Walking a cat on a leash.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I presume you'd have to introduce the cat to it at a very early age, there's no way an older cat would take to it.

Canis Lupus

Our cat used to follow the mother when she took the dog walking.

Or rather the cat would pounce on the dog at random intervals from the hedge along the way.

seven_eleven

That sounds adorable, op.

MurdyWurdy

We took our cat for a walk on a lead for a while. He got badly attacked by another cat and we didn't want him going off around the neighbourhood and getting into fights as he was recovering from surgery. He's not the kind of cat that can be kept in either, he was desperate to be outside. He loved it. We used to take him to the Botanic Gardens and he'd walk around, explore in bushes, climb up trees (we had an extendable lead) and then we'd all sit in the grass together and have a rest. People thought it was the maddest thing but he also became very popular. Our cat is quite laid back - I can't imagine it working for a lot of cats with different temprements. He was already a year old by the time we did it and it didn't bother him. I should see if I can dig out a photo of him.

Then, a week or two after we started I saw the neighbours walking their cat and I said "oh, you walk your cat too" but it was one of those crappy tiny tiny dogs. They were not impressed and we were never on good terms after that!

Oh and you need a special cat harness, not a normal lead and collar. They can pull at the collars and choke themselves and it's a bit uncomfortable. Cat harnesses have a collar part but also loop around their middle so it's more comfortable.

3qsmavrod5twfe

I was in San Francisco around September and I saw a weirdo walking round the place with a cat on his shoulders - I mean wearing it like a scarf. He then proceeded to get on the bus.

Granted, this was on Mission Street where earlier I had seen a pair of pants lying abandoned on the footpath to be quickly followed with a giant turd beside a tree. No dog was responsible for that particular turd.

Tar.Aldarion

Just bought two categories harnesses and a sled. This gonna be good

Franticfrank

I also saw a guy walking a cat on a leash in France. It seems to be the style there. Haven't seen it in Ireland yet though.

Frere Jacques

I used to get some pretty strange looks when I used to walk our two cats. The backround was that they were dropped into the vets as 6week old kittens as the owners got bored of them. The were due to be destroyed but my missus was having none of it. However we were living in the middle of a city at the time, in a flat just after a Y junction in a busy road. There was a small back garden and some room in the front to park the cars, the cats were always mad to get out so we went to the pet shop and bought small size dog harnesses and two leads. The cats absolutely loved it. When we left them into the small back garden we would let go of the leads and they would wander around, getting stuck every now and then but in general it worked well.
In the front we held onto the leads.
Two funny stories;
At one stage I was out with the two out the front when our new neighbour came out with their Rothwieler (no leash). The dog came charging out at us and I pulled the cats back to our door. Louis, the male, broke the light harness and charged the dog. The dog yelped and turned tail.
Louis 1, Scaredy Dog 0.
I know if the dog was familiar with his surroundings it might have been a different matter, but watching my small cat trying to flying punch a big dog was quite funny.
On another day I was out enjoying the evening sun with the cats out the front when I heard a lad upstairs at the window of the neighbouring three story house (they were all small flats). He was on the phone, his conversation went " I swear, I'm not fuggin kiddin. No, they're not dogs, they're fuggin cats....Yeah...leads...I swear to God."
Laughing I shouted up to him. "Here mate, they are on leads for your protection, they are vicious." The fact I'm 5'10" and 13 stone used to give our friends a great laugh. There was offers of electric pink jackets and bum bags to complete my "look". Still the cats were very happy, which made my wife happy which meant a happy easy life.
End of the story, both cats are now 9. We own a house with a large back garden and the cats have the full run off the place from dawn till dusk, no leads, free to come and go, and they still sleep on top of our bed in the winter.
Life is good.

MurdyWurdy

Frere Jacques wrote: »

I used to get some pretty strange looks when I used to walk our two cats. The backround was that they were dropped into the vets as 6week old kittens as the owners got bored of them. The were due to be destroyed but my missus was having none of it. However we were living in the middle of a city at the time, in a flat just after a Y junction in a busy road. There was a small back garden and some room in the front to park the cars, the cats were always mad to get out so we went to the pet shop and bought small size dog harnesses and two leads. The cats absolutely loved it. When we left them into the small back garden we would let go of the leads and they would wander around, getting stuck every now and then but in general it worked well.
In the front we held onto the leads.
Two funny stories;
At one stage I was out with the two out the front when our new neighbour came out with their Rothwieler (no leash). The dog came charging out at us and I pulled the cats back to our door. Louis, the male, broke the light harness and charged the dog. The dog yelped and turned tail.
Louis 1, Scaredy Dog 0.
I know if the dog was familiar with his surroundings it might have been a different matter, but watching my small cat trying to flying punch a big dog was quite funny.
On another day I was out enjoying the evening sun with the cats out the front when I heard a lad upstairs at the window of the neighbouring three story house (they were all small flats). He was on the phone, his conversation went " I swear, I'm not fuggin kiddin. No, they're not dogs, they're fuggin cats....Yeah...leads...I swear to God."
Laughing I shouted up to him. "Here mate, they are on leads for your protection, they are vicious." The fact I'm 5'10" and 13 stone used to give our friends a great laugh. There was offers of electric pink jackets and bum bags to complete my "look". Still the cats were very happy, which made my wife happy which meant a happy easy life.
End of the story, both cats are now 9. We own a house with a large back garden and the cats have the full run off the place from dawn till dusk, no leads, free to come and go, and they still sleep on top of our bed in the winter.
Life is good.

What a lovely story - sounds like your cats are very lucky and very loved - it put a big smile on my face Our cat now has full access to a garden etc but after another incident of getting beaten up (seriously, he's tiny and picks fights) he's scared to go far from the house. After reading this thread I may take him out for a walk this weekend.

sfwcork

I saw aguy walking a car in cork city few weeks ago,Nearly crashed my car looking

SEPT 23 1989

There was a strange man who lived in the Dublin suburbs who used to walk a duck on a lead

annascott

When I was a child, my neighbour used to take her rabbit for a walk on a lead. Sometimes I went with her. Whenever we saw a dog, she would lift the rabbit and try to hide it under her coat.

Firefox11

......and the domestication of the cat continued unabated.:)

neilthefunkeone

Sure why not bring them for a cycle too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTLsAnxUwzQ

elleelle19

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I presume you'd have to introduce the cat to it at a very early age, there's no way an older cat would take to it.

I was minding my parents cat one year when they went on hols, brought him to my apt and got him a harness so he could get out a bit without getting lost. He was around 6 yo at the time and he loved it, started thinking he had a bondage fetish

silvervixen84

My uncle in New Jersey takes his cat for a walk all the time. I also have a friend in Cobh who used to walk her cats around her estate on leashes.

I put a makeshift leash on my cat before and she just started walking backwards :pac:

rainbowtrout

I had a cat that took a disliking to being fed cat food and moved in with the neighbours who had taken to feeding it ham, rashers, chicken etc without my knowledge until I spotted them doing it one day. But the damage was done at that stage. She moved into the neighbours kennel with their two dogs and gets on like a house on fire with them apparently.

I see the neighbours bringing the two dogs for walks regularly on our estate and the cat is always in tow. She's not on a lead, but she always goes for the walk with them. Funny sight to see.