We’re making progress with getting used to the harness and the outdoors. This time I took her to the lawn behind my building, which worked better than taking her out the front door because there was no construction noise and no people bustling around.
I made my first attempt at taking the cat for a walk. I managed to get the harness on her (once I figured out which way it went… good job, me), but I had to carry her outside because she wouldn’t walk under her own steam when I tugged (very gently) on the leash. Once we were outside, she immediately made for a planter with some bushes she could hide in, and she kind of got her leash tangled and got some twigs stuck in her fur. I managed to get her out of there and I tried just sitting with her on the side of a planter and letting her get used to the sounds and smells, but she was definitely not happy; she was making the same yowling noise she does when I put her in her carrier. She was willing to walk in the grass for a bit, but then she tried to hide in the bushes again, so I picked her up and carried her back inside.
I’ll give it another try and see if I can get her used to the great outdoors. Maybe I should go out through the basement of my apartment, away from the construction. But for now my takeaway is: she talks a good game about wanting to go outside, and she loves the smell of the outdoors through a safely closed screen, but when it comes down to it she’s a scaredy indoor cat.
She doesn’t seem to hate me, which is good. She didn’t go hide under the bed when we came back inside. Maybe this will not turn out to be a futile endeavor.
Now she’s meowing plaintively at the door. You didn’t even like it out there, you moron!
Loki is the Philosopher King 