Echo and Ember’s Journey

By Camilla Garrison

Since April 21st Camilla has been harness training Echo and Ember. At last, this week the kittens were ready to take their first adventure to the porch, and even to the yard and beyond! Of course this process was not so easy and it took a few steps.

The first step was to leave the harness out to be sniffed and associate it with positive things like freeze dried chicken and other treats. After the cats were completely comfortable with the presence of the harness, they had to get used to sounds of the velcro and buckles. Once that was done, it was finally time to start using the harness for real. Camilla used two different techniques to get the cats stepping into the harness and then staying put long enough to fasten it. For Echo who is not a paw-based or extremely treat motivated kind of cat, Camilla first put toys and things under the harness to practice putting his hands through the holes, then placed him in for a second or two with the help of and assistant. For Ember it was much easier. Ember you see is a dried chicken addict and is also immensely food motivated, so  Camilla simple put small pieces of chicken into little tins from the tops of jars, held the harness in front, and Ember stepped right through the harness and gave time for securing while gobbling up his reward. Soon, both kittens would be ready to practice their leash! Leashes mastered, they could finally take their first adventure to the outdoors!!

Camilla now has high hopes of teaching the cats to swim, (it is very possible, even if cats don't naturally like water, they can be trained!) and once they are warmed up to island life, to the beach!