Written by the human caretaker of the Chaos Children (Channa & Chimi).

<< my main cat resource hub

<aside> 💡 For me, the most important factor in leash training has been walkable access to quiet, safe-feeling outdoor spaces. I moved 3 times in 2 years to find such a place.

Patience is important. Once we’re in a comfortable environment, I get the best results by letting my cats explore and not forcing any kind of agenda on them. I let them pick the direction. When walking a cat, I never assume we will get from point A to B unless I zip them into the backpack and walk there myself.

It’s really hard to access natural environments in the U.S., so trail hikes are very rare for us. A lot of our outside time comes from multitasking. I’ll keep an eye on them in the backyard while eating breakfast, take them around the block in a stroller, or bring one of them with me in a backpack while grocery shopping or meeting up with a friend to give them more practice with urban stimuli.

They aren’t fully leash trained yet like adventure cat celebrities who get to hike every day. But they at least see travel, outdoors time, strangers, and unfamiliar locations as a pretty normal part of their lives.

</aside>

chaos children stealing hearts together at age 6 months

Debunking common myths

• “Can only certain special breeds of cats be trained / become adventure cats?”
  • HAHA NOPE, the Bengal breeding industry really wants you to believe this myth so they can extract thousands of dollars from you 🤑🤑🤑, but rescue mutts can do anything that purebreds can do. Chimi & Channa are street mutts who were rescued from a parking lot, and Chimi learned clicker association and a nonverbal “Sit” in five minutes. Most of my favorite adventure cat celebrities are rescue cats of mixed mystery heritage.
  • Age is a bigger factor. Kittens are easy to accustom to any weird lifestyle. Older indoor cats are hit or miss, but you can definitely find lots of adventure cat celebrities who grew up indoors.
• “My cat is a drama queen and refuses to move when I put the harness on.”
  • This is not drama, it’s a natural “play dead” survival reflex that understandably kicks in when they are squeezed. You can train them to overcome this reflex with lots of treats and love, but please make sure the harness isn’t actually choking or pinching them.
• “I don’t have time/money to go skiing/canyoneering/kayaking, so I can’t take my cat on Real Adventures.”
  • It’s true that the most famous Celebrity Influencer Adventure Cats often get filmed doing highly aesthetic extreme sports in famous locations. However, in the same way that you can have real adventures without visiting world-famous tourist spots, your cat can also have real adventures without skiing through the Swiss Alps or canyoneering in Zion! Just take them on a walk wherever.
  • Unfortunately, if you live in the U.S., it is statistically likely that you might not be able to afford to live anywhere that is not made out of concrete and lined with cars going 40mph for miles around. Just try to find the best you have available to you.

Favorite blogs/resources

Leash trained vs. free-roaming cats

Related resources I’ve written

• How to have an amazing relationship with your cat (cat body language, communication, behavioral understanding, cat biology and debunking myths about cats being “dramatic”, and basic training). A good relationship is arguably the most important prerequisite to training and other advanced activities. Read this before starting harness training.

Getting started

Here is a great writeup on leash walking a cat.

Outdoor safety basics

• Update their outdoor vaccinations, especially against FVP, a very deadly and long-lived feline virus that can be transferred by contact on surfaces for up to a year. See the FVRCP vaccine.
  • An annual rabies vaccine is mandatory in the U.S for cats who go outside (even if only on leash). Look up VAS (vaccine associated sarcoma) to find out how to minimize risks from rabies vaccination.
• Tick/heartworm preventative. Cats cannot be treated for heartworm infection the way dogs can. Unfortunately, all pharmaceutical anti-parasite medications are poisons; it’s just a matter of degree. 😭 We use Revolution Plus, which was the least neurotoxic one I could find. I also feed them daily nutritional yeast to make them less delicious to insects.
• Avoid foxtails, an innocuous-looking common weed that is actually the devil incarnate. The barbs can get stuck in fur and work their way so far inside the body that they require surgical intervention. 🤮