I bought a harness and lead for my young cat. The idea was to take him outside safely. He changed when I put it on. He is normally very active in the morning. I put the harness on him and he calms down. It is like someone gave him an injection. I don’t know what is happening.
The harness is a bit like a coat but not as big. I like it because it makes him calmer. In the morning he runs around a lot. I am not sure I like it. He could get hurt. He could damage something.
I am not sure he should wear it as it changes him so much. The change is a bit of a shock to me and strange to see.
Do you know why a harness for a lead changes him so much?
Response from Michael: I hope people comment on this. You have probably heard of the Thundershirt. This a product mainly for dogs but also cats. It calms them down. It is usually bought by dog owners whose dog has anxiety problems or becomes overexcited under certain situations. The general opinion is that is works but not always and, here’s the 64,000 dollar question: How does it work?
It seems to me that the harness you have bought works like a Thundershirt. It wasn’t designed to but it does. So it is triggering something inside your cat.
You say it is as if he has been given an injection. This may indicate that wearing the harness triggers the production of a hormone or a brain chemical of some sort in the cat. It may trigger the production of a certain type of neurotransmitter in the brain.
The manufacturers say the pressure calms the animal. Why? It may trigger an emotional connection to the time when the cat was a kitten being nursed by his mother. The pressure of the harness may create a reassurance in the cat for that reason. It may also cause some confusion because it is a created feeling and not real. In other words it puts the cat out of character for his age.
I also wonder if this reaction will continue or will it wear off? It may. I have not read that the Thundershirt stops working after a while but it might become less effective during long usage.
I’d be interested to know what anyone else has to say on this phenomenon. Update: I believe the cause for the change in personality is a partial kitten response. This is the response cats/kittens make when picked up by the scruff of the neck. This is strange because the harness does not put pressure on the back of the neck.
It could very well be due to a coat style harness covering the torso. We’ve seen similar reactions when people put t-shirts or other clothing on cats.
I agree with the points you make. I feel that most cats will find a harness hard to accept. And some squirm etc. as described. Depending on the style of the harness it does something to their mind. However, if a cat can wear one then it can be a useful tool in the right environment. Everything is a compromise and cat lovers should be flexible in their mentality and not too dogmatic.
I have not read all the comments but if the harness only rests on the back of the neck I don’t see how the kitten response (going limp) can be elicited unless it is elicited simply by covering the torso with a wide harness like a coat. This may also trigger the response. If it does, I have not read about this before. The Thundershirt may be based on this. But it is a partial kitten response.
Harnesses should not pull on the neck area, so I’m not sure that the “scruffing” theory holds water. The lead attaches to a clip on the back strap which fits behind their front legs. The idea is to let the cat lead the way with us following. I used an extension lead,so at no stage should there be any feeling of restraint at the back of the cat’s neck.
Jo: I agree with your suggestion that it’s more of a fear reaction than a feeling of calm. Perhaps the coat style harness made that person’s cat feel in some way restrained, as though someone/something had a physical hold of their body?
When I moved from Cyprus to France for a year, we had a 12 hour car drive from CDG airport to our destination. (Sadly no airport closer which accepted international flights.) I spent the month beforehand getting Holly accustomed to a harness and she took to it like a duck to water. Maybe this was because she was 17 at the time and was calmer or maybe she trusted me implicity? Mind you it was more a case of me following her than the other way around. Her being happy to walk on a harness meant that during the long drive we could stop for breaks to stretch our legs or grab a bite to eat.
I did try introducing the harness to Merlin and Sophie when we lived in the flat. He was desperate to go out but local traffic was just too dangerous and I thought a harness might be a happy compromise. The cats disagreed. Sophie went ballistic and was like a contortionist trying to escape a straightjacket. Merlin just froze on the spot. That idea was quickly abandoned. We did once take them to a deserted area of beach and let them run free. Merlin enjoyed that but Sophie was less impressed.
I don’t have a problem with people walking their cats on a harness, provided the cat is happy to do so and it only happens in quite areas away from traffic, dogs and lots of people. Not everyone has the luxury of a private garden and no matter how much indoor enrichment is provided, it simply isn’t enough for some cats. It’s in their nature to want to explore outside and for some the only way to do so safely is on a harness. It would certainly give blind or deaf cats a little extra interest in their lives.
If I ever put a collar or harness on a cat (which I would never do in a million years)and the cat froze with fear or panicked in any way I’d take it off and put it in the bin, I think the author of the article answered his/her own question “I am not sure he should wear it as it changes him so much. The change is a bit of a shock to me and strange to see.” It’s clear to me that the harness should be binned.
What I don’t understand is why the author doesn’t want the kitten to run around, it is what kittens do and kittens also damage things, fastening them up in a harness is like putting a straightjacket on a toddler to keep him out of mischief. Jo I can understand why you used them briefly, and am seriously glad you never used them for walking your cats like dogs, I disagree with Galaxy on this point, leashes are for dogs not cats.