"Tristan Miller" wrote in message
...
Greetings.

Every day it doesn't rain, I take my ferret for a walk, either with a
leash
in the city or without a leash in the forest. As I mentioned in a
previous
post, I'm thinking of getting a cat too, and was wondering about the
feasibility of it joining us for the walks.

I have seen some people taking their cat for walks on leashes. I've tried
to do the same with my grandparents' cat but didn't have much success.

I got 4 cats. Since QT got run over others became indoor cats with leash
outings. Luckily I trained them all from kittenhood to walk on leash, so
they are completely comfortable with it. However Charlie, who was a stray
and moved himself in, is not having any of it. He absolutely hates the
harness, but I think it;s probably becuase I believe he was at some point
involved in some accident and his back is still sensitive to touch. Or maybe
becuase he never had a "restraint" on his body

Can
all cats eventually be trained to do this, or is it something only certain
felines take to? If the former, what's the best technique of teaching
them? I plan on getting a kitten, so I'm hopeful that teaching it from an
early age will help.

Definitly. Get a cat used to cat collar first. Then put the harness on it
and either go cold turkey and leave the harness on (as kitten will get used
to it quickly like to a collar) or do it gradually, which may just prolong
it. Make sure harness at first is loose enough not to restrain the cat too
much and slowly tighten it up. Once its comfy with it, attach leash and let
him/her run around with it. Finally start walking it outdoors.It will be
more interested in new smells and birds and bees then the harness

Check this:
http://cats.about.com/library/howto/htwalkleash.htm

Also, is it at all feasible to take a cat for a walk in the forest without
a
leash, or will it run off or get stuck up a tree?

If a cat doesn;t know the territory, i strongly advise you don;t let it off
the leash. It may not find home again, also the "freedom" is not all cracked
up to be.

Gee