THE OUTDOOR CAT

If your cat is currently an outdoor cat that you’re trying to convert to an indoor cat, you have your work cut out for you. You’re asking an animal that has had a taste of complete freedom to accept the limited range of the leash.

If possible, convert the cat to an indoor-only animal first. Once it’s settled into its new indoor existence, it’s time to begin leash training. I’d highly suggest the use of an aerial dog run or a mobile tie-out to help with the transition. Once your cat realizes that in order to go outside it must be wearing a harness, it may accept the harness and leash readily. Despite the fact that your cat is used to the outdoors, it will still need to get over the fear of being on a leash. Past experiences will likely have been riddled with incidents where it cautiously avoided potentially dangerous situations, ran from other animals, and was startled by sights and sounds.

Based on your cat’s past experiences and personality, the amount of time it will take to train your former outdoor cat may be nearly as long as training an indoor cat experiencing the outdoors for the first time.