On a walk through Riverside Park yesterday, I spotted a girl walking her cat. Her cat. On a leash. One of those 'sling' ones that goes around the front legs so as not to jerk the pet's neck around. It was a beautiful white long-hair cat that looked completely freaked to be out there 'enjoying' the call of nature. Or maybe it was the fact that there were lots of dogs around.
The girl was on the phone, and remained there almost the entire time we sat watching her. There was no 'walking' of the cat. The cat just sat there casting furtive glances around her, ready to dart away at the first sign of threat.
Poor kitty. Dogs enjoy walks. Cats prefer to walk themselves. Or not. But definitely not on a leash. Someone should tell that girl. I'm curious how she got the cat to sit still long enough to put the sling on it anyway.
Curiouser and curiouser.
9 months ago
6 comments:
Yikes! :-)
Maybe it was a rat?
I've seen catwalkers all over NYC, and only once the cat was enjoying it (Maybe visiting from the country?).
We actually found out the hard way that cat's hate leashes/harnesses/contraints. Yes, sportsfans, we bought our cats harnesses and leashes when we first became 'cat people'. We thought it would be cute - Instead it was a nightmare. Once the harness was around them, they wouldn't move. They froze, so it was more of a cat drag than walk. So, that was 30 bucks down the litter box.
In any case, it is now really fun to watch others try and walk their cats. We just snicker under our breath.
When we got a cat a certain person I live with and typically believe is highly intelligent decided that our cat would like to walk on a leash, and we too have a harness as a result. In fact, we have taken the cat on its harness to riverside park. I have never believed that the cat would walk, but occasional outings do terrify the cat enough that she never tries to flee the apartment anymore. I did think it would be nice for the cat to join us on our roof for cocktails when it is nice, but the buddhist prayer flags on the roof-deck of the next building really freak her out. She is pure claws and freakout on the roof.
However, Bubba and I saw an orange tabby walking quite happily in central park.
Wow. So people that I actually know have tried to walk their cats! And I thought y'all were intelligent.... ;)
Hey Katie,
When your precious mother-in-law and I met I had a little tiny Siamese kitty named "Pepper". She weighed no more than 5 lbs. full grown. Pepper LOVED to walk on a leash!!!! I'd walk her down to the mailboxes to pick up the mail on a daily basis. She would stroll along stopping to smell the grass and maybe chomp on a blade or two (kitties like greens). One day after we had arrived at the mailbox (which was at the very opposite end of the apartment complex so we had a pretty good walk to and fro), Pepper jumped as if startled by something. I turned to see what she was upset about and spotted paper money flittering along the sidewalk. We caught up with said bill and it turned out to be a TWENTY! Looked around for owner of the bill but no one was about. So, we kept the $20 and I still have it. I was afraid to spend it AFTER my mother-in-law suggested I give it to the church and I didn't! Soooo, the $20 is still in my Episcopal Prayer Book and every time I see the twenty, I think of little Pepper who died in 1980 at the age of 13. Bless her little heart. I miss our walks! >^..^<
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