Being able to transport your exotic cat on a leash, can range from convenient in the case of a twenty pound Caracal to down right necessary in the case of a 450 pound Lion. Kittenhood is the best time for this training to begin. At five weeks we get them accustomed to the idea of wearing a collar. We order the stretchy, nylon type with a buckle and a bell. The stretch material will give enough for the cat to escape, should he get hung on something while you are looking the other way. Nylon is easy to wash and will probably need it often. The bell helps you keep track of his location and when it quits ringing you know to be sure he's sleeping and not in trouble. The buckle is a pain in the neck, when there are so many quick release collars available, but I like it for training, because not only are you training the cat to accept the collar, but you are training him to be patient with you while you are taking it on and off, or adjusting the fit. We like to take the collar off and put the collar on, several times per day. The cats environment determines whether we feel it is safe to leave the collar on, unsupervised, even though they are supposed to pull over the cats head in an emergency. We leave the collar pretty loose to aid in the cat's escape. Obviously, due to the very nature of the collar, it is not safe to use these collars while walking your cat in public.

Only while we are supervising do we attach a leash and let them get used to the feel and look of it. Even otherwise calm cats may get freaked out by this snake looking thing attached to their neck. You never know how an exotic feline will react, but you should expect the worst. We had a six month old, leash trained Serval and on a quick trip one day, could not find her leash, so we used a long scarf. This worked fine until we returned home and let the leash go. The Serval ran in a panicked state until she couldn't run anymore, with that scarf trailing behind her and prodding her on.

On the larger cats, the ones that one day your strength alone will not be able to contain, we recommend that you make a daily ritual of tying them out for a hour or so. During the time that the cat is staked out, you should not leave the area. First for the cat's safety and comfort and secondarily so that the cat associates you with certain limitations. This gives the cat an hour to pull on the leash in a full circle, until the cat learns that when he reaches the taut feel on the leash, he has reached the end of his ability. As long as the cat isn't trying to break his neck, we let him explore his limitations, with us sitting right there, to reinforce the idea that somehow we are controlling the situation. Just walking the cat will not be enough because as the cat pulls it is easy to give in and go where the cat wishes to go, and not many people have the stamina to sit still for an hour while a wild cat wrestles on the other end.

Larger cats can easily become stir crazy if they don't have very large enclosures. Sometimes just the change of scenery is inviting enough to cause the cat to bolt out of the pen, dragging you behind. A clever trick was revealed to us by a couple of magicians, masters of illusion, who said that they would hook their end of the leash to the door and then hook up the cat. When the cat bolted out the door and soon jerked to a stop at the end of the leash, it turned to see the owner holding the leash. After several times the cat determined that she (425 pound Lioness) was not strong enough to drag her caretaker. This "knowledge" even helped them curb the cat's obsession with chasing cars. When we are first training a cat to walk on a leash we try to let the cat choose the path, for the most part, so that it is fun and interesting to the cat. All of our early walks are within the confines of our compound which is surrounded by an eight foot perimeter fence. This is after we feel they are comfortable walking within the house or within their pen.

Always be on the alert for the unexpected, because your cat certainly will. Walking a Tigress within our compound nearly became a free for all when a pair of escaped otters came bouncing up to see what she was like. Only frequent training prevented this from escalating into a disaster. Pets and small children are quick to run up on a large exotic cat and not too quick to respond to your warning.

A harness is usually a little more secure, but a collar can give you a little better control. Some animals, like Ocelots and Leopards have thick necks and little ears making a collar useless. A Martingale type harness that could readily be found thirty years ago was the perfect combination of collar and harness, specifically designed for pet Margay and Ocelots. It seems that most people use chains on Tigers, but we do not leave these in place unless the cat is out for a walk. The Lion has a particularly delicate esophagus and the use of a collar can easily kill them if you are too heavy handed. To get some idea of how much pressure is too much, try wrapping a paper towel core in 1/2 inch of cotton padding. How much pressure do you have to apply to crush the tube? The same amount of pressure on a Lion’s throat can have the same effect. When you see a circus performer walking a Lion, you will see the cat on a very short lead, held close to the back of the neck. If the animal makes one false move, the trainer will pull up on the chain, and the cat gets quiet very quickly, because it cannot breathe. The damage you can do is not reversible, so for a Lion we would recommend the use of harnesses only. They will outgrow any harness currently available and then must be resigned to a chain collar.

We do use the quick release snap harnesses. Make sure it fits snugly but keep in mind the fact that nothing can entirely restrain a cat. We have experimented with every style of harness available and have discovered that any determined cat can roll over and back out of the harness. If the cat is going out in public and is at risk of ditching the harness, we may attach a collar and hook the lead to the collar and then loop it around the harness. My husband prefers to use a collar and attach a long lead. With the lead he wraps a loop around the cat’s middle and then pulls the lead back through itself. It looks awkward but it works, especially in a pinch.

Chain makes the best leash material as exotic cats can chew through anything else. You will want the strap portion around your hand to be leather or padded.