Nine Lives, One Leash
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
The Cat Walk: Jackson Galaxy, a cat behaviorist and television personality, teaches The Times’s Stephanie Clifford how to walk her cat on a leash.
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
Published: December 28, 2011
THERE are outdoor cats and there are indoor cats. When I brought home Mac, a 4-year-old orange tabby, from a shelter last year, I realized I had acquired a demanding combination of the two.
While he liked a cozy bed and two squares a day, Mac had a style that was apparently cramped by my one-bedroom apartment, and he dashed outside whenever I opened the door to my deck, returning hours later.
The idea of walking him on a leash came after a series of unleashed mishaps. He killed a mourning dove, wounded a pigeon, tore a drumstick off a turkey that a neighbor had left cooling in his window and hung from another neighbor’s screen door close to midnight so that she awoke in terror.
Mac wasn’t winning any friends in the apartment building. And I realized that letting a cat get into trouble seven stories above Brooklyn’s streets was dangerous.
But when I cut off his access to the great outdoors, my cat, usually spunky and friendly, threw himself against the door, yowled and attacked my legs with frustration and sharp claws. I’d heard about cat walking on an Animal Planet show, “My Cat From Hell,” (its second season starts Jan. 7), starring a cat behaviorist named Jackson Galaxy. In one episode, he advised an owner to leash-walk his cat as a way to burn off extra feline energy. So I bought a Chihuahua harness and fastened it onto a writhing Mac. He keeled over and refused to budge until I removed it.
Clearly, we both needed professional help.
Mr. Galaxy is one of a growing number of animal behaviorists who believe that training and walking cats is not only possible, but good for the cat. They say that cats need lots of human attention, and are not the solitary, selfish creatures they’re often thought to be: less Mr. Bigglesworth and more Bustopher Jones, the cat about town.
Because cats don’t learn by discipline, owners have only recently begun to see them respond to training as positive reinforcement has become popular, said Stephen Zawistowski, science adviser for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The antecedent is old, he said: Edward Thorndike’s circa-1900 puzzle-box experiments, proving animals could learn behaviors, were performed on cats. “People are developing a broader, more deep bond with their pets, and want to do things with them,” Dr. Zawistowski said.
Walking a cat on a leash strikes a good balance between having an indoor cat that lives to old age but in an unstimulating environment and an outdoor cat that can kill birds or get killed itself. “Here’s a way for your cat to go outside and enjoy the outdoors, but under a protective umbrella,” he said. I scheduled a visit with Mr. Galaxy and set out to make Mac into a pedicat.
With his bandanna, long goatee and many tattoos, Mr. Galaxy looked more like a Harley person than a cat person. He worked at cat shelters for nine years before becoming a professional animal behaviorist (he charges $375 for a two-hour in-home consultation), and believes that almost all cat problems can be solved.
But Mr. Galaxy said cat owners also need some behavior modification. “We don’t say, ‘It’s O.K. to leave a cat for 14 hours at a stretch with an automatic feeder and an automatic litter box,’ ” he said. “That doesn’t work. My advice to people like that is, get fish.”
We started by settling on Mac’s reward: his favorite treats, meat-flavored biscuits called Greenies. From now on, “the only time you’re ever going to give that treat is when you’re working the harness,” he said.
I also had to make sure Mac was hungry when we started each session, so he would respond to the treats. Cats will not do what you want just to please you, unlike dogs, Mr. Galaxy said. “As soon as he’s full, it’s over.”
I fastened the harness on Mac, and Mr. Galaxy told me to give him a treat immediately. “He’s got to know this action equals reward, and he has an attention span of about two seconds,” he said.
Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times
Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times
Mac, the author's tabby, shows how training and patience pay off. No pigeons or mourning doves were harmed during this excursion to the park.
Readers’ Comments
Share your thoughts.
Then, he had me move a few steps away, shake the bag of food at Mac and call him. I’d move back, give him a treat when he approached, and repeat. After about 15 minutes in the harness, Mac’s tail was swishing and he had dropped to the ground.
End it here, Mr. Galaxy said — you want to leave the cat feeling confident. During harness time, Mr. Galaxy was also constantly praising the cat with head pats and lots of “Good boys.” The cat nestled at his feet as soon as the harness was off.
Mr. Galaxy left me with directions to break the walking-outside goal into small steps before finally going out on the street. “For every cat, this side of the line is comfort and on this side of the line is challenge,” he said. “Every day, your job is to keep him at that line and then put one paw over it.” By the next day, Mac started purring when I took out the harness and the treats.
We did take it slow, though. Day 4, out on the deck, Mac would walk a few feet, then sink to the ground. Day 14, he would walk a few feet, then sink to the ground. Day 30, we had made it to the lobby, where he would walk a few feet, then sink to the ground. Or, for variation, he would run up the lobby stairs and hide. How to feel like a chump: standing in an apartment lobby with a clearly terrified cat, one that is wearing a leash.
Mr. Galaxy advised that I make Mac walk a little longer between treats. And if he freaked out, I was to return to the previous setting until he was confident there again. Finally, Mr. Galaxy said, I needed to stop picking up the cat when he seemed nervous, an act that would undermine the cat and teach him to be too dependent on me.
Residents in my building were starting to greet Mac by name, offer him a hand to sniff and ask me about walking techniques or whether they could walk their rabbit. And when we returned to the apartment, Mac would still attack my legs occasionally, but more often he’d rub against my legs then take a nap on top of the television.
On the street, he was still timid. He would flatten himself when he saw a skateboarder, a cement truck or a dog.
I figured that if Mac couldn’t relax on city streets, he might in a park. So I put Mac into his carrier, took the subway and, inside Prospect Park, attached his leash before letting him out of his carrier.
The cat was black-eyed with fear and climbed up my jeans. I tried again, in a no-dogs-allowed area that was wooded and hilly. There, Mac pushed his head out of his carrier, looked around and took a few tentative steps. Then he was off. Tail up, head up, he ran along trails, stepped on logs and crashed through twigs. That cat was walking.
He was moving in a way I’d never seen him move in the apartment, reacting to bird calls with ear twitches, walking leopard-like along fallen trees, burrowing his nose into holes and testing trunks with his paws. He wandered, turned and tangled himself in his leash, and he looked back at me every now and then to make sure I was still with him. Back home, he purred, curled up and slept for most of the day; this is your cat on exercise.
Mr. Galaxy met me and Mac in the park on a cold December day to watch us walk. He was jubilant about the cat’s progress, but had some more advice. When Mac froze at the sight of a dog or a jogger, I shouldn’t freeze, but should calmly redirect his attention by calling him toward a different spot.
Six months after I started, I have a relaxed cat, a new admiration for his pluck and agility and, probably, a growing reputation as the weird cat lady. Taking my cat to the park is a great outing, and if Mac is never going to trot alongside me as I walk to brunch, that’s O.K. He is a cat, after all, and I’ve learned that means he’ll only do what he wants to do.
He’s trained me pretty well, I’d say.
Steps in the Right Direction
WISHING for a pedicat of your own? Here are tips from Jackson Galaxy for training your cat on a leash.
1. Know your cat. If it doesn’t mind being handled, is pretty confident and not easily spooked, it’s probably a good candidate for leash training.
2. Get the right gear. It is not safe to walk cats on a traditional collars; if they escape up a tree, a breakaway collar will detach, while a standard collar can strangle them. Mr. Galaxy prefers two styles of walking jackets, though a harness made for a cat is also fine.
3. Hungry is good. Many cats respond to food treats, so start with a hungry cat. Cut treats into tiny pieces, because when a cat gets full, it will stop working. Only give the cat treats when you’re doing the training, and limit the overall amount.
4. Start small. In the first session, place the harness on the cat with confidence, and fit it snugly but not tightly. The moment you’ve finished putting it on, give your cat a treat. If the cat then falls to the ground and plays dead, give it a treat if it moves at all. If it is willing to try walking in the harness, give it a treat when it takes a step. The moment the cat starts seeming overwhelmed, remove the harness and give a treat to end on a high note. Throughout the process, give lots of praise and head pats.
5. Set goals. Push the cat a little farther each day, by breaking up leash walking into small steps. When it walks around each new area with its tail up, it’s ready for the next step.
6. Expect some setbacks. If the cat is afraid of something, try to redirect its attention to another area. If the cat completely freaks out, retreat to the previous area you were walking until it is confident again. Try not to pick up the cat, which erases its confidence.
7. Be careful if your neighborhood has lots of off-leash dogs; consider taking the cat to an area that’s more protected. Don’t let the cat chew on or lick anything. Substances that are common on streets, like ethylene glycol in radiator coolant, taste sweet to cats but are potentially lethal, says Stephen Zawistowski, science adviser for the A.S.P.C.A.
And prevent your cat from climbing trees on a leash. It’s not safe
It makes me happy to know that people are beginning to train their cats, especially using positive methods. Typically, we really expect less from cats than we do dogs (use the litter box and don't destroy things), and as mentioned in the article, cats are not necessarily "easy to please", though neither are dogs. The proper treats can be motivating for either; after all, we all like working for a paycheck!
http://TheElkaAlmanac.blogspot.com
On Cape Cod where we summer, we have more road traffic and we have coyotes, so I bought a harness and leash, threw it on her and headed outside. She LOVES it--we have a routine which includes walking the beach, sticking her paws into chinks in the stone wall--hoping to find a chipmunk--a little gardening and some squirrel and bird stalking. I cannot say I walk her--really I go where she wants to go--but it's a nice part of our day. She gets exercise and stimulation and I get a few minutes of peace and quiet outdoors with my girl.
I'm an apartment dweller, but have long wished for my own home in order to get a cat fence installed so to make it safe for the cats to roam freely outdoors within a contained area. I recommended this idea to a former colleague with cats who got a cat fence and said his cats love it. This could also work for patios, I'm pretty sure.
Question: for multi-cat homes, should a person get cat jackets for all cats and attempt to work with all at once, or just take turns with their cats putting the jacket and doing the treat training with only one cat? What does Mr. Galaxy say about that?
What is one to do if an agressive unleashed dog is roaming around his property and see's your leashed cat? If he comes racing towards it to rip it to shreds, do you drop the leash and let your cat try and run away? Cats need to be able to use their ability to run up a tree when they see dangerous predators that could kill them, and there is very little a pet owner can do to shield their cat from a large agressive dog that is racing towards them.
There are just too many hazards related to leash walking. Unless you have a large private property, it is best to keep your cats indoor from day one. If they have limited or no knowledge of the outside world, they will not be clamoring to get out. They will be safer as a result, and not susceptible to many of the various diseases that only outside cats can aquire as well.
When we do long outdoor excursions I carry his travel bag with me, and when he gets tired he will stand up against me asking to ride for a bit. In the summer I'll have a battery operated fan that blows in, and water to drink whenever he wants it. He has toured Gettysburg and Manassas battlefields very happily this way.. much to the surprise of others on the public tour who were used to dogs on leashes, but not to cats!
It also makes it much easier to take him to the vet. My older cats have never been harness or leash trained. All new cats in the future will absolutely learn to wear a harness and go out on a leash - it makes life for both of us much easier and more enjoyable!
Off to take Tenzing for a walk on the beach now...he's letting me know he is ready!
She also uses her stroller as her Trojan horse, ducking inside when "hunting" wildlife. Alas, she is not permitted to actually catch said wildlife, but she can approach them incognito.
I spent perhaps 30 minutes teaching her to walk on a leash (using a jar of baby food since she does not like treats). And of course, we did provide the stroller. The rest is completely her idea.
Sometimes I put a harness on them but don't hold the other end. That makes them easier to find and catch, and slows them down a little. But the harness I use is much simpler and more comfortable.
www.facebook.com/jafariunderfoot
You will see a number of tips on being active with your cat on his page (which is in no way a commercial website). Cats are far more trainable and social than people realize. As this article pointed out, many people think that cats just want to be left alone and wonder why their cat is so frustrated by living in isolation. Many of the recommendations made in this article are very solid ideas. Cat DO enjoy being active with their owners, IF trust and proper training have been developed. As with most cat training, it's far easier to begin with a young cat. Older cats may never transition to walking on a leash, but there are other things you can do with your cat to keep it sane and happy.
There are lots of things you can do with a cat that cannot (or will not) go outside. Circuit training is a great way for both the owner and the cat to develop trust, be active, build a relationship, and have fun.
Do some reading and look at the ways other people are working with their cats, then introduce new routines slowly. You and your cat will be much happier and have a much more loving relationship.
We also have trained our cat to wear a harness so we can take him out to our studio when we're out there. I've never been able to walk him to the studio - just harnessed him, leashed him and carried him so he couldn't get away.
I know I can train him, and with these tips, I'll have him walking on a leach in no time!
Fine if you have acres of land--and even then, expect your cats to live much shorter lives. Personally, ours are family members and we want them to stay with us for as long of forever as if possible!
I did have to wear thick sweatshirts though even in summer as he had respectable claws and I sometimes had to pick him up to avert a loose dog encounter. One time a big delivery truck roared up unexpectedly while I was holding him and it was like juggling a chainsaw - my shirt was completely shredded and bloodied. He trained me to get very observant when outdoors - for both our sakes!
I've never had a problem, for example, training cats to come when called. I currently have five kittens, and by three months I could get them to come just by standing at the foot of the stairs and calling "Here, guys, come here!" or by standing where they could see me and tapping my fingers together. And all I did was I called them several times a day and pet them as soon as they came even a little bit closer to me. All it took was time and patience.
This article reminds me of when I was 11 and tried to take my outdoor cat out for a walk but all he did was curl up into the fetal position. However, I now have a feisty indoor tabby who is always trying to get out. Just might give this a try.
For many years, as a cat owner, I always imagined the thrill of being able to leash my cat and go to the park or just go for a walk.
I will watch this video repeatedly, perhaps next time, I could leash a cat and take her for a walk, a leisurely stroll, cat in tow! Meow
NICE!!!!!
(Please do not train your leashed cats to hunt, capture, kill and eat birds while leashed).
I think he might go for a harness like the one on Mac. Where can I get a harness like the one Mac uses? What brand and style is it?
http://bit.ly/TheCats
That said, cat walking does look pretty fun for both cat and human.
Started fighting feral cats when she was less than 5 mons old, had to be spayed at the same time because ruined my windows and started to spend a whole lotta time sitting on the canopener...of all things (vet said get her in yesterday.)
I always had the only cat in a hotel room where an open window is the equivelent of a cat door (and she always came when called, unlike my current dogs.) rip Ducks..14 and died fighting muskrats...just as she would have liked (after having brain cancer (could not be treated so don't get sappy) for almost 5 years.
Anybody got a long haired calico kitten?
Anyway, after searching for her for a year, I had to believe that she was dead. I also knew that she wanted to be reunited as much as I did. And I believed that she would reincarnate - but how would I find her? That was the question I asked her in my heart. The answer came a few days later in 2 dreams on 2 successive nights. First an image of an orange tiger with a black streak on its thigh, then an image of an orange face with a black strike across its forehead. Then I went to the local market and saw a flier with a photo of 4 kittens - the dream cat was one of them.
I got her. My husband suggested we name her something very close to the other cat's name. i couldn't do that - but after trying several other names for 3 months (none of which she responded to - cats DO know their own names, we just have to discover what they are) , I did try the suggested name - and she responded immediately.
She is very much like her former incarnation in this one - the 3rd of her lifetimes in which we've been together (that I know of).
So, Mary, ask her to return, and wait for a message on how you'll know it's her. Best of luck with a reunion.
By the way, to the gentleman who complained that cats don't taste sweets, I believe that is true. But cats will regard even their regular dry food as a "treat" if given in another context than regular feeding. My two kitties get a few bits of regular dry food as treats in the evening - and they think it's wonderful.
To would-be cat owners: Adopt. Spay. Neuter. Repeat. And enjoy!
I and my wife driving to sevenlake national park which is relatively close distance or finding in the central park some relatively silent places, this is absolutely necessary for them, because they love grass and trees.
Cat's as much as dogs love outside but in a different way, never unleash them even they are the most calm one.
Driving car with them is more pleasent than anything, imagine that your cat is sleeping on your shoulder, like expensive fur around your neck , pleasent warm ( in winter it is addictive) also littel massage effect , no stress at all calming you down even in very bad traffic. they really know that place , our cat stayed on my shoulder from NYC to Montauk.
Cats are another delight for outdoor stuff, not them the owners need to adapt, because they are not dogs.
Since he's so food motivated, I taught him to:
sit
shake paw
beg (sitting on hindquarters, torso balanced up)
stand up (standing on hindlegs)
wait (as in, food is there but he can't touch it, boy this was hard for him)
He knows the commands for:
Inside
Outside
Hug
Kiss (he did this one on his own, he makes kissy noises when I kiss him)
Get OFF the godDAMN table! (soon shortened to "OFF!")
Up
Bedtime
I trained him to harness but direction and distance was democratically decided.
I got him as a second hand stray, maybe about 5 years old? He's at least 16 now and looks less than half his age. Has more courage and is friendlier with people than my rescued dog, which is another story.
I immediately tried letting her go loose outside our home and just following her. I set in my mind a distance of 100 feet or so in any direction from our front door (there is no traffic around closer than 300 feet from our door).
When she reached my distance limit, I let her know to stop by scolding her, picking her up (she HATES to be picked up) and then immediately taking her back inside (which she didn't want either).
After one week of this practice she would stay with in the boundary's I'd established (most of the time - she's a cat after all).
She will respond to voice commands and return to me (complaining all the way, but returning none-the-less). I always stay with her.
After over 5 years of this she now is more of a sitter outside, but she does love her "walks".
She is a hunter but not a killer. What she catches she lets go after tryin gto bring them into the house.
We started by putting the harness on - and leaving it on. The cat acclimated to it in about a day, and then it was like wearing a collar: no big deal. We took her outside and put a stake in the ground, attached a short lead, and let her sit while we set up beach chairs and read. She sat for a spell, walked a bit, sat a bit, walked a bit, until after a few hours she was straining at the end of the tether.
From that point on she understood that the leash meant "going outdoors", and she waits eagerly at the door at the first sign of the leash appearance. She also walks into the cat carrier, thinking "this means a trip to fun" (which is usually the RV, but occasionally the veterinarian).
Some days she walks and sits (as cats do) and some days she walks with purpose and covers a lot of ground, and sometimes she jumps on a tree and scrambles up a few feet until I stop her, and it's fair to say "she walks me" rather than the other way around, because it is nothing like walking a dog, but she enjoys it, I enjoy it, and what else is there?
Also, for the person whose dogs were barked at? I apologize for my dog. She's bad with other dogs and no amount of obedience classes has seemed to solve it. We try, but we still get growly sometimes.
I think the cat breeds that are more dog-like respond very easily to the leash. He took to it immediately, though it has taken several years to get him to respond to directional walks on the sidewalk in our neighborhood and not just I'm-out-the-door-let's-run" type of walks. He's six now and prances like a show dog up-and-down the street right next to me.
It can be dangerous sometimes too. There have been two incidences with dogs: the first was frightening as the dogs got loose from a nearby yard and attacked after dark (our Golden Retriever went into defensive mode and amazingly, protected the cat); the second time, a terrier ran up and started barking (the cat was bigger than the terrier). So, I have learned to be extra vigilant, especially at night (which I rarely do anymore).
We have 5 cats, but this particular one has the most energy, and is the only one we have been able to leash-train. He's also the only one to have crossed the US by car four times and visited many New England states as well. He likes to lay on the dashboard on long trips. I have often thought of pasting those old-fashioned travel stickers found on luggage to his cat carrier to show where he has been. Which begs the question: Can we get him to Europe?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-cats-c...
I let Spoon outside in the backyard (fenced in but not escape-proof) on Saturday or Sunday mornings when I can keep an eye on her. When she escapes the yard, I go outside and call for her - "Spoon!" "Spoon!" "Come to Mama!" And eventually she does come home to me. She'll beg to go out at all hours and I simply tell her "Nice cats don't go out in the dark of the night." This seems to convince her that she's not getting out.
simply put, he got a taste of the outdoors and now theres no going back for him. he has a taste for adventure and more importantly, its what makes him happy (or he just obsesses over his territory)
this might be one for the future when i move deeper into the city. you guys can start the trend this way i wont look as crazy with a cat on a leash!
That's what it's really about - the point people so often miss when they think it's all about them;
and thank you for sharing this touching story.
They should be let free at home, but of course socializing them is possible as much as they voluntered or permitted.
Domestic Cat and Dogs are unique animals in evolutionary history, they join homo sapiens evolution voluntarly and adapted or co-evolved. For this reason I never appreciate other than cat and dog adoption, rest of the animals should be free in wild life, snatching poor animals from their wild habitat and bringing in human civilization is one the worst and cruel act.
Feeding and giving shelter to one animal is not always enough, Animal should be adaptive this one so far science discover only two species (may be mouse too) lets be respectful our own evolution, animals evolution but more their life style.
How on earth boa constrictor or Cobra snake can be a pet ?
Next he started directing me to places in the neighborhood he wanted to take me: Constuction sites! I think he loved the dirt and saw dust.
A few years ago we had reports of a coyote in the neighborhood. A neighbor came up to me and said he saw the animal and that it was stalking my cat. The coyote was a young, hungry, skinny female. My cat is a big old male. What was actually happening was the cat was stalking the coyote. He's not afraid of off leash dogs that run after him and certainly not of the wild animal. We chased the poor girl for blocks
We have three other cats. They want to come on our walks. The old male lets them but trains them to walk with us, pay attention when crossing streets, come to me when I whistle and to thoroughly enjoy our time together.
Cars stop when they see the five of us walking together on the sidewalk and peolple point. I know the problem with off leash cats and wild song birds. We teach them to grow out of hunting but not before some kills.
Balancing our animal companions happiness with nature and living inside is tough. They've taken the lead and we do the best to keep up.
I’ve been walking cats on a leash for over a decade. A leash can add a whole new dimension to your indoor cat’s life.
I had unrealistic expectations that I would be taking my cats for a walk The cat is taking you for a walk. We’ll walk a foot or two, then stop to observe flora & fauna. After a while, we’ll walk on , and so on. If you need to walk somewhere, don’t bring the cat.
Most cats will not want to wander very far. There is no point in forcing them to do so. The point of the expedition is your cat’s mental health, not exercise for you.
If your indoor cat is afraid to go out at all, don’t force them. However, you still should get them used to wearing a harness. In the event of an emergency, you may not have a carrying case to put him or her in, or you may need to take the cat out of the case in public. (With increased security at airports and elsewhere, you may very well have to remove your cat from the case at the security checkpoint.) With a harness, it will be much easier to hold onto your friend.
A few other points that I’ve learned:
• Your cat will love nighttime walks.
• Don’t try to walk more than one cat at a time
• Always attach the leash to a harness, not a collar.
The best result has been the end of my cats’ obsession with GETTING OUT.
A leash and harness can be a cheap way to let your cat enjoy the outdoors, and it could be a great help in any emergency.
I think all cats should be indoor cats. Since the cat will likely live longer with no ill effects and does not die painfully by coyote or car tire, it is irresponsable not to.
That's what happened when my (now ex) boyfriend & I attempted to take Pnut out for a stroll on a quiet street in Bed-Stuy. Over 2 weeks, I'd gotten her conditioned to wearing the harness (it had a thin strap around the neck and one around her upper torso). When she was comfortable, I wrapped her in a towel & took her a block way to a quiet side street.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she bolted & ran as far as the leash would allow her, through a fence & into a neighbor's small garden, tearing up the tiny plastic white picket fence meant to delineate it, & uprooting a few plants, too. I was mortified!
Tangled in the fencing, she easily squirmed out of her harness & went bolting down the sidewalk toward an intersection. I freaked! My boyfriend (a pale redhead in a neighborhood of mainly black folks) went bolting after her. A neighbor came out, turned to me & asked: "Is that yours?" I wasn't sure if he was referring to the cat or the boyfriend. But that is beside the point. Everything in these last 2 paragraphs took place over a span of 10 seconds! It doesn't take long for a cat to squirm out of just about anything...
Don't worry. She ducked into a church vestibule & my boyfriend caught her. She lived to squirm another day.
She has trained me well, every morning my meep/meow alarm clock goes off, then it's off to open the blinds, spoon out the food, harness on and outside for a walk to gaze at birds, eat tender grass shoots and charm the neighbors. I love that I always have an excuse to go outside and just "be" for a little while, it makes up for the fact that I live with a benevolent tyrant.
Years later a scientist acquaintance told me of a phenomenon he'd seen when cats have something bound around their mid-sections - they simply collapse and seem to be dead. I don't know about the science in that, but I do know about my "dead" cat in the parking lot. Of course, the cat slipped the leash later and ran away, but did return in the morning to continue the trip to our new home.
After living a few years in New York, I know that New Yorkers are willing to try anything - God bless 'em - and maybe they'll get this "cat on a leash" thing to work. But the cats are just going along with it until they decide not to.
Thank you from from Puskin and Lutsa, and in memory of 42 and Mary Oliver.
When I lived in NYC for 11 years he craved getting out the at door in order to climb the building stairs and hang out every night at 11 pm. That was the highlight of his day. Now that I live in Fort lauderdale I've introduced a leash to him and he enjoys walking on his leash around the condo. It is safe and it makes him so happy. I truly believe that this sense of freedom for him has helped him live longer and happier than the average indoor cat. Otto is truly a special little guy. Thanks for writing this article...!
A few years ago, there was a gentleman at the Crafts Fair at Lincoln Center, and he had a Burmese with no leash who sat at his feet in the crowd and the noise and seemed perfectly content! To this day, I am completely amazed. He said he trained her from when she was a kitten. So yes, cats are very trainable, especially Burmese!
meanwhile, the biggest reason for the decline in song birds is human development destroying their habitat. So if you want to gang up on shopping centers, McMansions, and the like - I'm all for that!
After about four months of collar and leash, always with one "human", each afternoon, she was let out on the porch. She did not seem too interested in leaving familiar territory. Of course, that changed as time went on, extending her territory further, in increments. Fortunately, we have a very solid male indoor/outdoor cat who took the lead and watched over her, but we still stayed on the porch to let her know she had someone in which to return.
Is this optimal? Probably not, but we felt we had given her time to adapt to her environment, and understand where she lives.
However, cats do not heel -- they walk in whichever direction interests them. Often, with two cats, I was pinned to one spot, as they went in opposite directions! It was fun for us all, but it required patience to get them moving in the same direction!
http://catwalkingjacket.com/
Letting your animals out to roam freely is a decision that has many factors-location, the temperament of your pets, neighbors, etc. I don't think there is any hard or fast rule about it.
Many thanks!
The first is that cats can unusually manipulate their shoulders and this means that they can suddenly turn to face you, pull hard and wiggle, and slip out of many if not most harnesses, which they often do if suddenly frightened. Practice a lot indoors with snug behind front legs fit before trusting it outside. But be careful not to restrict breathing.
The second is that most all figure-8 or H-harnesses have a loop around the neck. This means they can pull directly on the throat, especially if the cat jumps or runs forward as they frequently do to investigate a bug or something. It's like getting a punch in the windpipe.
Third, without mentioning brand names, there is a harness and leash combo that avoids the latter two problems because it comes with a bungee-type leash. The cat quickly learns from that mild tugging pressure as it extends, precisely when and how far the leash will suddenly pull taught. This results in no "punch" to the trachea, and no punch even on a leap, because the "collar" part of the included harness pushes on the breastbone, not the throat. Whichever harness you use, a leash that has a bungee effect is always advised and is a real advance in cat walk training.
Check out http://aspcabehavior.org/ and search cat leash training for unbiased authoritative advice and full details of leash training and use. Hope this helps our kitty friends.
but the harness they recommend is NOT one I would use as it is a figure eight harness and my cat pops out or chokes on such a leash. I really like the harness of the type pictured and would recommend it with the same proviso mentioned elsewhere - make sure it fits properly before taking the cat outside. I found mine listed for small dogs and had to get my big (tall not fat) cat the size medium.
Also, I like the training as presented in the Times article better than that presented on the ASPCA site as I could leave the harness draped anywhere near my cat and he would ignore indefinitely but treats he likes and will readily respond to.
Knowing I can pop my cat into a harness was a big relief when we had all the emergency weather - walking or not -being able to put my cat in a harness with a leash left me feeling like I had more options during the various emergencies (think evacuation).
Oh, and they defecate in other's yards, spray, and yowl. So thanks to the author for being a responsible cat owner. There are so few.
A suburban side street, with little traffic, is ideal in my experience for a cat. Then can go outdoors with relative safety and live a natural life, able to hunt and explore AND social with other cats. Cats are territorial and no, your studio apartment is NOT a territory!
Also in winter climates, cats do better in a house with several floors or rooms, so they have room to explore and run about and a variety of environments. This is especially true if you have more than one cat.
Walking a cat on a leash is in my opinion MORE dangerous than letting them run free. All it takes is the sudden appearance of a dog, on or off the leash, and the cat will panic and run up a tree or similar. WIth a long dangling leash, the cat can be strangled -- OR an aggressive dog will catch the leash and pull the cat to his death.
If your circumstances are such that you must live in the city -- follow the advice here. Get a fish tank. Or a caged bird like a parakeet. They do well in captivity.
If you already have a cat in the city, then keep it INDOORS rather than walk it on a leash. Try to give the cat some extra play time, or a companion -- or hire a sitter for a few hours a week to give it some attention.
My first girl was a former farm cat who happily watched birds and squirrels from a city apartment and then from the windows of a suburban VA townhouse. We adopted a second cat to keep her company, but though they were always happy to see us and cuddle, they were fine while we were out during the day. She lived a long and healthy life until succumbing to a tumor at the age of 15.
We now have 2 lovely cats who were adopted from animal rescue. They spend their days cuddled together sometimes, sparring at others, and watching the wildlife in our backyard. They hang out with my kids after school and with us at night.
They LIVED the "natural" life and were happy to be rescued from it, to live in a warm safe house where they have plenty to eat and people to love them.
And most cats will happily do the same.
If you want to pity animals, pity city dogs. Dogs are pack animals. They need constant company and space to play and too many instead live alone confined in small apartments. THOSE are the folks who need to get fish tanks....
I've seen too many dead cats and dogs on the street to ever let my cat outside. Better fat than flat I always say.