A cat is not a dog. Here are three key reasons why using a harness and lead does not support your cat’s natural instincts:
- THEY CANNOT ESCAPE WHEN THREATENED
The natural instinct for a threatened cat is to run and find a safe place, whereas for a dog it is to stand and fight.
Cats cannot escape when on a lead.
2. THEY COULD GET INJURED OR LOST
If you drop the lead or they escape from an ill-fitted harness, your cat will run away to safety. They may run across a road or hide somewhere where you cannot find them, which is both dangerous for the cat and stressful for you.
3. CATS ARE TERRITORIAL
Cats have a smaller territorial range than dogs, and they feel safest at home. Think of what it is like to take your cat to your veterinarian or cattery…they are unsettled, and behave differently.
Taking them on a walk in a new area is unnatural and can be frightening.
Other Reasons to Consider
4. They need privacy to toilet.
Walking a cat for toileting just does not work. Dogs can poo and pee anywhere - it is part of how they communicate with each other. Cats do not do this.
They need a quiet, familiar place to do their toileting, and that place is home.
5. They don’t like being restrained.
Most cats aren’t keen on being restrained, like for medications, or getting into a cat carrier. Most cats will fall onto their side when a harness is first put on.
Just because they get used to it, doesn't mean that it is comfortable.
6. Cats are leaders, not followers. They like choice.
They are independent little souls, and like to go their own way…usually different to where we think.
Harnesses remove this independence.
Walking a cat is more often for the owner than the cat…a "look at me" effect you could say. If you wish to nurture your cat’s instinct, then do not use a harness, and do not take them for a walk on a lead.
At WellCat we do not stock either harnesses or leads.
Because a cat is not a dog.
Adapted from "Should I Walk My Cat On A Harness And Lead?", Cats Protection, https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/should-i-walk-my-cat-on-a-harness-and-lead