Protection:
Sharon writes: "I live in coastal ME and there is plenty of wildlife that would find a coon cat a very pleasant meal even in the village of our little town of 900. Many of the commercial cat enclosures will only keep them enclosed ... not protect them from wildlife like fox, fisher, coyote, bear and birds of prey. We opted for a chain link 10 x 10 x 6' kennel that has a reinforced shade cloth cable tied over the top. A predator could not get through the chain link and the shade cloth protects them from birds of prey and from the sun. We would never consider anything less substantial."

Pet Locator:
Gillian tells us: "Molly likes to wander in the garden and to solve this problem we bought a Pet Locator Plus. A wonderful gadget to track our beloved kitten. She is amazed that we can find her so quickly. Part of going walkies is to give her mother a heart attack or playing games of hide and seek."

Microchipping:
Gail's reminder about microchipping: "In the event the cat is found by someone with a scanner(animal control, vet, shelters, etc.), they will scan the cat looking for the microchip. They will then call the owner to let them know they've got the cat. In the event of theft, if the cat's chipped and the thief tries to pass the cat off as their own, they will be caught or at the very least, will be investigated as to why the chip belongs to someone else."

Harnesses:
Sharon writes: "We started leash training all three of our boys shortly after they came home from the breeder and the process was seamless, they all took to it right away. We simply started by putting the harness on for a few minutes each day so they could get used to it. Once they were used to it then we tried the leash. It might take a little longer for your 10 month old, but be patient.

We walk our boys around the yard and have taught them their boundaries beyond which thy are not allowed to go. This has helped when they occasionally bolt out the door. They run to the boundary and stop. We travel with them on vacation sometimes and being leash trained helps alot. This way they can get outside when there is a safe place to do so.

We use Lupine brand harnesses with great success. (The cat Lupine Harnesses are too small for most coons. We use the one for small dogs.)"