How To Harness Train Your Cat

4 Simple Steps to Harness Training Your Cat

Cats, especially active and intelligent breeds like bengals, crave stimulation and adventure. Harness training allows them to:

Enjoy the outdoors safely
Burn off energy
Experience new sights and smells
Reduce indoor boredom and anxiety

Introduce your kitten to the harness. Allow them to smell and investigate it before putting it on them.
Place the harness on for a few minutes. You want them to get used to the restrictive feeling of the harness. Some kittens/cats may roll around, turn limp and fall over. This is a normal reaction to the harness. Having your cat accept the feeling of the harness is the first hurdle to harness training. Once they are used to the feeling of the harness you can increase the increments of the time that the harness is on from a few minutes up to 30 minutes - 1 hour. Once they are walking around and behaviour as if their is no harness on you can move onto the next step.
Attach the leash. Follow your cat around with little resistance being applied. Let them guide you and take you where they want to observe. Stay in the house/ within the backyard. A safe environment until they've mastered the harness. Do this for a few days, increasing the amount of time leash training.
Once your cat is confidently walking on leash and unfazed by your presence, begin guiding their movements with light directional resistance. Encourage them to start, stop, and turn gently using consistent cues and treats.

Harness training opens up a whole new world of adventure for you and your feline friend. It takes time, patience, and trust — but the rewards are absolutely worth it.

Whether you’re walking along a bush trail or just enjoying the sunshine together in your backyard, your cat will thank you for the chance to walk on the wild side — safely.