From free-roaming to leash-trained
Walking cats on a leash is becoming more mainstream.
The cat-walk is trending. I’m not talking about runway models — I’m talking about furry felines on a leash. Cats in their own little harnesses romping around America’s cities with their owners. Adorable, I know.
Cats on leashes are all over the internet. From popular Instagram accounts like sukiicat to how-to articles on veterinary websites and even hot-takes in the New York Times, walking your cat on a leash has hit the mainstream. These urban kitties have been trained to defy natural laws by allowing their owners to take them to new, scary places while losing control of their ability to run and hide if something freaks them out. The feat sounds impossible in theory, but it’s actually extremely easy. In fact, from my own experience, I wouldn’t even call it training. I would call it acclimating.
I started taking my cat — Heath — on regular walks. At first, I wasn’t sure he would be the kind of cat that would take to it, especially since he would have to walk down two flights of stairs before getting to the ground to explore. But I wanted to give him the opportunity to test it out, considering we live in a studio with only about 600 square feet to roam. I imagined his life wasn’t very interesting, albeit he did have the dog to mess with during the day. So, my husband and I went to the pet store and picked up a little cat-walking kit — harness, leash and all for around $20.
The first day we put the harness on him, he seemed slightly uncomfortable, but it didn’t bother him as much as I expected. We let him wear the harness for a while around the house until he didn’t notice it anymore, and then I attached the leash and opened the door.
Being a very curious cat, he slowly tip-toed toward the door and sniffed the air. He peaked around the corner to see what was beyond his small reality, and then, he stepped out onto the concrete outside our door.
For a few days he was mostly interested in checking out the space immediately outside our condo, and only with the door open so he could run back inside if needed. There were times I thought he might not want to go out anymore, like when the neighbor surprised him with his German Shepherd. But, he’s a tough kitty, and he continued his explorations.
Once he got down the flights of stairs on his own volition, he discovered the greatness of the outdoors — a bird flew right over his head into a nearby bush, and his prey instincts activated. He creeped toward the bush where the bird landed and leaped. He (luckily) missed the bird, but after that, he was hooked. Now, there are nights where Heath will crawl up to the front door and start patting at the handle, meowing to go outside, and we have chased squirrels and bunnies too.
Is this normal? Are cats writ-large actually okay with walking on leashes after only a few introductions to the lifestyle, or is it just a handful of unique kitties who quickly adapt to it?
Though my cat is special and unique, when it comes to walking on a leash, I don’t think he was an exception. I believe many cats can acclimate to the leash life. I also thinks it’s healthier than locking your cat indoors or allowing it to free-roam.
The advent of the cat-walk
Some of the earliest evidence of leashed felines is documented through ancient art. A marble sculpture of a cat on a leash confronting a dog was created in 500 B.C., suggesting cats were put on leashes almost 3,000 years ago. It may have been a common practice then, but it certainly didn’t travel to the new world as a common form of cat care.
In America, cats have primarily been allowed to roam free, and they weren’t necessarily kept as pets. They traveled with colonists with a specific job — to I kill rats and mice on ships. These cats had a one way ticket to America from Europe and continued to work for colonists killing vermin when they arrived. They generally lived outside, and were slowly brought into people’s homes, eventually being viewed as companion animals. But they were treated as independent, and almost wild, until the 20th century. The first commercial cat food wasn’t available until the early 1900s, and before that, domestic cats hunted their own meals supplemented with scraps from humans. Kitty litter wasn’t even invented until the 1950s by American businessman Edward Lowe.
Though cats are now commonly kept indoors and well-fed by their human companions, the idea of free-roaming felines still persists today, and many municipalities that require dogs to walk on a leash have exceptions for cats. For example, in Anacortes, Wash. (a city I used to work in) domestic cats are exempt from the rules that restrict other animals from legally “running at large.” This common attitude around the country is likely due to cats’ history as vermin hunters, and most states and municipalities don’t have penalties for allowing a pet cat to roam free. However, some cities, such as Raleigh, North Carolina, don’t allow any animal to run at large, which means cats either have to be indoors or leashed.
The idea of cats being leashed has been dismissed by some animal organizations as harmful or stressful, such as the Australian animal welfare group RSPCA. But the Humane Society of the United States recommends it for some cats, with proper training and handling.
Benefits of the leash life
Though letting cats roam freely in and out of the house or locking them fully indoors has been commonplace for years, both decisions have some consequences for your kitty.
If you allow your cat the freedom and independence to explore the outside world alone, they get plenty of exercise and have lots of fun, but you are gambling with their safety. There are lots of hazards out there — cars, predators and diseases, for example. It also poses risks to local wildlife, since domestic cats are great at killing little birds and bunnies. Researchers estimate free-roaming domestic cats kill 1.3 to 4 billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3 billion mammals annually, and they are likely the single greatest source of human-caused deaths of US birds and mammals (since we are responsible for our domestic cat friends.)
Some cats do fine with this lifestyle, and they are savvy enough to avoid dangers, but the stress takes a toll on most kitty’s lifespans. Surprisingly, the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is around 5 years, while indoor cats can easily reach the age of 17 or more.
But keeping your cat safe and indoors means they have to sacrifice the joys of the outdoors. No climbing trees or hanging out with neighbor cats. No strolls in the park. If you don’t supplement this lack of exercise with daily play, and restrict their caloric intake, indoor cats are also at a higher risk of obesity.
So, to minimize the risks of indoor and outdoor life, you can put your cat on a leash. The leash life is the best of both worlds, offering outdoor exploration and exercise, plus safety. Of course there are risks with leashing your cat as well, such as stress from new environments and poorly-fitted harnesses, as the RSPCA warns. However, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks in my opinion. My cat is living proof.
So if you are game to give something new a try, grab a kitty leash and harness and start the cat-walk. Your feline friend may thank you.
