:: walk the cat ::

We did it! We successfully brought KiKi to the park yesterday noon for a walk (or more to smelling the grass for her).

It was still morning when my previous entry was posted and that time I wasn't too sure whether we will be able to take KiKi for a walk because she was still unfamiliar with wearing a harness since we just bought it the night before. Surfed the Net and found that we should train the cat before taking her out to get them feel comfortable so we did. Referred 'how to leash train a cat' from wikihow and here are among steps involved in case you're interested to walk your cat too:

1. Get the supply.
- we bought the harness (RM28.00) and the leash (RM7.90) from Pet Lovers Centre. Both could be found in most pet stores, however you need to ask the SA to get harness in smallest size for cats because they are mostly for dogs and in larger size.

2. Don't stress your cat out on the first day. Start with having him/her in the harness.
- we put the harness on KiKi and let her wear it for only around 1-2 hours (only).

3. The first day is over and time for real training. Don't do it if your cat is still uncomfortable with the harness. Attach the leash and start walking (don't tug, this needs patience). If your cat does not move, hold a treat. If that does not work, pick him/her up, move him/her forward and point the direction where you would want him/her to go.
- we didn't take one day to move to this step. We were still inside the house and KiKi didn't move but busy biting the leash instead. We then opened the door and she started walking few slow steps and stopped. This happened few times and we had to carry and place her around the porch to make her walk. She was more interested in smelling and eating the grass though. Around 20 minutes later she got a bit more comfortable and able to walk few steps more than earlier.

4. Keep training until your cat is pro then take him/her outside.
- we only train KiKi around 45 minutes when Bee decided to take her to park straight away. With us, she really need to be a fast learner heh? Hehehe.

5. When your cat is used to the harness you could substitute it for a collar if you wish
- we personally do not agree with this because if the leash is attached to the collar, it means the only support is around the cat's neck. Imagine if he/she got surprised or shocked with something and suddenly tugged or run away as fast as he/she could, it may hurt his/her neck or get choked.


We were happy and glad that we were able to take KiKi out on her paws and enjoy the nature instead of sitting and observing surroundings inside the carrier. KiKi likes to look around and that's why we like taking her out in the car because she will behave just like an excited kid. Besides smelling the grass, she even climbed a tree and did a bit of running in the park yesterday after she got comfortable. It was a memorable experience and hopefully we could walk her out more often later.

Just to share that I pity the dog next door. Dogs need to be walked but we never see her being walked by our neighbour at all. Dunno why some people still want to keep an animal as a pet but could not care less about its needs...

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