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Cats on A Leash

Animal Radio
We have four studio cats here at Animal Radio® that will walk on a leash. Fortunately, we never had a problem with them, as they took immediately to being walked. But, of course, unlike a dog, they go where they want to go – not where you want them to go!

Jean Miller, along with Steven Jacobson, wrote the book, Walk Your Cat: The Complete Guide. Jean states that she has been walking her cats for around 8 years and she is able to direct them as well. She doesn’t pull on the leash, but she ”tuggles” the leash (an easy little tug with direction) to get them to go where she wants them to go.

One of her goals is to change the way people think about walking cats and she would like to make it as normal as walking a dog. She gets mixed reactions from people when walking her cats with some people who think it is fantastic, to others who state it’s not a dog and shouldn’t be on a leash! A lot of people also don’t think its safe to walk a cat.

Jean offers advice for those training their cat. If the cat just lies there in the beginning of training, it probably has not associated the harness and leash with going outdoors, which is the reward and motivation. If the cats lies there later on, they could just be refusing to go where you want to go.

To those people who think that cats can’t be walked on a leash or directed where to go - they’re wrong! Check out the video at http://www.walkyourcat.com.