The Miraculous Art of Walking a Cat
No magic required. Just… well, everything else.
Okay, I’ll admit it: I thought the idea of walking a cat on a leash was stupid for the longest time. My opinion only changed when I looked into the good it could do for an indoor cat (and realized that I’d probably like outside time too, if I was in a small apartment my whole life). When I adopted Eloise and she CLEARLY wanted to follow me out the door, I decided I was going to try my hand at doing what internet cats like Maple and Fern do.
I was going to have a leash-trained cat.
And here’s how I made my harness-averse kitten into a great outdoor explorer (of the yard, let’s be clear. We don’t go further than the yard).
I’m thankful to have had Eloise since she was a kitten, so we started as soon as she was starting to settle into a routine. I started with Eloise when her bum leg was still troubling her and she was still holdable in one hand. Made for a very easy application of her harness. It also made it easy to help her get untangled when she, as a slippery medium-haired kitten, would inevitably get herself stuck and cry for assistance.
Getting her to endure the harness was the first haul, which meant that she would wear it in timed increments with lots of treats to encourage her. The pairing helped her learn a bit of patience and to be comfortable being harnessed up to go outside. (This doesn’t mean she doesn’t get moody and bite me when putting her harness on — it just means she developed a tolerance for me pulling it around and adjusting it before she bites me.)
As she learned to enjoy the outdoors, our walks became longer… and longer… and I started getting tired of dragging her back inside and getting her riled up. Walks were supposed to relax her and me, so Eloise and I started developing a routine for coming inside. Also supplemented by lots of pets and treats, we worked out the details of her outside routine, common routes, non-negotiable places to sniff(determined by how late she kept me awake), and how I signal for her we need to wrap up for the day — AND how she can tell ME that she’s done for the day. Now, she’s much more tolerant of being carried back to her door… so long that she walks herself inside and gets her wet food treat!
I do still have to worry about her looping her harness off and taking a run for it. Fair-temperament cats likely won’t cause trouble like this, but Eloise is a dramatic and excitable feline. So I’ve had to adjust her harness size several times, both as she grew from kitten to cat AND as she lost her patience with me controlling where she roamed.
Different types of harnesses work with different cats, but the best luck I’ve had with preventing escape and being gentle on Eloise has been the RabbitGoo harness with a Come With Me, Kitty bungee leash. It gives my crazy cat cushioning when she pulls too far while also giving her some room to roam so I’m not on top of her.
This doesn’t mean I’m not still climbing into bushes and scaring the daylights out of my neighbors sometimes. Walking a cat requires dexterity and lots of humility. I regularly duck under branches, push through shrubs, and scoot behind trees in the most cartoonish postures I could manage to keep up with Eloise. You will likely look very silly if you let your cat roam, and it’s something you just have to embrace and enjoy.
You’ll also need a firm hand. Cats are nosy and will probably get themselves into trouble with dogs, bees, squirrels, or even just little rocks. It’s important to be able to pull your cat away from dangers because they will not always remember when they get hurt outside. If it means physically removing your pet from an area, be prepared for resistance.
Be warned, though. There’s one crucial piece in common between walking a dog and a cat. You’re making their world bigger, and your pet will want to explore that outside world every. Single. Day. So if you’d rather have a chill indoor cat, walking may not be right for you; because once you let them out, they will LOVE to roam every day with you!
It’s a lot of work, but I think you’ll love having an adventure buddy. I love our time outside — in my front yard, of course. We don’t go beyond the yard!
