Never Have I Ever Been Asked…
Walking your cat is still not a normally accepted thing. The adventure cat community is growing, but it is still rare to see a cat outside on leash for most people. And that leads to some common comments, questions, and remarks from people we meet on the trails. We hope that most of you have positive experiences, but of course we know that is not the case for everyone. We asked you guys on Instagram (@thehikingcatco) to give us some examples of what you’ve heard while walking your cat. Positive, negative, funny, weird, you name it! So, let’s play a little game of “Never Have I Ever”! How many of these have you heard before?
Never Have I Ever Heard:
Is that a cat?
Do they like walking on leash?
Do they like the backpack?
Can I pet him?
Do you know there is a cat following you?
My cat would never do that!
How did you get your cat to do that?
Poor cat.
It’s cruel to put your cat on a leash.
What don’t you just let the cat be free outside?
You are taking away your cat’s freedom.
Your cat is special for doing this.
I tried to train my cat but it didn’t go well.
What kind of cat is that?
Does your cat like to swim?
That’s a funny looking dog.
I wish my cat would do this too!
Can I take a picture of your cat?
Did you start them as a kitten?
My dog is friendly, can they meet?
The best types of comments/questions are from those how are genuinely intrigued and curious by the thought of walking a cat. By having a short conversation or just a smile to interact with these people, you are directly raising awareness of adventure cats! So, thank you! When people see a cat on leash, they remember that. They may take photos, post it on their page, or just tell others what they saw. And if they have a cat, maybe you inspired them to try training their own cat.
But of course, there are people who have negative thoughts about walking a cat and need to voice their concerns towards you. Whether this be in person when you walk, or commenting on your posts on social media, it will happen eventually. If on social media, you can choose to ignore them, block them, or delete their comment. Or you can respond to them and try to educate/advocate for why this is actually a good thing! And in person, you will need to read the situation and make sure you keep your cat and yourself safe.
Education Is Key
We love when people stop us to ask questions and genuinely want to chat about our cats being outside. It is also great when people ask questions about how we trained them and how they can get there with their cats too. These conversions always make us very happy and give us a chance to spread the word about adventure cats. When people tell us they tried, but failed, with their cats, we try to offer tips to help them try again.
One of the most common questions is “do they actually like it”. We typically respond to this questions about how they love to walk on their own or are super curious and looking around in the backpack. For most cat parents, we would never intentionally force our cats to do things they weren’t comfortable with. I think it’s important to mention to people that with training a cat comes lots of patience, time, and training. Never push your cat into situations they feel unsafe in and always keep your cat’s best interest at heart.
Dealing With Negativity
There are two main types of negative comments you’ll get. One being from people who are pro free-roaming cats. They think it’s cruel to keep your cat on leash, and they should be free outside. But the end goal here is that we both want the same thing. We all think that cats need outdoor time and that they enjoy it. This is where you can argue some benefits to leash walks that you don’t get with free-roaming cats. Such as – lower risk of your cat getting injured or lost, safety, building a bond, less threat to wildlife, and more! It also helps that you don’t have to wonder what happened to them if they don’t come home, which can be incredibly hard to cope with if this happens. At the end of the day, we want the same thing – for cats to experience the outdoors. The only difference is leashes make it safer!
The other type are those who are pro indoor only cats and think that your cat should never go outside. Again, time to respectfully disagree and educate! While some cats do prefer to stay indoors, many thrive with outdoor time. And if your cat enjoys it, and you do it safe and responsibly, then why not?
Conclusion
All in all, we wish that everybody would have 100% positive interactions every time they go somewhere with their cat. In a perfect world, walking your cat would be just as normal as walking a dog. And that is our end goal! So, keep doing what you’re doing. Just being outside with your cat is raising awareness, even if no one directly comes up to speak to you, and that is a great first step! Hope this little Never Have I Ever game was fun!
