[nessus42]

> Letting your cat roam free is a tacit acknowledgment that one doesn’t really care that much for the animal

This is untrue. I've owned both indoor cats and indoor/outdoor cats. Anyone who has seen the joy that a cat experiences while outdoors would never claim that a cat owner who wants their cat to experience this joy, "doesn't really care that much for the animal".

Maybe an outdoor cat will live a shorter life than an indoor cat, but that hasn't been my personal experience. In fact, I had an outdoor cat that lived for 22 years. In any case, a shorter but happier life is not without its merits.

The cat I currently have is an indoor-only cat, but she only rarely displays the kind of joy that my outdoor cats would routinely. As for walking her on a leash, I have tried, but she will not tolerate the harness, and will manage to escape from it if I persist.

[bredren]

You are right that my phrasing was incorrect. I have rephrased this with more context in a reply to a sibling comment.

I think you should reconsider harness training. It is normal for the cat to “act dead” at first and it takes time to get them used to a leash. Like months.

But once they associate the harness with trips outside, the cat can have many of the experiences of “outdoor” cats without the territorial disputes, wildlife impact, pooping in your vegetable garden and not getting hit by a car. (Which is traumatic for the driver and passengers as well)

I moderate /r/adventurecats on Reddit, I encourage you to look into training regimens people have there and see the joy people and their cat companions experience with outdoor experiences.

[jfk13]

The "outdoor experiences" my cats enjoy are not experiences they could have on a leash.

Yes, they sometimes kill things; most commonly mice and shrews. The local rodent population seems resilient enough to cope.

But the joy Catastrophe takes in racing up his favourite tree to look out over the neighbourhood, and chasing his tail around its branches, would rapidly end in a tangled mess if I tried to harness him.

He's devoted and affectionate, strongly bonded with his humans. He also relishes his freedom, and I won't take it away from him.

[bredren]

It may sound strange but my cat does climb trees with his leash on. https://imgur.com/a/QMrC6d9

He’ll start running, and I’ll run with him, and he’ll scale it to the smallest branch that will support him.

Sometimes he gets a bit tangled on the way down and I’ll have to unthread a bit. One time I had to toss the handle end over a branch. But most of the time he comes down the exact way he came up.

He’s yet to fall from a tree but the harnesses he’s grown through are either breakaway or loose enough for him to pull out.

In the unusual event of him pulling out of the harness, he will sometimes sprint around but is patient to let me approach and put it back on. It is very strange but a great connection with the animal.

In general, “walking” a cat you do have to be deft with the leash, as they’ll weave more than dogs and don’t go in a straight line at all. I often find myself getting closer than I’d like to people’s parked cars but it’s not a big deal.

They still get to play in bushes and do cat stuff hanging out. Mine is literally chilling in the depths rain garden right now. https://imgur.com/gallery/ETZ1KLt

My cat does have a hunting instinct, and there are specific play activities we do to provide an outlet for that.

It isn’t the life of a free roaming cat, it’s a compromise and it takes more time and energy. But it is really fun and long after the novelty has worn off people never get over seeing a cat walking down the street on a leash.

I can see that it would be not easy to turn a free-folk cat into an “adventure cat,” though I know a person in the neighborhood who had to do this with an older cat because the vet said another fight and he’d be a goner. That brings up the question of protection and in this case he has kept the cat inside. The cat has adjusted.

I’m glad for what you have with that cat.

The point of my post is that I believe there are broad misconceptions of what is possible with cats.

People don’t realize a lot of great life is out there when they are leash trained, (like dogs experience), and that this can limit the life of cats and have other impacts.