suggest you also take his carrier with you. A freaked out cat on a leash is not going to be controlable and great harm could come to you and Boomer. If you had a carrier to get him into quickly you could at least avoid injury to you both.
Missy I believe with all my heart that you are trying to help Boomer and that you have nothing but the best intentions but some kitties are nervous and scared of things no matter what we do. I know your goal is to desenstize Boomer but I just don't think it's possible. He is what he is and you love him just like that. We all know you do.
I hope you don't get angry at what I said but I'm trying to be honest and give advice based on my kitty experience. Some cats are just jumpy and nervous and stay that way their whole life. I'm pretty sure that is the way it will be with Boomer. You can't find the rhyme or reason-it just is.
I really, really strongly recommend that when you take him out on the leash near people for the first time that you have his carrier on hand. Trust me on this one! If he does well then no harm done but I promise you if things go bad you will be very thankful that you had it!
Good luck and keep us posted on Boomer's training!!

Hope your not mad at me cause I think you and Boomer are great!

[Sirrahsim]

no, I'm not mad thanks for being honest with me. I haven't decided for sure whether or not to take him, but I have been batting the idea around (no pun intended ) He's been improving around people, a friend of ours came over the other day and he just watched her from his beanbag. I love that little sucker and I just want to find something that he really enjoys. perhaps I'll just start out with a few car rides and see how he does with that. who knows, maybe he'd enjoy sitting in the car taking in the sights. I guess I got excited about taking him out and didn't think it through all of the way. there goes that idea

[catcrazylady]

Don't totally give up Missy! Just be prepared for the worst in case it happens! As long as you have a carrier with you and can get him in it quickly then it won't hurt to try a short outing to see how it goes first. I didn't mean to be discouraging just trying to prepare you in case it goes bad. It really is impossible to control a freaked out cat without lots of stitches!
You never know for sure until you try! Boomer could surprise us all and LOVE it! A short car ride is a good way to start and see what happens.
Keep us posted! We know you love Boomer and we do to!!

btw-I love that picture! He's just hanging out!

[jazzcat]

I agree with the others that taking him out to a ballgame might not be a good idea. Ripley is my scaredy cat and just having all my family over at Christmas or all my husband's family over for summer bbq's will traumatize him. He's terrified at the vet too so I couldn't imagine subjecting him to it if not necessary. It's probably best that you just work on having him learn to handle people in your house.

I do think it's great you are teaching him to walk on a leash. I wished I would have taught Ripley that so I could take him out in the backyard some. I guess at 12 years old I'm not going to try to teach this old cat new tricks.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I'd have to agree it might not be best to take him to a ballgame right away, but like CCL said, don't let that discourage you. Start out slow, like maybe a car ride or two and see how things go. If it seems like he's enjoying it, try the ballgame, but again like CCL says, have the carrier handy in case it's just too much too soon.

My question is, if you take him to a ballgame, won't that be announcing to the world that you have a cat? I thought you're not supposed to have cats in your apartment?

Other than that, I say take it slow and let Boomer indicate whether he would like to take things a step further or if he'd rather just stay home where it's safe and familiar.

[catmandu]

Once , I tried to put BoBo , the Siamese , on a lead , she ranas far as she could , then RAN , and tore the lead , out of the ground , and went into the next yard trailing lead , and wire. Thank God , she got stuck , and I was able to take her home. Bah on being tied up , BoBo said!

[Denyce]

My first cat Smokey was very easy going and VERY bonded with me. I was able to take her many places because she would rather be in a strange place and around strange people as long as she was with me.

However, saying that...I also started with her as a very young kitten taking her along. I leashed trained her very young so she was confident and secure with herself, the environment and on the leash.

I drove back and forth across the country from CA to VA several times. We moved to El Paso for 3 years where I used to take her horseback riding through the desert with me. When I moved to Petersberg VA I used to take her with me when I would go down to Williamsburg VA. I also took a back pack with a pillow in the bottom of it so when she got tired she could ride in the back pack.

But Smokey was a very easy going cat. She rarely was frightened by anything. She even mothered some baby chickens while we were in TX. That was just her way. The four I have now I would NEVER even consider taking them along like I did her. It would be more stressful and upsetting for them than enjoyable. So I feel it would just be selfish of myself if I subjected them to something they wouldn't enjoy just for my own satisfaction.

Denyce

[Twink]

You never know what’s going to set a cat off, I guess. Rizzo’s usually Mr. Unflappable, but when we took him for a walk on his harness in the snow, he decided that his beloved daddy jogging at him in a red jacket, kicking up snow, was the Beast from Places Better Left Unmentioned. And he FLIPPED. He reared and howled (*awful* sounds. I’ve never heard anything like it). He tried to run. I had to pick him up, because I was afraid he would hurt himself. I fully expected to be shredded, but he sort of played dead once I had him in my arms. I haven’t had the guts to try the harness again after that.

So I guess what I’m saying is that, as long as Boomer seems to be enjoying himself (or at least adapting well) in new situations, follow your instincts. It would be nice for both of you for him to be socialized as well as possible. But when it’s too much, he will let you KNOW, and you’d better have that carrier that CCL mentioned handy, or ELSE. Whew!

*Kissies* for Boomer, who reminds me of Marty, the first cat I ever loved!

[Uniqueviking]

I was able to walk Boomer around outside our front door without him flopping over onto his side to pretend like he was dying.

LOL, that part cracked me up


I've been thinking about harness training my Boomer too, and I'm absolutely sure I'd get the same reaction if I actually tried, lol!

[catnapper]

Keep up the good work with him! I need to work with Mr. Pouncer more outside too. He keeps expecting to get out and have a picnic.

I'm wondering though about how much a ballpark would scare him. Pouncer's pretty laid back and not afraid of much, but I know the sound of the ball hitting the bat would completely freak him. He basically flipped the other day when we were outside and the trash truck came down the street... you'd think the truck meant to eat him! And the truck wasn't compacting anything, just driving.

Just keep it up and showing him life's not that scary.

[Sirrahsim]

Originally posted by Tubby & Peanut's Mom
My question is, if you take him to a ballgame, won't that be announcing to the world that you have a cat? I thought you're not supposed to have cats in your apartment?

It is true that we aren't allowed to have cats in our apartment, but assuming I get him to the car safely and unseen we should be fine. The housing inspector people are the only people that really care. More specifically this one inspector. We never play against that squadron, so we're never in the position to run into him. Also, even if we did we coud either say that A) we're looking after him for a friend, or B) We live in the one tower where they DO allow pets. As long as we aren't caught with him IN the tower where we live the guy doesn't have the authority to get us in trouble. Not to mention that someone has to officially report us before the housing guys can even ask us if we have an animal. Smuggling him down to the car isn't that tough. I just ease him into his carrier, put the carrier on a cart, and cover it with a blanket. All that to say Yes, cats aren't allowed, but it's not very likely that we'd get in trouble.

Thanks for all your experiences Before I do take him out into the big world I need to speak to my vet about flea prevention. Is Advantage the kind that just goes on the back of the neck??