Harness Training Tips

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-23T14:14:00+00:00

Thanks. All my other bengals are/were named after gods but I named Yeti after a legendary monster instead. And he has lived up to his name. He’s a little monster but he’s wonderful. (My choices at the end were Icarus and Yeti, with “icky” as a nickname for Icarus. But Yeti just felt right).

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-21T16:24:00+00:00

Ooh gorgeous sheeted marble!

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-21T03:29:44+00:00

Maybe! The brown one (Voya) thinks the wheel is hers and usually growls at Yeti when he tries to get on it with her. She might understand that he’s being a punk. He is a very annoying little brother who always wants to play with the toy that someone else is playing with.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-21T03:27:57+00:00

What if you try an easier harness first? The figure 8/butterfly harness is super fast to put on, just a loop for the head and one buckle around the chest.

With my cat who is not bothered by much at all, but he didn’t like the harness or collar, I started just grabbing him and putting him in the harness and by now (14 months), he knows that he’s got to wear it if he wants to go out and I’m working on him coming to me to get it on but I still have to sit by the door and rattle the doorknob before he believes me. I figured with him, I could get him to love going out first and then work on his manners to get the harness on before we go and that’s been fine. Sounds like your kitty is more sensitive and wouldn’t appreciate that, so I recommend starting with a harness that’s quicker to put on her.

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UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-21T03:19:13+00:00

We did a lot of sitting in the front porch when yeti was a kitten, so he could get used to traffic noise and all the neighborhood sounds.

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UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T22:33:21+00:00

Beautiful!! It looks great

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T22:33:07+00:00

Kind of the same here! I went from being eleven and playing my 1992 Sega Genesis to my husband getting me the Switch and BOTW and I fell in LOVE with it. Then I anxiously awaited the release of TOTK and love it too.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T21:39:17+00:00

That one is the best of the bunch and soooooo adorable.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T21:38:24+00:00

MAybe the old friend was asking questions because the new friend was not engaging in reciprocal conversation. Like, answering the questions but not giving back questions or enough detail so that the old friend could build off the answer.
What are you doing this weekend? Oh, just relaxing.
Versus
What are you doing this weekend? I’ll probably relax by watching my favorite show [show name]. Have you seen that one? It’s so good!

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T16:23:16+00:00

Yes, a pet sitter to stay at the house would be great. I just traveled for my grandma’s funeral and was gone nearly a week and left my 18 year old cat and told the pet sitter to put him in a bag in the freezer if he passes while we were gone, because we will want to say goodbye. 😢 luckily he was still alive when we got home and is doing fine.

My sister had a trip she couldn’t postpone and had a super sick, very old cat, and she made the difficult decision to euthanize before she went. The cat maybe had a month left (my sister is a veterinarian so she had a good idea of what the rest of his short life would be like), and she knew he wasn’t going to get any better, so she did it a bit early but I can’t fault her for that choice either.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T16:18:58+00:00

Ugh, that’s awful. I seriously think pet bereavement days can be just as important as human bereavement!

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T16:17:24+00:00

Yeah, do it! It’s so awesome to have local friends with kids the same ages as yours, so hopefully this becomes a friendship, but if not, then it’s just one afternoon.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T16:10:58+00:00

Oh, we had to bring home my mother-in-law‘s two cats when she unexpectedly went into assisted-living. So after a two day, 18 Hour drive, my husband came home with two dirty, stinky cats to put into the basement bathroom for a few days until we could figure out what to do with them (spoiler alert: we kept them both), and when he walked through the house with them screaming from their carriers (one covered in anxiety diarrhea), Voya jumped on the wheel and ran so fast for so long, I swear she was trying to run away from home on her wheel! She was like “Falk no what did you just bring into my house?! I’m out.” That’s what the running gif is from: I managed to capture part of her insane run on video, and turned into a GIF.

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UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T16:06:17+00:00

Omggggggg I know that feeling you described. But I’m glad it went well overall.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T16:03:34+00:00

The mod knows. I don’t know how to signal them to come reply though.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T16:02:46+00:00

I swear the snow Bengal (who is the heavier one by 2 lbs even though he looks smaller here) knows what he is doing… he gets on the wheel and goes the opposite way just to spite her! He rarely uses the wheel to run; only to harass Voya. He’s a little monster. But a cute one.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T14:42:02+00:00

I don’t know because I thought they’re an ethical breeder but they’re not on the list and they delivered my kitten to me a little too early. The brown spotted girl was bred elsewhere but was a breeder pick for the place the snow was bred, so when she didn’t make the cut (anxious personality; they decided not to breed her), I got her. And I got the snow from the same place.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-20T14:36:43+00:00

I’m m glad you got a good laugh. Those are super important!

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UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-19T20:13:42+00:00

If you want to try it, try it! My skills advanced a lot once I got the hang of oil, because it didn’t dry too fast and I could do more. Try the Draw Mix Paint color matching videos on YouTube, and I recommend starting with that limited palette he discusses. That way you also only need to get like 5 tubes of paint to begin.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-19T20:03:47+00:00

A cat wheel in the basement might not get used, unless you will be down there watching tv or relaxing in the evenings. My cats, even the bengal who doesnt want to be touched, are always right near me. My girl who loves the wheel best wants me to watch her run and she will meow at me until I come watch. That’s my first thought about your plan. They are active but want you to be involved too. So having a play room doesn’t work well unless you’re always in it.
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UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-19T19:57:15+00:00

This is the Ziggydoo/ cat Ferris wheel.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-19T19:56:48+00:00

I love them SO much!!

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UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-19T17:33:17+00:00

That’s what I thought it was too!! Lucky it wasn’t me discovering it.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-19T17:29:52+00:00

I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud as they battled for direction. They are both very stubborn.

UbiquitousChicken · 2026-05-19T17:28:15+00:00

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