Training Adult Cat for Leash-Walks...., Am I doing the right thing? Options

[Diseraph]

Hello all, I have a 4 year old Ragdoll that I adopted as a stray kitten. I'm always worried about the wildlife and fleas, so I've kept my cat Payne an indoor cat, of which she seemed quite content, as we always lived in big places. I never had to worry about her escaping as she seemed happy with a balcony usually and always had big scratching posts and the like.

ATM, she appears bored with the current house we live in and thought maybe I could walk her so I'd get exercise and she'd get out of the house in a controlled and supervised manner. I've done my best with getting her used to a harness and gave it a go today.

She quite liked it but was naturally scared of the outside world and completely ignored the leash (i.e. wouldn't move when I gently pulled to one direction,which I accepted was normal). When she got tired I took her back inside; she was very distressed and upset; yowling all the time. She usually only does that when her IBS is acting up or she's found a little creature. She became so distressed about being inside that I took her outside again without the leash and just watched from a distance and seemed content with the whole thing until she got stuck in a tree.

Her personality is has always been very anti-social (e.g. does not like being held at best of times, rarely sits near anyone/thing else), which we sort of encouraged as we did not want a dependant cat and figured it was her things. I've also always felt it was difficult to discipline her (though she is toilet trained) with behaviour modification, though she knwos when she's in trouble by my voice or if I clap my hands.

My question is: I'm worried that I've done wrong by my cat by keeping her indoors all this time or is it that I didn't discipline or spend enough time with her as a kitten to know whats right and wrong? And should I keep trying to help her adapt to leash walking or would it make her more upset?

I really want my cat to be happy but safe...(and ideally not tearing up the wildlife ^,^)

[lynh]

I too have a female Ragdoll named Summer, and she sounds a great deal like Payne. I "rescued" her from a home where she was very unhappy, as she was being harassed by one of the family dogs, and her behaviour was regressing, poohing and weeing inappropriately and she retreated to the extent that, by her own choice, she was living in a very small laundry in her cage and only ever emerged to eat and use her litter. She was allowed outside but stopped going because of the dog.

I agreed to take her on, knowing it would be a challenge, especially as I already had five indoor cats (who had and still have access to an outdoor cage when the flea season isn't too bad). Basically we both had a horrible time for the first two years she was with me, me trying to work out how to make her like all my other cats, present and past, happy and carefree, and she making a little progress but then going backwards each time she had a less than ideal confontation with one of the others. She basically spent the first 2 years living in a basket on top of my hot water heater in the laundry, and locked in there at night, or lying on top of my stove on towels or blankets - this is a high point which gives her a good all around view of almost my whole unit and she felt safe there (and still goes there if she's had a bit of a scare). I truly thought that was as good as it was going to get.

Tried a couple of medications, but they did her no good behaviour-wise and affected her urine production and elimination processes. My vet at the time wasn't willing to discuss other treatments I'd been researching.

About 10 months ago I had some time off work, and so had time one day to give each of my girls in turn about 15 minutes each out of doors in a harness and chain.

(I should add that my cats can't wander, as I've had the misfortune to buy my home right next door to one of the worst cat-haters I have every come across, and I believe he poses a threat to my cats, or any other cats in the area).

The reactions of the others varied from "This is interesting....." to "This is scary....." and "I can take it or leave it......". Summer took to it as if she'd been doing it all her life!!! She just loved it. She was dragging me around the back yard of the common property around my unit, checking out everything. She did not want to come back inside, and from that moment on, she's been a different cat, ALWAYS wanting to be out of doors. Because of my neighbour situation I put her in a harness and have put long "tie outs" in my front garden and back courtyard, and she's generally out doors from around 3am (don't ask!! ) until around 8pm. Even if it's pouring rain she HAS to go out, if only for a while to see for herself that she can't go out today.

Fortunately, in recent weeks, a young woman has opened a veterinary practice in my little village, and she is very open to discussing anything, behaviour, insurance, new treatments. Just last Monday I opted to try Summer on a hormone injection called Depo Provera (also known as MPA-50 in the veterinary world) - a human contraceptive/hormone injection, which in small quantities can be useful in female (I presume only female??) cats who are highly strung like yours and mine, plus a few Valium tabs to be used only in case of extreme upset (like the thunder storm we had the other day).

I'm pretty sure Summer is never going to be a "normal" cat, as we normally think of them, but already I can see a subtle improvement in her behaviour since the injection, and she's started purring!! In recent months she's been quite affectionate with me, but this is the first time she's really starting having a good purr every time we meet. The Valium definitely helped her during the storm too.

I don't think cats come to any harm by being indoors, depending on the circumstances, and no way have you done the wrong thing in keeping your Ragdoll inside, so don't beat yourself up. I do believe though, if the cat is safe from cruel neighbours, busy roads etc, it should have outdoor time with easy access to indoors, or at least a large outdoor cage, or like Summer, a harness and lead out in the garden, with food and water, and litter if she needs it (strangely, Summer hasn't realised she can use the garden for toileting and asks to come inside for this - I'm not going to teach her otherwise, just in case she starts refusing litter and I have to be up all hours of the night for Summer to do her thing in the garden). If your best option is the leash walking, by all means go for it. Summer has proved to me that it's a good way to get outdoor time. A cat will never be as good as a dog, they are too independent, but she'll take to it if it means being outside.

Since deciding she loves the great outdoors, she's become VERY vocal in letting me know when she wants to go out. Before she had her injection last week, I was going out for a few hours and brought her inside, as I didn't want to risk her getting tangled in the chain while I wasn't around to untangle her, and she just wouldn't shut up!! I got out my mobile phone and recorded her, and I now have a very loud ringtone of Summer expressing her disgust at being brought inside before she was ready. It's really cute.

[blacksmith]

Can you maybe build a cat run or a net enclosure? Even an aviary outside for her to play in on nice days?