How to choose and put on a harness for a cat

It can be challenging to walk your cat on a leash, as anyone who has tried will attest. Cats are cautious and naturally curious creatures, so traditional collars may not always be the best choice to keep them safe and comfortable. This is where a harness comes in handy!

A cat harness offers greater control and guarantees that your feline won’t escape; however, selecting the ideal one can be somewhat daunting. With so many options available, it’s critical to choose a harness that your cat will feel comfortable wearing and fits properly.

In order for you and your cat to enjoy stress-free and safe outdoor experiences together, we’ll guide you through the process of selecting the ideal harness and demonstrate how to put it on them.

How to choose a harness for a cat

At the moment, retailers offer a wide variety of harnesses with different designs, categorized into multiple primary types:

Figure-eight harnesses are a simple design of two loops, one of which is put on the cat"s neck, and the second on the body just behind the front paws. The loops are connected on the shoulder blades and the leash is fastened to them there. There are versions without a collar, which are much more comfortable for the cat, since they do not put pressure on the neck, but are difficult for the owner – the animal in such a harness is more difficult to control.

The ability of the system to hold the animal consistently sets it apart because the cat is unable to escape the loops.

Owing to the effective fusion of cost and excellence, this kind of harness is the most preferred by cat owners.

When viewed from the front, the upper loop of such a harness forms the letter V on the cat’s chest.

Harness-jacket models for the summer should be made of breathable material to prevent overheating of the animal wearing them.

You should be mindful of the harness’s material composition in addition to its shape. A dense, easily washable, and waterproof material would be the ideal choice. It can be made of sturdy cotton or nylon. Although they are more appropriate for exhibitions, suede or velvet harnesses are aesthetically pleasing but not very functional. Although leather is undoubtedly robust and long-lasting, delicate cat skins frequently find it to be too rough. However, a soft leather harness that has been well-tanned is also a great option.

Many pet owners purchase elaborately adorned harnesses for their animals, complete with appliques, pendants, LED lights, and rhinestones. While it’s understandable that some may wish to enhance the beauty and uniqueness of their cat, the animal’s comfort and safety should always come first. They must remove the decorations if they annoy, scratch, or divert the cat.

Exquisite harnesses are far more suitable for exhibitions than for strolling.

If the owner plans to walk their pet in the dark, harnesses with reflective elements will come in handy.

The animal’s size determines the width of the straps; the wider the straps, the larger the animal. They range in size from 1 to 1.5 centimeters on average. If the strap lengths are adjustable, it’s great because the harness will still be useful if the cat grows or its build changes.

Since not every cat is prepared to wait patiently until its owner can manage to fasten the harness on its body, the fasteners need to be dependable and simple to fix. Simultaneously, the system needs to be robust enough to withstand a sudden, violent jerk from the animal.

The size of the harness is usually indicated on the packaging and depends on the age and weight of the cat. Most often, harnesses are divided into products for kittens, small, medium, large and very large cats (such as the Maine Coon breed, for example). In order to correctly take measurements from a cat, you need to measure the chest circumference outside the paws. But it is best to try the harness on your pet. A human finger should be able to fit freely between the straps of the harness and the cat"s back, then the size is optimal for the animal. If it is difficult to bring the animal to the store, then you can try to negotiate with the sellers about the possibility of exchanging the purchased harness for the same one of a different size.

The animal’s size—which is defined by the length of its back and the volume of its chest—must be considered when selecting a harness.

As for the leash, it is better if it is unfastened from the harness. This will allow you to let the cat walk without a leash for a while, and quickly fasten it if danger appears. A leash that is an integral part of the harness will drag after the cat, causing him inconvenience. The best option is a retractable cable or a retractable belt. A high-quality retractable cable gives the cat freedom of movement, stretching to the desired distance, softens the jerks that the animal periodically makes and allows you to fix a certain length of the leash (if necessary). Most often the length is 2 meters, if desired, you can buy several leashes of different lengths.

Retractable leashes are superior to standard leashes in many ways. For instance, they effortlessly extend to their full length when the cat is moving.

When relying on the safety and dependability of the harness, it is advisable to avoid purchasing inexpensive Chinese models. Nowadays, there are numerous low-cost domestic brands and a number of top producers of cat harnesses, including Dezzie, Trixie, Papillon, Yami-Yami, and others. A harness typically costs between 300 and 1,000 rubles.

Putting the harness on the cat

The following are the basic guidelines for putting on the harness:

1. Adjust the harness to the size of the cat.
2. Feed, stroke, and in every possible way appease the pet.
3. Take the animal in your arms or sit it on a flat surface and put on the collar (neck ring).
4. Turn the harness with the clasp on the back, straighten the second ring and alternately put the animal"s paws through it.
5. Or one paw should be placed in a triangle between the collar, the bar on the back and the clasp, fasten the fastening, after which the second paw should be in exactly the same triangle.
6. Check the reliability of the fastening, the correct size (tight, loose, normal).
7. Attach the leash or retractable cable to the snap hook on the animal"s back.

It can be challenging to figure out which loops go where when putting on a harness; in this instance, pay attention to the snap hook; it should be in the back or neck region.

Sadly, cats don’t usually accept the harness well. They typically make a concerted effort to protest the constriction of the straps around their bodies. It will require patience and some time for the cat to get used to the harness and stop resisting if it is not used to it at all. After retaliating with a scream, growl, or scratch, the cat may decide to stay in the harness and not move.

The cat might start to object and refuse to go for walks while wearing the harness and leash.

It would be appropriate to start the pet off with a harness from an early age, wearing it for five to ten minutes each day. If, however, an adult animal still needs to be weaned gradually and walks in a harness are necessary, then childhood has already passed.

The first step is to show the cat the harness, give it a sniff, and place it next to its favorite spot in the house—usually where it is where it is fed, played with, or sleeps. Give the cat time to get used to the device’s appearance. You can wear the harness for the first time after two days, and it’s best to do so before feeding or playing to help your pet associate wearing the harness with something positive. Try to get the cat to focus on play or food if it is actively resisting.

It is best to start by acclimating the cat to walking on a leash and in a harness inside the house.

Actually, there will be three stages to the acclimatization process:

1. The pet walks around the house in a harness from 10 minutes to half an hour.
2. The owner leads the cat around the house on a harness with a leash, and you just need to follow it without pulling on the leash, and in no case pull it anywhere by force.
3. The owner takes the cat out for a walk in a harness and observes the acquired skills of walking on a leash.

The cat’s perception of the harness will probably improve as soon as it realizes that it is connected to taking walks on the street.

As the owner of two cats, I would like to share my personal experience with readers. However, it concerns only one pet, the younger one. His name is Leo and he is a Bengal (Bengal breed). My old cat, who is already 17 years old, walked outside a couple of times in her life, without much desire and without a harness. But Leo is a very active cat and demonstrated his desire to go outside in every possible way: he ran into the entrance and basement, packed himself into bags and suitcases standing in the hallway, and even fell from the balcony. So we decided to try walking him on a leash and bought the first harness.

The first harness was H-shaped, made of black suede, on regular straps and with a leash that could be unfastened. When putting on, the straps had to be fastened twice: on the neck and on the cat"s stomach. The size of the straps was adjustable. And here we encountered classic difficulties: Leo did not want to wear anything on himself, and if the collar could somehow be fastened, then nothing worked on his stomach, because the cat resisted, wriggled and even growled. When after many attempts we managed to do this and we left the cat alone, he tried for a long time to take off the harness. When he realized that he would not succeed, he lay down on the floor. Then a protest action began: the cat refused to walk in the harness, backed away, rolled around, resisted. When my daughter tried to lead him by the leash around the apartment, Leo demonstratively fell on the floor and it was possible to move him only lying down, dragging. Then we laughed and after about 15 minutes took off the harness so as not to torture the cat. I was even ready to give up the idea of ​​​​walking with him, but my daughter really wanted to, and she put the harness on the cat 2 or 3 more times in the following days. It seemed that Leo began to get used to it and behaved better, although he walked slowly in it, with a strange, creeping step. We decided to try a walk outside. And there were so many interesting things there that the cat immediately forgot about the harness. At first he walked hugging the ground, then more boldly, sniffed everything and ate a lot of grass. We carried him out in a small house-carrier, put him on the grass, opened the door and a cat came out, wrapped in a harness with a leash. The leash was 2 meters long. Leo behaved quite well, did not run away, walked slowly and allowed himself to be pulled away from dangerous places.

We began to walk the cat regularly. As he got used to the street environment and stopped being afraid of everything, he began to misbehave. When we loosely tightened the straps on the harness, he slipped out of it. He would rest his paws, bend his head and crawl out of the harness. Especially if you pull it at that moment. He managed to do this twice, after which I began to fasten the straps much tighter to the body. After slipping out, the cat did not run away, but calmly went about his business, but despite this, we, as a punishment, immediately took him home. We tried to instill the idea that he was either walking around our rules or doesn"t walk at all. Two more times Leo suddenly ran after the pigeons, and my daughter simply dropped the leash from her hands in surprise. So he ran around in a harness and with a leash until we caught him.

At the dacha, there was another incident. We grabbed the cat and used a long rope to tie it to a tree. Leo went for walks outside while wearing a 5-meter leash after the rope was fastened to the harness. Then we lost track of the cat; we only remembered when it began to rain and discovered, in its place, an empty harness attached to a leash. When the commotion started, everyone was searching for the unappreciative animal, but they were surprised to find it inside the home, on the couch. After removing his harness, he proceeded to the guest house and dozed off there. This was a happy ending for this story.

My observations regarding the H-shaped harness are as follows: the suede did not rub, the design is dependable and comfortable, but you can easily slip out of it if you really want to, especially with a strong effort. Cons: The leash is short, so our dog lost it, and it is very difficult to fasten.

Leo in a black suede H-shaped harness

After a while, this harness became too small for him, it fastened poorly, pressed, and we decided to buy another. Our next harness was V-shaped, made of nylon, with a clasp on the back. It was much easier to put on, which made us very happy, but not for long. By the way, Leo would lie down again in the new harness and didn’t want to walk, but he got used to it faster than to the first one. We also bought an expensive German retractable leash, the maximum length of which was 3 meters. It was very easy for the cat to get out of the new harness, which he did at every opportunity. We had to scold him, bring him home, which made him very upset. And gradually he stopped freeing himself, he walked in the harness calmly. I understood what this threatened. However, once he climbed a tree and, climbing there, took off his harness. It is much easier for cats to do this in a vertical position. Don’t let them climb trees, even in harnesses. As a result, our cat sat in the tree for an hour, and we stood under the tree and called him down. In general, he listened to us and, in the end, came down, although with difficulty. Everyone knows that cats are great at climbing trees, but they can"t climb down as well.

In summary, the V-shaped harness is incredibly convenient to fasten on your pet, which is a huge benefit. However, if the cat wants it and has some experience, getting rid of it is very simple. As such, this choice is better suited for subdued, quiet cats. However, we are using this harness while we walk because Leo doesn’t even recognize it on himself. and makes no attempt to remove it.

In general, I recommend harnesses to all cat lovers! I am glad that they exist and give the opportunity to walk with pets. But keep in mind that a cat can theoretically free itself from any harness. But I am delighted with the retractable leash. It is much more convenient with it than with a regular leash. Not only is the length itself adjustable to the cat and its movements, but it also has an excellent anti-jerk system built in, preventing the cat from making sudden jumps in an attempt to catch a pigeon or attack a dragonfly. This system gently and harmlessly slows down the animal. It is pleasant for both the cat and the owner to walk.

Leo is now aware that putting on a harness indicates that a walk is about to happen. With only a small growl for precaution, he nearly submits to the process, runs in the harness, and stuffs himself into the carrier. He shuts the door behind him as well. What you won’t do just to go for a stroll! When he goes outside, he enjoys rolling in the thickest and dirtiest dust in the yard while simultaneously rolling his gorgeous golden fur and the harness.

It’s critical to select the appropriate harness for your cat’s safety and comfort. Look for an adjustable, lightweight harness that won’t hurt your back or cause movement restriction in order to get the best fit. Before bringing your cat outside, make sure you introduce the harness gradually and give them time to get used to it. This makes the process go more smoothly and stress-free for you and your cat.

How to put on a figure-eight harness

The use of a figure-eight harness can occasionally be confusing for cat owners due to its unclear instructions. When taken apart, it looks more like a belt without any loops than a harness. Although you can fix the neck ring, this isn’t the ideal solution because it prevents you from changing the size. To obtain a neck loop, insert the other end into the pocket located slightly above the belt’s center. The body is secured by the two ends.

1. First, put the first loop on the animal"s neck, making sure that the leash snap hook is on the animal"s withers. The jumper should be on the chest.
2. Expand the second loop so that the animal"s paws can be pushed through it, while the jumper should remain in the middle, on the chest.
3. Push the cat"s paws through the resulting holes one by one. If you plan to independently fasten the belt under one of the paws, then push the first paw through the fixed loop, and the second paw through the free one.
4. Fasten the strap under the paw or on the back.
5. Fasten the leash snap hook to the ring.

Two loops on the figure-eight harness encircle the cat’s neck and body.

The figure-eight harness is worn like this if it has no collar: it is made up of two triangles for the front and back paws.

1. Place the harness on a flat surface.
2. Place the cat"s front paws in two triangles.
3. Lift the strap and fasten it on the back.
4. Attaching a leash or retractable tape.

Video: How to properly put on a figure-eight harness

How to put on a harness with a solid back or chest

Vest harnesses and overall harnesses are the easiest to put on, because they resemble human clothing and are put on in a similar way. The placement of the solid fabric—on the chest or the back—varies between the models.

Typically, a harness-overall is secured with Velcro and lacks straps. Although this type of harness is more costly than any other, it is ideal for sensitive cats who do not want to become accustomed to straps because it barely feels on the body.

For the winter, a harness-overall is more appropriate.

Harness with a solid back

There is a ring on the sturdy back of the vest where a leash can be attached. The clasps are at the bottom, with one usually on the pet’s neck and the other on the stomach, midway between the front and back legs. Its application is easy:

1. Apply the whole piece to the animal"s back so that the leash attachment is on the withers.
2. Put your left paw through the left hole, and your right paw through the right.
3. Fasten the clasps on the neck and stomach.
4. Check if the vest is too tight: you should be able to fit two fingers between the fabric and the cat"s body.
5. Attach the leash to the loop on the back.

A popular style of cat harness that is easy to put on and comfortable

A harness with a single chest

Although they are less popular, these vests are even simpler to put on. The clasps are on the back, and the single-piece fabric is on the chest and stomach.

1. Apply the single-piece fabric to the cat"s stomach.
2. Put your left paw through the left hole, and your right paw through the right.
3. Connect the two parts of the vest on the back and secure with a clasp.
4. Check the tension of the straps: they should not wrap too tightly around the animal"s body.
5. Put the leash on the fastener.

A less common kind of cat harness that’s more frequently used for tiny dogs

How to put on an H-shaped harness

The most dependable model, which fits quite comfortably.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Put the smaller loop on the cat"s neck, with the leash ring on the back.
2. Adjust the collar size so that the cat is comfortable.
3. Put both paws of the pet through the large loop and fasten the clasps.
4. Adjust the size of the large loop if necessary.
5. Check whether the straps on the cat"s body have turned the other way, whether the locks are securely fastened.
6. Fasten the leash.

This is the most popular and dependable kind of harness, and it’s the simplest to find in pet shops.

Video: how to put on an H-shaped harness

Step	Description
1. Measure your cat	Use a soft measuring tape to measure around your cat"s chest, just behind the front legs, to choose the right size harness.
2. Choose the right harness	Look for an adjustable harness that is snug but not too tight. It should allow some movement but not slip off.
3. Let your cat adjust	Before putting the harness on, let your cat sniff and get used to it to reduce stress.
4. Put the harness on	Gently slip the harness over your cat"s head and secure it around their chest, ensuring it"s not too loose or too tight.
5. Test for comfort	Check if you can fit two fingers between the harness and your cat"s body to ensure it"s comfortable.
6. Reward your cat	Give your cat a treat or gentle praise to make the experience positive.

Making sure your cat is comfortable and safe is the main goal when selecting a harness for them. You can locate a harness that fits properly and lets your cat move around freely by taking into account elements like size, material, and adjustability.

Take your time and be patient when putting on the harness, especially if your cat isn’t used to wearing one. Before you go outside, let them get used to the harness.

If you use a harness properly, your cat can safely explore the outdoors and remain close to you, opening up a whole new world of exploration.

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