Hi!

My 2 Bengals are 3 months old and I would really like to take walks with them. I was telling this to a friend of mine and she told me it was the worst idea. She trained her cat to walk on a leash and she reaaaaally liked it a lot, but she said her cat liked it a bit too much... After a few walks, she would constantly beg to go outside (read: non stop meowing and scratching all the doors) and would run off at every chance she had. It became really stressful for both of them. One evening when my friend was taking her for a walk, she broke loose from the harness (even though it was a safe one, with those double straps, made for cats) and she got hit by a car... Because of that fatal incident and the constant begging to go out, my friend told me that I should not do it at all.

I'm really in doubt. I would love to take my cats for a walk, even if it's just in my garden so they can soak up a little sunshine, feel the soft grass between their paws and smell the blooming flowers. I just can't make it a daily activity...
I would love to hear your stories! Do your cats really beg to go for walks? In a way that you feel annoyed that you ever taught them how to walk on a leash? Can they really escape, even with the best harness (I would look for a H-shaped one with double click straps), if they absolutely want to? How do they react to other animals in the park? Are they to young now? ...?

Hi,

I started taking my boy out from 4months and he loves it. Yes they do want to go out at lease once a day. He would meow once I get home to go out but would give up after 5mins if I don't take him out but no scatching the door.

He loves going to the park with my kids where dogs are not allow. lol.

You just have to beware of dogs thats all, the big ones.

And be prepared for alot of looks and question from other people.

I'll upload some photo of my boy in the park.

Here are the photos

My previous bengal boy was harness trained and I have to admit I wish I had never started it, he too used to beg all day long to go out, it didn't matter what the weather I had to take him and he never seemed to get tired.

This time round I have chosen not to take either of them out for walks, life is so much more simple.

As they have each other they burn off their energy chasing each around the house.

What the haven't had they don't miss.

_________________
Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

To leash train or not leash train! You will get a lot of conflicting opinions, but in the end, YOU have to make the decision that is best for you and your kitty! There are other options for allowing a kitty outside time -- catio or cat enclosure. You can have a permanent structure or a portable one. I do know kitties love the fresh air!

In my case, my bengal spent the first six years of his life roaming the outdoors. He wanted outside and his owner got tired of trying to keep him in (with the howling), so he finally just let him out. That's how Raiden found MY yard one day. Yes, the poor owner had to take Raiden to the vet frequently for abscesses from cat fights. He finally decided to give Raiden to me. Well, keeping Raiden inside was not going to work, so I bought a harness and leash and we were out the door in two minutes. We do two walks a day these days. He howls and howls until we go outside and then once we are back, he settles in. He also has a 12'x12' cat enclosure on our deck that he can access 24/7. It really still isn't enough, but he loves being outdoors.

Walking your cat is not like walking a dog. Cats want to stop and sniff everything. They long to climb trees, spray bushes, walk to people's front doors, go after any other cat they see, get terrified when they spot a dog. Most of our walks are great, but sometimes, Raiden is a pistol and it's a fight just to keep him on the straight and narrow!

It took us weeks before Raiden left the yard or our cul-de-sac. Now we walk down to the park and round the tennis courts. We hit the side street most days. It takes about an hour to do the entire 6 blocks total (Raiden is slow).

I bring a beach towel with me for a couple of reasons -- to use to snap at an aggressive dog or cat that may approach us and to sit on when Raiden decides he wants to rest in the dirt or grass.

Many of us here have great experiences in walking our cats and it's a great time to be with your kitty. Know that initial leash training can be difficult. The cat must be completely comfortable wearing the harness before you even take the kitty outside, so putting the harness on the kitty and see how the kitty reacts is super important.

The cat will do one of three things:

1. Lay down and act paralyzed. The harness has killed your cat's ability to walk. Try to get the kitty up and walking with a treat or a toy. Once they realize they can actually walk wearing the harness, they are fine.

2. Fight the harness. This can be problematic as you don't want to watch your kitty go crazy trying to get the harness off. Again, try to distract the cat with a toy or treat. If that doesn't work, remove the harness and put it back on later and repeat and repeat. If after a couple of weeks, you STILL have the cat fighting the harness, then the harness is not for your kitty and drop it all together.

3. Your cat will walk around wearing the harness as if nothing is wrong. That is what happened in my case. Raiden looked at it and walked to the door. I hooked on the leash and out we went. It's been almost three years now and we go rain or shine, hot or cold, snow .... doesn't matter. He's ready for his walk!

Unfortunately, once you start, this is something your kitty will look forward to and insist on, so be prepared to take some time daily to walk your cat. You'd have to do it if you had a dog.

Good luck!

It’s really up to you and you won’t know if your cat will beg to go out or not.

My Bengal girl is leash trained and she loves being outside. But when we get back home, she is so tired from walking that she just sleeps for hours. I have never had her scratch and meow and beg to go out again. But she is a very chilled out, quiet, relaxed Bengal. She’s definitely not the typical Bengal cat.

If you do take yours out, you just need to be prepared for the fact that they MAY love it and beg to be taken out. In that case, you need to be prepared to start a daily routine with them and take them out once a day, or you will have to put up with their begging!

Mine have free access to the outside during the day but are locked in at night. However, that means I am woken up at 6am every day, if not earlier as they are making a huge noise about wanting to go out. When I have to shut them in because there is something going on outside and I think they will be safer indoors, there are huge tantrums!!!

I will repeat what Clare&Magic said - they won't miss something they've never had! By the sounds of things, they will definitely be making a racket and demanding daily (if not twice daily!) walks lol

_________________
Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

If your kitties have not gone outside, then it is a matter of being patient with the howls. When we first got Raiden and wanted to keep him inside, he howled 24/7! He was up all night scratching at the door to go outside. He had gotten into a bad fight and was beaten up pretty good and had just been to the emergency vet, but he still wanted to go outside! We got zero sleep for a couple of weeks. Even after our first walk, he would cry at night to go outside. He just held our ground. Now he sleeps through the night. He fusses to go out first thing in the morning. He takes a nap after we return. Wakes up a few hours later ready to go out again, but I delay that afternoon walk as long as possible! He's really cute when He will lay on our bed, wide awake, just waiting for me to go in and ask, "are you ready for your walk?" Boy, you have never seen a cat fly off a bed so fast and to the back door.

I WISH with all my heart that I did not have to spend hours a day walking him. But, I try to use it as a time to reflect (although I can't let my mind wander too far or Raiden is getting into some type of trouble -- or the leash gets wrapped around a bush).

Walking TWO cats can be a problem if they both want to go in opposite directions. They should entertain and play themselves out daily! Usually when a cat tastes the outdoors, they are anxious for repeat visits.