this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2023

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Any other harness wearing cats out there? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

66 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This is Conan. Gets into too much trouble on his own so he has to wear a leash out on walks.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mine will go on walks with me but won't wear the harness. She doesn't run off, just kind of trundles around like an old dog lol

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

One of my parents’ two cats can occasionally be wrangled into a harness for outdoor exploration, but Mom and Dad have to be careful. She’s a criminal mastermind and exploits any opportunity to do crime, and she really wants to do outdoor crime.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

That's exactly why he's in a harness now. I already had to bail him out of cat jail once.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I try to but once my cat gets the harness on they don't want to do anything

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

That's what he did at first. So I would put the harness on and plop him in the yard. Once he started associating the harness with getting to go outside, he was all for it. Now when he hears someone pick it up, he'll run to the door and wait for it to get put on.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

My cats also did the same thing lol I just gave up on it and let them be indoor cats. None of them were interested in exploring the outdoors

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

You have to accommodate them to it. Mine also just flopped down on the ground when I first put him in it, but now he goes on full walks with us. Baby steps :)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mine is too gelatinous for a harness. She's able to squeeze herself out of anything.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

It's definitely on the honor system. He knows he can turn liquid at anytime and get out of it. None of the escape proof harnesses are.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I've tried it but my cat gets scared of the footsteps behind her and tries to run away

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Out of 6 cars I've had over the years only one has enjoyed a harness... of the others there was just a rebellion by slumping on the ground and refusing to move... and another of being a whirling ball of claws... the others wouldn't even go near of there was a harness about....

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

must be a pretty big harness to fit around a car… ;)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Argh! Autocorrect failure on phone and jerboa didn't show my own comment when I posted it! Oops...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Mine will wear the harness and proceed to walk where they want rather than where I want. 🫠

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My old kitty was a harness kitty but I haven't tried with Marbles yet. She'll nees to be come summer but for now she just comes out in the garden with me and sticks around very well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Marbles is a great cat name! Cat tax please

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

She's very cuddly and loves being near us. She also has 4 moments of complete chaos a day in between her cuddly naps

[+] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm going to have to take a moment to discourage outdoor cats, they're wrecking havoc on the ecosystem, I understand this is a controversial stance because we as a culture have grown to love doing this, but in areas where they're not native, they're causing great harm.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/moral-cost-of-cats-180960505/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well first off, they are indoor cats that I let out my own yard. Secondly, this article is entirely a personal view.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

It's good that they are indoor cats, but whether or not the article is personal is irrelevant, the point is the amount of havoc they're causing. They're an invasive species, they kill 1.4-3.7 BILLION birds and 6.9-20.7 billion mammals in the US alone annually.

They are in fact, the most damaging invasive species in history, and we feed and house them to ensure they keep going, the fact of the matter is we're letting loose efficient little murder machines, and that isn't the cats fault, its ours. We shouldn't allow people to keep invasive species outdoors, the ecosystem is vital.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You raise a good point WRT the ecological impacts, and there are plenty of studies that can show those relationships. There's an opportunity here to presume that @[email protected] is monitoring their cats without losing the impact of your concerns and have a more productive conversation.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yes, I agree, I should've noted that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Cool story bro. Don't really care though, humans will more than likely kill the birds before cats do 😉 guess we should rid the world of that invasion species too

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

it's not like anyone can stop you from letting your cat outside unharnessed, but this is a weird way to respond to the objective fact that cats do a huge amount of harm to environments they're introduced to--and that at the very least we shouldn't encourage that behavior and people who do it should know the harm it's causing

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The fact that a mod decided to respond to my comment and not the overall post with the same context is a weirder way to respond then what I've put forward.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That cat is harnessed.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh so a cat in the wild harnessed is okay but a cat without one in a backyard is not? Contained is contained. But sure make your opinion be known

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Unfortuantely not all containers are created equal. A harness is guaranteed safety for wildlife, a backyard is not.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Let's remember to be(e) accountable for how we converse with each other. I think you posted a lovely picture, and hope that you regularly bring your indoor cats, well, indoors when you're not able to keep an eye on them in the yard like a responsible human.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Accountable for what? Saying that humans are an invasive species? We are

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It's about participation in a group conversation, and one where we recognize that it's not generally okay to continue to shout at each other when there's other folks trying to have a nice time. I'm willing to presume that you keep your cats monitored, and nothing you've said here would suggest that's not the case. You could, given the circumstances, suggest people take an active role in monitoring a species many of us love that is also notably dangerous for other animals.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You do realize that the majority of users have come from Reddit right?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

That's a different space, with a different set of expectations. There will obviously be some overlap in online behaviors, but escalation-as-conversation on the internet is nothing unique to reddit. It's just not a necessary comparison here, or at least not germane to our interaction here. You're not the only one I've reminded to be accountable in this thread, and I intentionally tagged you to show that. You can see @[email protected] responded to my reminder, and I think if it can't be hashed out I'll have to.

You're both free to disengage here too.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

This does not seem like an argument made in good faith.

You must know there's a difference between people living places, and encouraging the spread of invasive species. Not to say you are doing that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I wasn't trying to have an argument. Give the context of the post I was just trying to showcase my own pets for the sake of joining in the joy of animals. You are the one that decided to try to force your own views on to my comment. I truly do not care about what you've presented. Hense the antagonistic responses

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

I don't know if it'll help or not, but I think a lot of this boils down to a misunderstanding

OP has a cat on a harness, which allows the person holding the leash to prevent the cat from killing birds or entering dangerous areas
You posted a picture of your cats (which are adorable by the way) but without context, outdoors off-leash
Communist saw cats off-leash outdoors, and wanted to advocate for keeping cats indoors, since they weren't aware your cats are indoor

They just didn't know that your cats are indoor cats, and wanted to advocate for something that they (and myself) are passionate about (keeping cats indoors to help prevent ecological damage).

It seems to have escalated from there, and I'd love it to get back to square one and get the conversation back to positivity! We can all be friends :)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It seems odd to me to antagonize something you don't care about. The point was not to upset you, or to say that you're doing a bad job, I simply believe it is important to raise awareness about the subject of keeping cats outdoors.

I'm not trying to attack or upset you. I'm sorry it came off that way.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

As others have already said to you, please try to be respectful and engage in good faith. We’re trying to build something different than what we left. If you’re honest with yourself, you can see that you’re being flippant. Choose grace instead, friend.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

No, no I don't think I will.

I wasn't trying to argue or engage. This whole thing could have been over after my second comment. The rest was an attack on me for disregarding the mod opinion that could've been handled in more tackful ways if they wanted it known

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

For what it's worth we don't have great tools to toggle posting as a mod or not. I understand that it likely looked like a show of force to you, and that's why I stepped in and addressed everybody involved in escalating it, and did it respectfully. We can all choose to act and speak tactfully, which in my experience includes not rising to something you no longer need to.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

we are trying now to our cats acclimated to harness.

does your harness buckle on top or bottom of harness?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The one in the picture has velcro straps on the bottom and buckles on the side. I've since went to this one (www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Q7ZCZQ7) since it takes takes pressure off the neck and moves it to their chest (if you're having to hold them back or stop them). I nor the cats like the ones where you have to poke their head and/or legs through holes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Yes! Pippin LOVES going on walks. I like that he gets some exercise and mental stimulation. He loves to explore new places and cackle and squirrels and birds.

Conan is adorable!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That looks lovely! Do you actually get to walk him like you'd walk a dog, or does he just explore where he wants?

When the weather is nice I take my cat out on his harness too. I just let him explore as he wants... Which just means sniffing around the parking lot near my house (which is the neighborhood Cat Central). I believe my neighbors now knows me as "that weirdo who walks their cat" 😅

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I wish I could upload my adorable little guy here who loves to go on walks in his harness but both browser and jerboa aren't allowing me to upload pictures anymore :(

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Here he is!!! This is Fred and he's a little explorer :) his one bad eye means he barely has depth perception so he always thinks he can grab birds flying over 😂

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Awww!! He is ADORABLE, oh my goodness! What a pressure* little adventurer! I love him. Thank you so much for sharing his cuteness with us!! 💕

*Edit: Whoopsie! I meant PRECIOUS little adventurer, lol! I didn't notice my typo until hours later when I went to show my mom the adorable pictures of this cute little explorer! :)

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