Comments on catwalking

[ZombieTiger]

Hope this is the right forum for this kind of question.

I'm training my kitten to walk on a leash and wondered what kind of comments I should expect when we start going outside. Cats on leash is pretty rare where I live and considered borderline animal cruelty by a lot of people (but not so much if the cat is a purebred for some reason ).


What kind of positive/negative, weird or downright crazy comments have you been met with when walking your cat?

 

[Talien]

I live in farm country and nobody around here cares, I've not had anyone give so much as a second glance when I'm walking one of my Cats. It really does depend on where you live.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Good for you! We don't usually see folks on our wanderings but when we do I pick Gypsy up and let her sniff their fingers and she usually allows them to pet her. In 4 yrs of meanderings with her we have had no negative interactions. They say how pretty and comment on how soft she is. Of course everybody remarks that they have never seen a cat on a leash. We always carry a walking stick and gel pepper spray just in case we need to protect her or ourselves. Good luck you'll do fine,

keep us posted.

 

[Purr-fect]

I would just tell everyone that we couldnt afford a dog.

Our little motu (8 lb cat) would just walk beside us, all the way around the block....a full kilometer! No leash, no harness...just ran along beside us with her tail sticking straight up in the air, like she owned the whole neighbourhood.

That girl had chutzpah.

 

[amethyst]

I would just tell everyone that we couldnt afford a dog.

Our little motu (8 lb cat) would just walk beside us, all the way around the block....a full kilometer! No leash, no harness...just ran along beside us with her tail sticking straight up in the air, like she owned the whole neighbourhood.

That girl had chutzpah.

That reminds me of my CJ, she goes for walks with me when I take the dogs out for a walk around the property. I live on an acreage so we normally get a km or two in on average wandering around the property, she pretty much stays within a few feet of us the whole time, and will come when called or if we get too far away. She is harness and leash trained, but she likes to do her own thing, like hunt or dart under things, which can be a problem with a leash attached.

 

[ArchyCat]

Tell folks you left your dog in the rain. Not only did it shrink, but it changed species!

 

[betsygee]

We walked our cat around our property and cul-de-sac and almost never saw anyone else. I’d post photos on social media sometimes of one of the cats on a leash and I don’t think anyone ever commented.

 

[bengalcatman]

I have walked Makena in public parks and people often express surprise and sometimes have questions, nothing really negative. In any case, I would not be overly concerned what anyone says or thinks: just go have fun with your cat. Your cat will think the world of you, and that matters more.

I have found that for the most part, Makena likes places away from people, which is my preference as well.....so that is where we go. It was good to get him acclimated to public places so he could go to different parks with us. He is very bold and adventurous so having more places to go was good for him

We do have another leash trained cat, June Bug, but she is far too timid to endure being in a public place. She much prefers being out in the courtyard with us.

 

[Danneq]

The closest I've come to a negative comment is someone chuckling awkwardly because they think it's weird. Most people are just delighted and curious.

 

[Antonio65]

I can't figure it out in what country people would look upon a person who is walking their cat and think it's a case of cruelty.

I've been walking the cat in my avatar for years (she's at the Bridge now) and in most cases people didn't care the least, or just looked at us and walked past.
In years of cat walking, only two persons stopped to ask or to watch us closely. I remember one lady that was walking on the other side of the street and was talking on the phone in Romanian (I live in Italy) and the only word I understood in her language was "pisica", meaning "cat" in Romanian. She was clearly telling the person on the other side of the phone she had seen a cat on the leash. Then she stopped and asked me from across the street if my pet was really a cat or a dog looking like a cat, she was pleasantly surprised and walked away.

I, myself, have seen many people walking their cats on a leash, on public streets, parks, parking lots. Once, in France, I saw a crazy lady who was walking her cat at a gas station on a highway side! In my opinion she was crazy because should the leash or harness have failed, her cat would be dead in seconds.

My cat on the leash in my backyard.

 

[Purr-fect]

The closest I've come to a negative comment is someone chuckling awkwardly because they think it's weird. Most people are just delighted and curious.

I once saw an old lady walking her cat on a leash. It was a fairly busy street.

I was so happy for the two of them, I stopped my truck and went over to meet her and the cat.

I think she thought i was a bit of an idiot. Her reaction was........whats the big deal. Guess at her age she had seen just about everything. The cat wasnt very interested in me either.

But having walked my little motu, I know how rare it is and how much joy and stimulation it brings in to the animal and owners life.

I was happy and excited for them...grinning from ear to ear when I left them.

 

[klunick]

I took Boone and Gracie outside on a harness/leash for the first time yesterday. Both were scared at first but eventually walked around the porch a little. Gracie was more adventurous until a UPS truck drove down our road. She literally jumped halfway up the door trying to get inside.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I've been wanting to start walking Flora because she has so much energy and she's been scaling the catio and getting out (I need to put a cover over it soon). I'd love to take her on some of my hikes with me. She'd also be easier to carry if she can't do 6 miles with me.

 

[lucho]

Lol, early on we wanted to accustom Pantera to using a leash so we could take her places. From the outset Pantera was fine with wearing a leash, but never collaborated. She goes where she wants not where we want. She's more than a little stubborn, and we finally gave up. The leash does come in handy when we need to take her to the vet. Pantera handles visits to the vet much better on a leash than in a cat carrier box

 

[Antonio65]

She goes where she wants not where we want. She's more than a little stubborn, and we finally gave up.

Don't give up, eventually she will walk next to you... sort of...
It took several months/a year at least, to have my previous cats used to the leash.

My current kitty is still dragging me, rather than I leading her, but she's 1 yo, so it's like a stubborn girl who doesn't accept rules... yet. In time she will, I am sure of this.