Leash walking your cat

Hello, Weirdos! This week's blog is brought to you by Cat Guru Jackson Galaxy! Within the Weirdo Community we see a lot of members show interest and curiosity around taking their cat outside for some exercise and enrichment. Jackson gives some helpful tips on keeping you and your cat safe while outside so you both have a good time! Here are Jackson's tips on leash walking your cat- and check out his Official Website to read the full article and see the video he made! Source: https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/blog/leash-walk-my-cat-ask-the-cat-daddy/


Here are a few tips and tricks for a successful walking routine with your cat:

1. Your walks should always involve having your cat on a harness, fastened to a leash, so step one will be to get them comfortable with both. This is where clicker training can be invaluable. The basic concept of clicker training is to teach your cat that if they do a certain
   action—like ease into their harness—they will get rewarded for that action with… you got it: their favorite treats. In fact, I call these preferred goodies “jackpot treats,” because they should feel like they’ve hit the “jackpot” when they receive them. Take every step slowly: first, getting comfortable with the harness on his body—which could take a while—and then starting with very short intervals of “harness on/harness off/treat.” Once they can walk around the house looking as comfortable as if they didn’t have a harness on, then attach the leash and start again.Each component of the whole can be an uncomfortable feeling for your cat, so easing them into the process and keeping up positive associations is key. When you get to that place where you can walk them in harness and on leash in the house, then it’s time to see how much they like the experience in the great outdoors.
2. Understand that walking a cat is very different than walking a dog in that, essentially, your cat will walk you. You might take a few steps, then stop so they can take a few sniffs. A few more steps, a quick dart to explore a bug, followed by a few more sniffs, etc. From there, you might go into a little bit of a trot, only to stop again for more sniffing. Clearly, this is not the excursion into aerobic exercise that walking a dog can be, so be prepared for the slower, more contemplative experience of cat-walking.
3. Be mindful about making only gentle corrections with the leash. Ease them away from that tree, discourage them from running down that alley, and offer a soft, yet firm, posturing of the leash so they don’t go “in there,” wherever the undesirable “there” may be. Only subtle manipulations of the leash are required, and they will quickly get the hint.
4. Remember that your walks should be ritualized. You don’t want your cat running to the door every time you go to the door (although I do recommend keeping the leash and harness near it). Instead, when it’s time to head out, say something predictable like, “It’s time for a walk,” and then jiggle the leash. That’s their signal. And it should be treated as part of what I call their Three Rs: Routine, Ritual, and Rhythm… which is basically a ritualized routine that’s part of their daily rhythm of activity.