Moggie Madness

When Mojo was a lot younger and I was living in a townhouse, I tried to get him used to walking on a harness and a lead so that he could spend some time outside while he was staying with me on holidays. But after weeks of him just rolling around and playing with it or trying to chew it off, I just gave up. After he came to live with me here, we built the cat park so that he could always have some connection with the outdoors while still maintaining his personal safety and that of any wildlife who may visit our backyard.

Lately he has been a bit more cantankerous than usual and very mournful when we go outside and he cannot see us. I still had the harness and lead, so I thought why not give it another go. He tolerated it being put on but started slinking along the ground like he was a commando crawling towards an enemy target. It was quite comical to see but gradually we made it outside onto the deck - where he promptly plonked himself down by the chair and wouldn’t go any further. It was almost like he couldn’t see the point in it.

But then he saw the grass and the concept of walking on a harness and lead suddenly seemed a little bit worthwhile.

I’ve since discovered that walking a cat on a harness and lead is only about making sure the cat does not escape. To Mojo, I was merely a mobile tethering point and he was happy to drag me all over the backyard, through the weeds, up onto the retaining wall and over the fence if I had let him do so. Getting to go where I wanted him to go just wasn’t an option - all I could do was pick him up, plonk him in a more desirable place and hope that the next time, that thorny plant in the back corner at the back of all the weeds wouldn’t prove so interesting to him.

All in all though, he generally behaved himself and only once did he look at the roof as a possible destination. At that point, we decided that Mojo had experienced enough of the great outdoors for one day. I doubt he will ever like walking on the harness as opposed to romping free throughout the neighbourhood. But as a compromise?? He seems quite happy with it.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 4:11 pm and is filed under Cats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.