My cat Boo, who's made a home of my shoe box.

Today’s lesson: cats don’t like leashes.  Or at least that’s what I’ve found trying to leash-train mine.  When we moved to a new house, I was a little worried about Boo (an occasionally outdoor cat) wandering off and getting lost in the new neighborhood.  So I decided to leash train him.  Unfortunately, Boo didn’t take too well to my idea.

For starters, you can’t walk a cat with a leash on a collar, since they don’t have necks like dogs.  So, I got a cat harness to put on him.  Amazingly enough, with a little bit of coaxing with treats, he let me put on the harness.  I even got the leash on, no problem at all, and managed to lead him around with treats.  Encouraging, right?

Deceptively so.  Yes, he’ll wear the harness, and yes, he’ll walk around a little, but without treats there is no movement.  Even without the leash, Boo acts as if the harness (which, I assure you, weighs no more than an ounce or two) puts some unbearable weight on his back, and slinks low to the ground.  Evidently, he’s not a fan.  Moreover, whole ordeal seems to have put him at odds with me for a while, but I’ve given up on the leash training, and he’s starting to warm up to me again.  Especially since he’s learned what a wonderful bed my old shoe box makes.  The moral of the story?  You can’t walk a cat, but it can still be fun to try.