Do you take your cat for a walk?
After a long, hard day at work, wouldn’t it be a good stress reliever to go out and take a walk … with your cat? It sounds strange enough, but there are people who have a harness and a leash made especially for their felines so that they do not miss the opportunity to go outside and get some exercise.
Today, it is recommended that cat parents do their cats indoors only. There are too many dangers of having a house cat roaming around and coming into contact with another animal (or who knows what else!) And getting hurt or contracting some kind of illness. But cats still need some exercise to stay healthy.
Cats can be trained
Cats can be trained to be leashed, although it is not the same type of training that you would use with your dog. The keys to training a cat on a leash are patience and perseverance; The process is long and can take months to get your cat used to the harness and leash (a collar and leash will not work on a cat because they could easily slip off).
Training involves a series of steps that should be progressed slowly and only when your cat is ready. It may take your cat weeks to get used to wearing a harness and leash around the house before you are ready to practice outside (this is where patience comes in). Your cat can also get very distracted by the harness or try to wrestle on the leash, at which point it’s time to take a break and come back to it later (this is where perseverance comes in).
Some cat experts beg to differ
Arguing against the concept of a cat needing to go outside to exercise, feline experts insist that sufficient stimulation can be provided to a cat that is only indoors by playing with them and providing them with entertaining toys and supports to climb.
Also, cats and dogs don’t react in the same way when something scares them. What if there is a noisy truck or dog that decides to come over and investigate the situation while you are out for a walk? Your cat could try to run away, perhaps hurting himself or even you.
It’s also debated that once you give your cat a taste for the outdoors, they may want to go outside all the time and run for the door when it’s open. Potentially, you could have a fugitive on your hands every time you come and go.
Leash Laws for Cats
In addition to pet experts making a move to make house cats exclusively indoor cats, now some cities are forcing it. For residents of New Orleans, Dallas, Green Bay, and Houston (and a couple dozen other municipalities in the US), if owners want their cats outside, they need to be on a leash. Cats allowed “loose” can end up in neighbors’ yards leaving a mess or killing other wildlife, two big reasons these cities have enacted the leash law.
It’s up to you
It’s not uncommon these days to walk through Central Park in New York or other areas of the US and see a couple of cats on a leash. Ultimately, the decision to take your cat for a walk is up to you. Even if your city has a leash law, you can always make the effort to play with your cat indoors for exercise so that outdoors is not necessary. If you want to work with your cat on leash training, starting very early in his life and getting him used to the concept could give you a greater advantage than starting when he’s older.