Did I Do Wrong?

[Mother Dragon]

We have a 7 year old Russian Blue we adopted from the Humane Society when he was 6 months old. He's a big guy and very hard-headed, but loving.

A few years ago we tried walking him on a regular leash in the back yard, but quit after a couple of times when he tried to go under the fence. He was half-way through and had shifted into four-paw drive, with my husband pulling on the leash. My husband finally got a grip on him and retrieved him. That ended the walks. Darwin seemed OK without them.

About six months ago, Darwin suddenly tried to get out the patio door. He made it a couple of times, but my husband captured him and brought him back in. Darwin began sitting on his plump rump and scratching on the glass patio door and howling like a demented fire engine. He has a voice that would make you long for fingernails on a blackboard.

He seemed so miserable that we ordered one of those wonderful Cat Wallet harnesses. They fasten well with Velcro and it's very hard for a cat to escape. My husband began taking him out for 10-15 minute walks in the back yard and Darwin loves it. His nose works overtime, like a rabbit's on speed. He tastes every blade of grass and pine needle but never finds one worth eating. He's learning not to go under the raised plant supports in the garden when my husband tells him, "no!" and locks the leash.

All has been well until he discovered another cat under the motorcycle trailer. That cat likes to walk in front of the patio door and bay window to taunt our cats, so there was no love lost from the beginning. They both began growling and hissing and a fight was about to break out. My husband instinctively picked Darwin up to get him away from the other cat. Darwin didn't know what was happening and turned into a shark attached to four chain saws. The upshot was that my husband spent almost three days in the hospital from the cat bites. It's a good thing Darwin was up-to-date on his shots. My husband is still on very strong antibiotics.

Which brings me to the big problem. Darwin now constantly sits at the patio door, scratching on the glass and screeching pitifully. He comes over to us and goes back to the glass door. It's very clear that this guy just wants to stay outside. That's not going to happen, of course, and we can't walk him constantly. He seems miserable, although he's happy for a while after he comes in. He seems a lot more sociable overall, too, so the walks have had a positive effect him. It's just that he's so brokenhearted that he can't go out at will.

We don't know his history. Perhaps he was an outside cat before we got him. Maybe that's why he wants out. I do know we've never let any of our cats stay outside and never will.

We don't have room to build a catio and it's usually too hot here anyway (the heat index at 5 p.m. was 111 yesterday). We don't know how to make him happy.

Did we do wrong by starting to take him on walks? What do we do now? It breaks my heart to see him so unhappy.

 

[BombayKittyLover]

Yikes! Poor Darwin. If you wanted to keep taking him on walks you probably could walk him somewhere else.
Maybe across the street or take him to a park. If the problem is that you don't have time you could hire a pet sitter. Then again, that might not work either.
It could be that Darwin likes the exercise. You could try playing with him more and possibly just trying to get him outside more often, walking him somewhere else.
Leave more windows open on cooler days. That way Darwin can look outside and hear the sounds that he normally would on walks.
If you find a way to get the cat under the motorcycle trailer out, that would make it more convenient for you to take him on walks.
Good luck Mother Dragon and Darwin!

 

[Mother Dragon]

Thanks for the great thoughts. We're continuing the walks because he loves them so much. My husband checks under the trailer before he takes Darwin out now. So far, no cat. After his walk this morning, my husband it going to try sitting in his lawn chair and letting Darwin roam the length of his leash to see how he does.

Unfortunately, there really aren't cooler days coming for a very long time. The heat indices have been running 110-112 every day, and that's taken in the shade at about 5:30 in the afternoon, when it's supposed to cool off a bit. It will finally get down into the low 80s about November. Therefore the walks have to be taken before 7 a.m. and preferably around 6 a.m.

The original plan was for Darwin to accompany my husband on his daily morning walks, or at least part of them. He walks about 2.5-3 miles, which is too much for Darwin's little paws. I was thinking of letting Darwin walk until he got tired and then putting him in a pet stroller for the rest of the walk. Darwin is, to put it delicately, portly, so I'm sure he would take a very long time to work up to longer walks. My husband isn't too keen on the stroller idea because of some terrain issues.

We live in a suburban area, but we do have sidewalks. Perhaps as Darwin gets more used to the area we cana take him into the front yard.

Darwin likes to play with a cat dancer or a laser beam, but he quits after about two minutes max. Then he expects them to come to him as he lies down. However, if he chooses to attack a toy, it takes a beating for several minutes. He's just not a ball of fire, although the vet says he's completely healthy.

They just came back in and my husband says Darwin finally wore himself out and plopped down on the grass to rest. I guess that's a good thing. He's at the door, which is open to the screen right now and he's already howling, although it may be because he sees my husband outside. He has separation anxieties when my husband goes into the back yard and Darwin can see him. He cries until my husband comes back in. The poor little guy could do with a lot of therapy from a good cat psychologist. However, the one nearby charges almost $200/hour. She's a board-certified feline behaviorist, but still, that's hard on a retiree's budget.

I guess we'll have to play it by ear and hope he finally settles down.

Again, thanks for the great response.

 

[Anne]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear your husband suffered such injuries! Infections from cat-induced injuries can be very serious. I'm glad he's doing better now

Darwin is very lucky to have such dedicated owners. If you're still considering the issue, there are alternatives to walking a cat on a harness. We've covered some of them in this article: How To Keep Your Cat Safe Outdoors.