Walk your Cat

              

Cairo had always been an indoor cat, but in our dog Bijou’s elderly, incontinent years we started leaving the door cracked four inches or so to allow her easy access to the backyard (there are no Depends for dogs!) and Cairo would take advantage of that on rare occasion and sneak out for a quick little adventure. One such September night in 2014 would be his last.

              

After losing our dog the following spring to old age, we swore off pets for awhile like many grieving pet-owners do. But unless you are a true vagabond, animals really do enrich our lives immeasurably. 

It is my firm belief that cats are – pound for pound – the Greatest Pet of Them All because they bathe themselves, toilet in a litter box (which you can even put outside in a protected “catio,” or opt for one that cleans itself – we have both), eat their food on demand (do you get it? You put dry food out and they eat what they like throughout the day so you don’t have to be home by dinnertime), and walk on leash.

Wait what?

Yes, I wanted an outdoor companion to accompany me on my outings sometimes, but without the potty-training or feeding requirements of dogs (not to mention the noise and destructiveness.) But I really did want a pet to be able to come along with me to the Farmer’s Market, or to the park.

I once saw a cat on leash at the Mission Federal Art Walk and I took photos of it and made a big fuss: was his owner some kind of warlock who was using witchcraft to get the cat to walk on leash without freaking out? I mean don’t get me wrong – the cat wasn’t perfectly heeling with his owner’s stride like a well-trained bird dog, but it wasn’t freaking out, either. It was about as good on leash as our old dog had been, who was never trained very well but who very much enjoyed her walks anyway, which we were happy to give her, even if she pulled ahead sometimes, or stopped completely other times.

Well it turns out that cats enjoy their walks too, and very much. Scientist Dr. David Grimm, Deputy editor of Science magazine, has now written for the New York Times publicly calling for cat owners to do what dog owners have done for centuries: leash up their pet for a stroll. He cites multiple reasons for the mandate, most revolving around the simple fact that today’s domestic cats have the same yearning to explore their external surroundings as their larger and wilder counterparts, and failing to give them that stimulation can result in lethargy and depression. 

I would also add these important reasons for walking your cat outside:

• Munching on grasses is a normal and beneficial bonus for your cat’s digestive system;
• Fresh air and sunshine clear their lungs and generate vitamin production, just like they do in us;
• The dynamic, changing world out-of-doors exercises cats’ imagination, and gives them new things to think about, just like it does for us; 
• Hunting the occasional insect, gently-floating leaf, or lizard (we rescue all the lizards!) satisfies their hunting urges and gives them bursts of exercise and excitement, plus the occasional bite of bug protein; and
• Walking together provides excellent bonding time.

Veterinarians point out that while fresh air and sunshine are incredibly beneficial for domestic cats, the threat of injury or death by car, predator, or disease make simply letting cats outside without leash protection totally non-negotiable from a risk standpoint. They usually say the same about dogs, but you never hear anyone calling for dogs to be condemned, forever shut-ins, inside our homes. So why should cats fall victim to such life imprisonment? What did they do to deserve that?

Wildlife advocates have also railed against unfettered cat-roaming for the protection of native wildlife (birds, rabbits, and lizards, to name a few), many of whose numbers have noticeably dwindled under the proliferation of the free-roaming domestic cat.

I can speak from experience that while our cats will still succeed in making lizard catches on occasion while on leash, we have yet to lose a lizard, since the cats hold them lightly in their mouth in order to take their prize into seclusion where they intend to eat it. All it takes is a quick, light pinch of the cat’s jaws (at the point they connect to the skull) between one’s thumb and index or middle finger and their jaws loosen just enough for the lizard to spring free and scramble to safety.

Our cats are so accustomed to their daily walks that they will “meowl” (“meow” + “howl,” I just created it) if the day has stretched on too long without their outside time, reminding me that it’s time to get them out. 

As a parent of humans (part Neanderthal, to be sure), I charge our children with taking the cats for their walks daily, which teaches the kids responsibility, but it also help them to stay bonded with their pet in a special way while also serving as a little “downtime” for the kids. When else do you have the luxury to spend 20 minutes just watching the bees drift from plant to plant, maybe catching the sunset, or noticing new blooms on a bush? Our eldest takes her iPod along and listens to her favorite music while perfecting her photography and photo-composition skills. This is, truly, quality time. In fact, all the photos in this post were taken by her!

So how can you get started training your cat? Here’s a quick action list to help you get started:

1. Consider your cat’s temperament when setting goals. We have two cats: Ginger is our bengal cat – a total extrovert and a fearless little ham, so she’s the one who always sits in the carrier basically asking us to take her for a ride in the car to enjoy some new adventure. Gretel, our savannah cat, is extremely shy and won’t even approach most adults in our house – yet she still loves her walks in our quiet backyard. Gretel will avoid her walk only if some other adults are outside – like a gardener using a blower, for example. So we know better than to bring her with us to the park or Farmer’s market. Understand what kind of cat you have, and set reasonable goals from there.
2. Pick up a harness – preferably adjustable, for best fit. I know that my link takes you to a dog harness, but that’s what we’ve used since our cats have reached adulthood. When training a kitten, try a large ferret harness. You’d be surprised how much tinier cats’ ribcages are than dogs’!
3. Start by getting your cat used to having just the harness on at first, without the leash attached. Our cats always do a funny thing with their back when we clip it on: it looks more like the “cow” part of “cat/cow” in yoga, and it’s because they are sensitive to touch along their spine. Don’t be discouraged by this: it’s totally normal since cats are just not built to carry weight on their back like many dogs have been bred to do. They will eventually walk just fine. I think that when we first started putting the harnesses on, our cats tipped over like little falling trees. So funny! But it’s just them getting used to that feeling. Remember that they probably didn’t like their collar at first, either.
4. After a week or two of regularly wearing their harness indoors, try clipping the leash on. At first they might freak out that something attached to their harness is chasing them! You can follow and pick up the leash to relieve them of the weight of it, and to show that you are right there with them, connected to them. Try only a minute at first. Stop for a day or two if it seems traumatic. But like any habit, they will get used to it if you persist. 
5. Walk them around the house. Let them lead and you follow, holding the leash with as much slack as you can muster.
6. Graduate to letting them outside, maybe first just on a patio or an area when they can’t get away from you too easily.
7. Train them comfortably yourself before letting your kids do the walking. I did all of this training myself and graduated to the cats going outside regularly before handing the reins over to my kids; you’ll want your kids to know that you trust them, but also to watch out for things like tree-climbing. Turns out that cats are just as good at climbing trees with a leash on as they are without one, so don’t let them climb too high or you will get yourself into a situation!
8. Take them to a quiet park (if they have the temperament), and then to increasingly busy places. I’ve found that our Ginger is unflappable, so she’s come with us to bustling Farmer’s markets and laid there like she owned the place. Know your cat!

Thanks for reading, and happy #catwalking! 😉