That's typical.  It takes awhile for a cat to get used to a harness and
leash, so the first step is just to put the harness on the cat for a short
time each day and expect that the cat will probably just lie down (as you
described) or may start working to get it off.  After a few days, you can
begin working on getting the cat to walk with the harness and leash -- but
do it in your house (not outdoors) and just follow behind wherever the *cat*
wants to go for a few days.

MaryL

They do that.

http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart/cat_harness.html

With my cats, they were indoor cats who wanted to go outside a bit. But I did
not want to let them roam free. So I got a long lead a clipped it to their
collar - and clipped the other end to a mailbox and stayed with them while I
was cleaning the car or something. They became comfortable with the
arrangement after a bit. (I did use breakaway collars in case they should get
stuck without my noticing.) Eventually they became accustomed to this and I
was able to walk one of them sorta like a dog.

Bill

Hi wendy ,
karen pryor explains how to do that in her book  Clicker training
your cat . You can order it on line from amazon.
   alison