I wrote a little about the often often undervalued art of cat-walking in the prologue of Under The Paw, but I think I would have struggled to fill out an entire book about it. Steven Jacobson and Jean Miller, however, have done. Walk Your Cat could easily be mistaken for a humour title, the kind of concept the creators of the brilliant Dancing With Cats and Why Cats Paint might have come up with, but it does actually appear to be a serious guide, and even comes complete with a harness and leash. Much as I'd like a companion for my low-level adventures in the East Anglian countryside, I don't think I'll be purchasing and following up my ill-fated rambling experiment with Shipley circa 2004.
7 comments:
I can picture the scene (I'm thinking ultimately very messy) if I tried attaching a leash and walking The Tig...
"What do you mean, you want me to walk on the path? What's wrong with walls and roofs? And what is this ridiculous "heel" business? Am I a Dog? Stupid human! While we're at it, it's very unsporting to attach the clothy-shimmery thing where I can't fight it to the death. Just wait 'til you take it off, I'll show both of you who's the boss around here..."
I shall decline to purchase such an article. I have no desire to bolster the profits of Elastoplast any more than I have already!
I look forward to reading this book. My beautiful beloved QT got run over 3 weeks before his 1st birthday on a road just outside the flat.That was 10 yrs ago. I decided there and then that my cats will not go outside unless on a leash and harness. It took them some getting used to. The ones I trained since young age are fine with it. The same training as with putting the colar on for the first time - just live it on :) 1 is not too comfy with it, but is happy to go out at all. Only Charlie who was a stray is still not happy with it. He knows exactly how to get out of it, so I have to be with him everytime. But the leash and harness have allowed them to have some freedom, and me to have a peace of mind.
Cat harness is far the best invention if you want your cats safe on the city roads. Some people give you funny looks, but once I explain about QT they understand and then become interested in the idea asking me more questions.
Nowdays my cats get excited as soon as I pull the harness out. Garden, here we come!
Oh dats a goods book! Mawmee needs ta teach us how ta goes on walks!
katie too
I will not be trying this.
I put a leash on Squeak one time when we moved house....BIG mistake, he turned into a completely different cat and went feral before my eyes.
This was over a year ago and I still have a rather deep scar on my left wrist as a reminder.
My ex got the bright idea of buying a harness and leash and taking each of our indoor-only rescued cats out for walks when we bought land in the desert. Not one of our cats cared anything about it; a stimulating, interesting, comfortable and loving indoor environment is their unanimous preference. But if you do try walking your cat, remember to use a harness that's safe and specifically designed for cats, rather than a dog harness, or worse yet, a collar and leash. Cats ARE NOT dogs.
We tried the whole leash/harness thing. Mia didn't try to attack us, she just lay down and refused to move at all! Thankfully she's a sofa/windowsill/potch in the (enclosed) back garden kinda girl. It has come in handy for the vets though - she turns into a spitting hurricane of doom when forced into the carrier, but will happily and politely sit on my lap in the back of the car with harness and lead on, just in case she ever tried to move.
My cat Tansy (a rescue kitten) quite happily and voluntarily used to come for walks with me when I was pram pushing (many years ago). It was one of those Kensington Gardens London Nanny type prams with big wheels and a tray underneath and when he got tired he would just nip onto the tray for a ride. I did have a lead for him but rarely bothered to put it on. He also used to love to ride in the car - on the back parcel shelf looking out. But don't try this yourself unless you are really sure that your cat won't (a) wander round the floor under your feet or (b) try to jump out via a window or door when you stop.
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