For a long time, all “our” cats were strictly indoor. They were actually foster cats, and our main job was to keep them safe here in urban coyote country. When we took the plunge and adopted, we wanted to find a way to let a cat enjoy the outdoors without losing him. I bought a harness and leash. Yes, I know, when someone wants to make something sound difficult, they say it’s like herding cats, but it’s worked out pretty well for us.

With the younger cat, anyway. The older one panics at the sight of the harness, maybe believing she’ s about to be taken to the vet or back to “the wild” where she came from. We haven’t pushed it with her.

The younger cat got used to the harness with the help of a lot of treats. Once he associated it with going outside, he didn’t mind at all. He really does like the chance to sniff around the yard, chase away the cat from next door, and eat grass. (Even carnivores need fiber.)

Our leash is about 15 feet – long enough so that the human isn’t hovering over the cat, not long enough to let him out of your sight. I still worry about him wrapping it around something, straining at it to try to chase a bird, or getting into a fight with another cat, but none of that has happened. Yet.

Instead, the cat, like a toddler, just uses the leash to lead me around the yard while he sets the course. The other night he didn’t even want to move around, just lie on the porch keeping an eye on the neighbors’ cat, who was sleeping on our picnic table. You never know.

There’s a good article here about introducing your cat to the harness.