Question
A cat lives in our house who is basically a full time indoor cat as that is the safest way to keep a cat. Problem is that this cat really really wants to go outside and really does well with short 100% supervised outdoor romps of 15 to 30 minutes duration.
With the safety of the cat always in mind a leash harness was obtained and used on the cat when outdoors. The problem seems to be that cats are such lithe and flexible creatures that they can invariably squirm out of the harness in the blink of the eye. This is the typical cat type harness very similar to what we have tried.
So the question posed here is what type of leash / harness is really effective at keeping the cat from escaping?
Answer
No harness on a cat will truly be escape proof, but I have personally found two solutions that help reduce the escape risk substantially, in addition to other considerations offered in other answers
First, you need to make sure the harness is correctly fitted. It must be snug around the chest, and positioned behind and under their elbows, not over them. If you fasten over the elbows, the harness isn't snug enough, and becomes much easier to slip than when it's snugged up around only the chest. Avoid over-tightening the part around the neck; their throats are delicate, and the chest portion is what keeps them restrained.
Second, consider using multiple styles of harness. A previous cat of mine would go out regularly on a leash, and over time would get better and better at figuring out the harness until he was able to slip it fairly quickly. As he'd start to figure one out, I'd swap him to a different style, forcing him to start learning how to get out of it again. Don't continually rotate them, or your cat might figure them all out at once; wait until the cat is starting to work it out, then switch.
Answered By - Allison C