hi
i'm not sure whether anyone will believe this but they actually follow me in a single file along the road. of course i'll be on the road, they either walk on the kerb-grass area or along the ledge of the drain where they can scoot into the drain for hiding if danger comes along. i call the drain (it's actually dry and clean when there's no rain and it's about 3 feet deep) their cat highway. each time before we leave the house, my instructions to them is : don't go the road, don't cross the road, don't play near the road, don't fight with each other, don't go too far and remember to come home when i call..
then i set out and they follow me. 1st stop on the tour is a neighbour's backyard 4 houses down. this neighbour keeps a big fat hen there and my kittens always stop to look at the hen (not hunting but just look). then a few more houses down the road, they stop and sit and lepak a bit, checking out new sights and smells while i just stand by the road side, either talking to them (to passerby i appeared to be talking to myself) or observing them and the surrounding for apparent danger (like a mad rotweiller running straight at you). then more walkie-walkie-walk along the road until the boundary of their territory, along the way they'll check out every single house, every single bush, etc.
then either i take them across the street to check out their favourite spots there or i head back to the corner near my house and we all "lepak" there, actually i lepak and they try their best to tease the dog opposite by staring at him!
the trip lasts as long as i have the time to be with them outdoor. if it's in the morning, usually between 10 mins to 15 mins sometimes half an hour if i use the time to do my qi gong exercise.
in the evening after i return from work, i spend up to 45mins or 1 hr outside with them. by that time, they're ready to come home for their meal and after which they'll go out again, this time for their own gathering without me, until around 10pm my bedtime.
they're odd, they'll come home at the appointed time and if i don't let them into the house, to them it means carte blanche to party the night away outside! same for morning routine, i'll let them into the house after i get ready and before i go to work.
no leash - they hate leashes and they freak out when i put leashes on them. i don't know how it happened, i don't know whether i trained them to walk with me or they trained me to walk with them but it somehow happened. it first started when they were around 6 - 7months old and i was curious to know how they spend their time and where they spend it and how far they go. so i just followed them one day and initially they were not comfortable with me following them. but on the 3rd attempt, they were actually happily waiting for me to join them.
i actually don't walk them, i joined them in their walk and i do as they do, i don't rush them, i don't hurry them (although i do it initially), i just hang around with them and double as traffic warden for them.
now i keep them indoors when one of them (and myself as well) almost got ran down by a car, not to mention they almost caught either fungi infection or mange infection and we spent quite a bit on 4 cats not to mention the hassle of trying to feed medicine to 4 cats and having to buy additional food to entice them to eat medicine.
now they're 100% indoor cats and i'm still trying to figure out how to train them to walk on the leash. it doesn't work that well as they are afraid when they're so constrained and any odd sound will set them off and they'll freak out.
nowadays, i take them out for a drive round the neighbourhood in the evening, between 9pm-10pm, when it's dark and they can see outside easily without anyone seeing them. it's also cooler at night. it's a family affair with my sis going too and we show them the sights around the neighbourhood without them having to walk around. it works actually and they will be very compliance when we tell them no funny stuff in the car, no scratching or fighting or whining to go out and definitely no attempt to escape as we carry them individually to the car. but coco didn't understand the concept of glass window and launched herself at "perceived freedom" with such enthusiasm and the end result : a loud bonk and a sore nose. nowadays we knock on the glass windows to let her know it's actually a barrier there.
why don't you try it? and share with us the result