I walk my cat. On a leash.
That particular day, Danger must have sensed that I was more malleable to her charms than normal. I happened to mention “kitty walk” in the morning, so she was already gearing to go by the time I sat down on the bench to dig for her leash. When I get near that bench, she gets pretty excited, especially when she knows she’s going to go for a walk. (Of course, to be anti-climatic, she stops just outside the door. Normally she bolts out and won’t even let me lock the door. Also, I swear my voice is not that squeaky, the mic on the phone is just not great for video.)
Plenty of people have told me this is strange behavior for a cat, putting on a leash and walking. Personally, I don’t think it’s the behavior that’s strange. The problem is that expectations are limiting.
So what made me want to walk my cat on a leash? Why not just let her outside to roam free? I live in a one bedroom apartment. There’s plenty of room inside for all of us, but we live close to a large road and we’re right next to a parking lot. My horrible fear was that something terrible would happen to my cat. At first I thought she wasn’t too bright. That was wrong. The issue is she’s rather too bright and curious. She’s always getting into things she shouldn’t, and it worried me that she’d end up getting harmed in some way. I’d be gutted if something happened to her.
So, I decided that I’d take her on walks. Because she’s so curious about the world, the space in the apartment is not enough for her. She doesn’t play with cat toys like the other cat does. She needs mental stimulation, so the two of us go out and explore the world together.
(The baa-ing is my laughing. But my cat really does sound pretty squeaky. She has the cutest meow!)
Here’s the thing– when we go out walking, I don’t treat her like a dog I’m walking on a leash. We head out together on an adventure, and generally, she’s the one in the lead. When we get to a place that I don’t like her to go, like the parking lot, I would stop and go no further. I never, ever had to tug on her leash, and I would never ever do that to a cat. She learns best by thinking she’s the one who’s made the executive decision to change course. Now we don’t even walk past those areas that I don’t like anymore. The couple of times we’ve gone near them, she’s even on heightened guard now. And if we run across something she really doesn’t like, she runs home, dragging me behind her. That’s unusual behavior for this cat. Nothing scares her; she’s always thought she could take on anything.
So how did I get her walking with me? That was a three step process.
Step One: Introducing the leash to the environment. For about a month or two before I even tried putting the leash on her, I left it by the front door so both cats could play with it and become familiar with it. This was an important step. It took a while, but when they were starting to play with it, I knew it was time for the next step.
Step Two: Putting the harness on. The boy cat was scared of it, so I didn’t force him. Danger though, she stepped right up. It was a struggle to get her to hold still long enough to size and clasp it. If I couldn’t get it clasped because she was squirming too much, I’d take it off her and leave her alone to try again later. The first couple of times I got the harness on her, I let her roam around the house with it on for a while. When I could tell it wasn’t that big a deal to her anymore, I proceeded to the final step.
Step Three: Putting on the leash and going for a walk. The first time out, I actually had to pick her up and take her outside. I put her down, and then I let her lead. That was the most important part of the entire experience. It’s not about me taking her for a walk, it’s about her going for a walk with my guidance.
The thing about walking cats is that it takes time and patience and a new way of thinking. And cats can actually enjoy it! I found out recently that one of my good friends walks her cat on a leash around the neighborhood. This isn’t to say that every cat will love walking on a leash. Cats are as different as people are. Some cats will never like being put on a harness and having a human following them around. My hope is that more people will stop assuming that all cats will hate it and that they’ll give it a good try.
I’d like to add: Happy new year! May you find yourself trying new things this year that you wouldn’t have considered possible before. Don’t let your expectations hold you back this year, and don’t be afraid to fail.
Carla
I have heard of people successfully walking cats but had never seen it until now! Danger is too cute!
We once put a leash on our old cat Max, just to see what he’d do. He was NOT happy! He was flipping around, like he could just knock it off his back. We took it off pretty much right away. We weren’t really intending to walk him; we just wanted to see what he’d do. I wonder if he would have done better with a harness. He was a pretty docile cat – he never swiped and he let us bathe him (he was a long-haired cat and needed it!)
N.M. Martinez
Your cat, Max, was probably a great candidate for it. Something about the leash sprung on a cat freaks a lot of them out. I guess I can see their point. If someone were to suddenly put a leash on me, I might suddenly have a cow too, lol.
It sounds like he just needed time. Leaving the leash out for the cats to get used to it probably also helped because then it got their smells all over it, so it wasn’t foreign to them anymore.
Also, thanks. I love that crazy cat!
Annie Neugebauer
You did it! A video- yay! I love it so much. I totally think my little one Snaps would be into this. You and Danger are both adorable. Thanks Nina; this made my day. =D
N.M. Martinez
You should give it a try! It’s a great bonding experience, haha.
I’m glad to hear that! 🙂
Ashlee Scheuerman
I walk my Munchkin cat on a leash, too. 🙂 I believe in indoor cats (especially in Australia, where loose cats cause havoc with the native wildlife!), so it just makes sense to take them outside in a controlled way. My Siamese just falls over anytime I try to put the harness on her (she’s a little crazy), so I let her wander and follow without the leash in our yard. My big fluffy domestic is too nervous of the outdoors to even want to walk, so he just watches us. I think it’s great your cat is happy to walk, too! 😀
~Ashlee
http://ashleesch.com
http://theDragonsHoard.bigcartel.com
N.M. Martinez
Oh man, your cats sound so cute! My boy cat, Trouble, fell over the first few times I put the leash on him. He was hesitant, but he’s so trusting of me that he let me do it. Then we got outside and he just flopped over. We’ve never made it past the front of the door.
Some cats are happy to be the royalty of their domain, lol.
Lisa Nowak
I’m so glad you don’t let your cat go outside on her own. Years ago, one of my cats was hit by a car, and ever since then I’ve refused to let them go outside.
When I moved from North Carolina back to Oregon I had harnesses for all three of my cats so I could take them out and walk them during the trip. But Newt got scared in Tennessee and somehow squirmed right out of his harness then took off into the bushes. I was so fortunate to find him again. Be aware that if they’re scared enough, cats can get out of even a well-tightened harness. I’m not sure how they do it, but then they’re cats. 🙂
I think it’s awesome that you do this for Danger. She seems like such a sweetie. I admire your patience.
N.M. Martinez
That is horrible. I’m sorry you had to go through that.
Danger has squirmed out of her harness a couple of times. Usually by stopping and pulling against me so that the thing pops off right over her head. The plus side of our walks is that she sticks to the area I’ve shown her is safe. She never darts to the road, the sidewalk, or the parking lot. Thank god. She’s also shown me that she knows what to be afraid of. She runs from cars and from strangers, all the way back home. Even if I’m with her.
Also, don’t let her fool you, haha. Or is “sweetie” cat code for “I can guess why you named her Danger.”
Fabiola
Can I just say that this amused me to no end? I laughed along with the video. Danger seems like a take charge kind of cat.
I’ve seen a guy in the city walk his cat, except his cat sat atop his hat and let his person walk him around. It sounded be so surprising but it is NYC.
This makes me want a pet more.
N.M. Martinez
Danger is VERY much a take charge kind of cat. She’s so very communicative. It’s like a paw slap across the face.
Atop his hat? A cat? That sounds like it could be a Dr. Seuss story, haha.
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