Training Maine coons on a leash?

[candes]

Slowly working on getting kittens acclimatized to walking jackets and leash.

Bought from
Walking Jacket for Cats and Cat Toys. Information and Articles on Cats and Dogs

2 male littermate MCs now 6 1/2 months old, don't know how much longer these walking jackets will fit. Kittens are growing insanely fast!

Here's an older picture of them on their 1st excursion outside. We have not been out since because it has been raining heavily, breaking records, and it's too muddy out there, cold also.

They look identical to the ones on the site I listed. How are they? Do they yank on the neck at all?

[Cascadians]

Candes, they sure do look like the same walking jacket. Even the same colors.

Right now they are still very good, but I can see that they will soon be too small. The kittens are racing around the house with them on right now. For house wear, getting used to them, I keep the straps a little looser.

Kittens have not tugged on the leash yet so no neck yanking. For Maine Coons I think these are good walking jackets for training, to get used to, but I too am looking for a better design for outdoors for full-grown Maine Coons.

Have read that leash attached to front chest is better for dogs so imagine that is also true for cats. Necks are fragile with the spinal cord oh so important so will be looking for different pressure point.

In the spring and summer we'll be putting up posts in the yard with cord so kittens can have a bit of freedom on their leashes while I'm outside with them gardening.

Eventually our goal is to have the kittens --> cats well trained and kayaking with us. The dog obedience is going well, now just have to apply it to the kittens.

Kittens & puppy here ongoing love fest

[candes]

Candes, they sure do look like the same walking jacket. Even the same colors.

Right now they are still very good, but I can see that they will soon be too small. The kittens are racing around the house with them on right now. For house wear, getting used to them, I keep the straps a little looser.

Kittens have not tugged on the leash yet so no neck yanking. For Maine Coons I think these are good walking jackets for training, to get used to, but I too am looking for a better design for outdoors for full-grown Maine Coons.

Have read that leash attached to front chest is better for dogs so imagine that is also true for cats. Necks are fragile with the spinal cord oh so important so will be looking for different pressure point.

In the spring and summer we'll be putting up posts in the yard with cord so kittens can have a bit of freedom on their leashes while I'm outside with them gardening.

Eventually our goal is to have the kittens --> cats well trained and kayaking with us. The dog obedience is going well, now just have to apply it to the kittens.

Kittens & puppy here ongoing love fest

So do you think that one still may put too much pressure on the neck? That is what I was thinking from the pictures. That is why I opted for the dog sport harness.

I truely haven't had a good opportunity to try mine real good yet. (Deep snow) And I am afraid to allow Teddy to run loose in the house with it one. What if it gets caught on something? But there is 100% evenly dispersed pressure. And it does not pull to the side and tangle up in the legs like a regular harness. And it seems close to perfect. It appeared to encroach on his armpits a bit while laying down. But once he was up and walking around, that doesn't seem to be an issue anymore. I want to watch him use it while running before I decide it is a perfect option, and suggest it. But it may be...

[mcguy]

I am not sure people need to obsess so much about pressure from a harness. As I have written previously in this thread, we had a MC mix that we took in and then allowed to go out on a rope system, wearing a standard cat harness (which I posted a link to much earlier in this thread). He spent 12-16 hours per day outside every day for four years wearing the harness, attached to clothesline. He spent literally thousands of hours this way. The only problems were some matting around chest and under front legs where harness touched. This can be taken care of with a bit of brushing (if the cat is receptive).