Should I Take My Cat for Walks?

My husband and I share our home with 5 cats and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Our oldest cat is Tilly. She is an indoor/outdoor cat.  She comes and goes happily through the catflap.  She is a rescue (big shout out to the RSPCA Wallasey!) and doesn’t venture far.  She doesn’t like to climb trees, she hunts very occasionally and can generally be found curled up somewhere in the garden.  She also doesn’t pay any attention to the plants so we are more than happy to let her explore outside.

And then there are “the boys” – Travis, Jasper, Oscar and Otis.  Travis was the first on the scene.  We let him out and after a brief spell of incertitude, he scaled the garage, climbed up the trees and over the fence and boy could he run quickly! Panic set it!  We decided there and then that he would be, for our peace of mind, a housecat.  Then along came Jasper, quickly followed by Oscar and Otis.  

Although the boys are housecats they do have a roomy catio with plenty of shelves in the garden so they get to enjoy the outdoors safely and enjoy the birds with the added bonus of not being able to catch them!  We can even sit inside the catio with them and often do so - especially in the summer.

We introduced the boys to a harness as kittens as we wanted them to be familiar with our immediate surroundings in case they ever got out and were worried that they might get bored even though they have lots of toys.  All the boys love their walks and Tilly tends to tag along too.

They all have their own harness and lead.  Oscar quite often gets his cat harness out of the toy box and sits at the kitchen door meowing to go out.  We have to take them out one by one as walking a cat is not like walking a dog.  For a start, a dog goes where you go.  Walking a cat is really about accompanying a cat while he/she wanders about and has a good sniff.  They go at their own pace, stopping here and there and rolling in the grass or in the middle of the road! 

We never venture far and are lucky to live on an extremely quiet road.  We know how far and where to take them and most importantly where any potential danger lies – traffic, dogs and other cats. This is so important because a cat’s natural instinct is to flee when stressed.  We would never take them to a park or along a busy road due to traffic and off-lead dogs.

Whilst the general advice says cats should not be walked as cats don’t like being restrained, certain breeds, such as Bengals, are high-energy cats, definitely not lap cats and can be trained to walk on a leash/harness.  

Walking a cat using a harness is not without risk.  Some cats love it, others hate it so you should be guided by your cat.  You should never force your cat to do anything out of their comfort zone.

Our boys absolutely love it and so do the neighbours for that matter! 

 For more information about taking your cat for a walk, take a look at our previous article Should I Walk My Cat On a Lead?

Sandra James

Owner & Founder

The Cat Butler was set up by Sandra James in recognition of the fact that a stay in a cattery can be unsettling for many cats and also their owners.