Thread: Training Maine coons on a leash?

Originally Posted by hammyt

MJ is big enough and confident enough to attempt some walks around the city this summer I feel. She is good with the harness indoors and on the patio, can't wait to go for a stroll. Although they will be kept short and extremely close to home, due to the high number of dogs. Although MJ is now about 24" head to bum and is intimidated less everyday.

Sounds like you both are ready! As I have related before, from my experience cats do not go for walks like dogs do, and if you expect that to happen you will probably be disappointed. With my cat that went for a neighborhood walk each night, I more often than not ended up carrying him back home. This in fact became part of the ritual, with him developing a routine for letting me know when he wanted to be picked up to head home. Actually, him snuggling against me on a cold night and purring away as we walked home is definitely one of my most cherished memories from my time with him. Luckily he was only 14 lbs though! Getting them to head home on their own is definitely easier if you stay close to the house. Cats also like to stop and just watch for things periodically. Often on our walks we would end up sitting somewhere for 10-15 minutes.

One of our current girls likes to go out in the yard. She has progressed from always being on a leash to sometimes going loose. Some days she is just constantly on the move, going round and round the house. Other days she gets fascinated by something and wants to just sit and stare. We also have some light ropes around the yard so that I can attach her if I want to do some yard work. I do not take her for neighborhood walks, as she is perfectly happy in the yard. You might just start with your yard.

There are a couple of dogs in our neighborhood that I consider a danger to cats, so I am very cautious. It could be very hard to protect your cat from a large dog and avoid getting bitten yourself. I won't take a chance on either one of us being injured, so I virtually always carry something called Halt! when I have a cat outside. It is a pepper spray that is made specifically for use on dogs. I also carry it when biking, and can confirm that it works great. Will stop a charging German shepherd dead in its tracks! Additional bonus is that it is a great training aid. Never had to use it more than twice on the same dog. After that they don't even bother standing up when I ride by. Halt! is a USA product, but there are probably similar things if you look. Around here only biking stores sell it. Note that Halt! is 0.1% capsaicin, while pepper sprays designed for use on humans are 10%. I would not advise using them on dogs. Halt! does not injure the dogs at all.