The classic failure with a cat outdoors is the reverse. Something startles her, she drops her shoulders and walks backwards, and a harness with a single strap round the chest comes off over the head in one movement, leaving you holding a lead attached to nothing, in a garden, in the dark. Everything about this design is aimed at that one moment.

Adjustable straps are the mechanism here. You tighten the harness to the actual shape of your cat instead of leaving it hanging loose on her, and a snug fit behind the shoulder is precisely what a reversing cat cannot get past. The panel itself is padded mesh, spreading what pull there is across the chest and keeping the throat out of it altogether. The whole set weighs between 60g and 82g depending on size, which on a cat is a meaningful number rather than a footnote.

• Step-in padded mesh harness with a matching lead
• Adjustable straps for a close fit that resists backing out
• Chest panel keeps pressure off the throat
• Three sizes: S, M and L
• Colours include blue, pink, orange and red
• 60g to 82g depending on the size chosen
• Also fits small dogs, so multi-pet homes can share

No harness is fully escape-proof. A sufficiently frightened cat can get out of almost anything, and the fit is what makes the difference rather than the label on the box. Measure the chest girth behind the front legs and adjust until two fingers slide underneath, no looser than that. Build up indoors over a week or two before going outside, and never tether a cat and walk away.

Who it's for: Indoor cats getting supervised garden or pavement time, and owners who have already had one wriggle free.