Theodore Kanakis
14 december 2024
First, the easy part - the seller was great!Second, the rating - I gave the Kitty Holster 5 stars because I do not believe it is possible to design a harness that can better secure a cat. With that said, I must say that SOME cats can escape from it.Third, the rest of the story. I have two cats: Pasha and Nino. Pasha is a Russian Blue and is athletic, slim and smart. I found a 'regular type' harness and after some training and reasoning, he can not escape (or at least doesn't try to anymore), It is not a problem to put him out on my deck with me as I relax - he has accepted the Zen of the harness as his tradeoff for outdoor time. Nino came to me from a shelter last Fall, and I want to let him out along with Pasha for some outdoor time. Nino has exceptional upper body strength, is stocky, and determined. He has easily escaped from every other cat harness I have (four) within a minute, including the one Pasha does not. That led me to the Kitty Holster, in hopes that this may be one cat harness that I could put on him without his escape. Alas, after a half dozen outdoor sessions trying various harnessing techniques and snugness, he can still escape. However, it takes him quite a while now, and he seems to slowly be accepting the fact his outdoor life will be in a Kitty Holster. I have included some Tips learned from my experiences with Nino below.Tips to Others with Houdini-like cats:1. Snugness - Nino is quite an actor and protested his Kitty Harness was way too tight from the first time I put it on him. He cried, and panted, and moaned, and rolled his eyes, making me fear that he could not breathe. It was a ruse. In fact, I could easily slip two fingers underneath the harness all around. When I first gave in and loosened it - he was out of it a minute. Keep it tight - use the two finger rule all around.2. Taut Leash. I attach the Kitty Holster to a line on my deck that gives Nino about 12 feet of roaming space either way from the anchor spindle.That covers almost the whole deck. I found that for him to escape the Kitty Holster he must have the line as taut as possible and use it as an assist to help him escape. To do this he roams to one of the far points and pretends to lay down to reflect upon nature, looking away from me at the trees, the sky, a bug or some other distracting point in the yard. Fall NOT for this trick. He was merely trying to lull me into a false sense of security so I would feel safe turning my attention to some complicated OPed piece in the paper or an especially engrossing dialogue in my latest summer read. When he perceives I am otherwise amused, he will immediately start his escape process. As I said, it takes him several good minutes to complete his escape from Kitty Holster, at the far end of the leash - so my advice to others is to NEVER look away when your cat is at the end of his leash. Or move your chair next to him there, but that would probably just make him go to the other side.3. Demonic-like Possession. IF you fail to abide by my first two pieces of advice, you still have one more safeguard before your little whiskerpuss can make good their escape from the Kitty Holster. For Nino, this requires him to undergo what must possibly be demonic possession, worthy of Linda Blair's cat if she had one in the Exorcist. While the leash is stretched taut, he will begin a series of rapid rolls, back and forth, around the deck, all while doing what would be Jumping Jacks if he were human. There is much kicking and scratching with his back legs at the object of his seemingly mortal hatred - the Kitty Holster. Soon, he has his front paws up over his head, shaking them in such a frightful manner, that you feel he is either casting a spell or doing his best to pray to some Feline goddess. After this goes on for several minutes, his head begins to wiggle in a manner as in common in voodoo trances - absent any foaming at the mouth. And then finally, after several more minutes, he gets on his four feet and jumps backward as if ejected from some inter-dimensional vortex, and voila the Kitty Harness lays defeated before him. If he has gotten this far, a critical moment in the ceremony has come. While distracted by the joy of his victory, he will momentarily pause to compose himself, which is the exact time you must arise from your chair, cut off his line of escape, pick up Whiskerpuss and either put him back into the house or Kitty Holster. I can happily report that his instances of possession are becoming less frequent, as he realizes that no matter how much he gives into the dark side that his efforts will come to naught. I am hopeful that soon Nino will take Pashsa's lead, take up Zen, and learn to love the Kitty Holster and the outdoor time it brings.