IT is the hot new catwalk fashion – walking actual cats.
More and more owners are harnessing their pets for a daily stroll and giving surprised passers-by paws for thought.
The move is inspired by flat-dwellers wanting their indoor cats to enjoy time outdoors, and by cat owners who want to exercise their animals without letting them run riot attacking wildlife.
Cat walkies have also been championed by US writer David Grimm, who has declared: “Today’s indoor cat is a tiger robbed of his dominion – a Lamborghini left idling in the garage.”
Here, Amy Jones meets five devoted owners who explain why they’ve chosen to take the lead . . .
‘ People stop to pet him thinking that he’s a dog, then gasp ’
SARAH DUFFY, 39, from South West London, reckons 20-month-old Ragdoll cat Pippin is more like a puppy. Media worker Sarah says:
“I TAKE him everywhere with me on the lead – even to Kent when I’m visiting my boyfriend.
People sometimes stop to pet him and then gasp when they realise he’s a cat not a dog.
I think they find it amusing but I don’t mind. Pippin just loves the attention.
Getting him was the best thing I’ve ever done.
I had actually wanted to get a dog initially but realised it wasn’t practical because I live in a first-floor flat and was working long hours at the time.
Cats are stereotyped as being cold sometimes but Pippin is nothing like that.
He follows me everywhere and loves to play.
We even play fetch whenever I take him out to the park and he loves it. I’ll throw a ball and he’ll run and get it and bring it back to me, just as a dog would.”
‘ Each day when I get her harness out, she meows with excitement ’
AMY McLEAN, 26, lives in Hampstead, North London, with four-year-old cat Lady Medora Byron. Writer Amy says:
“I USED to walk Medora as a kitten but only now and again – then when she was nine months old she went missing for three days.
When she finally returned home I decided it would be better for her to go out for her walks on a lead.
They’re definitely the favourite part of her day. Whenever I get her harness out she meows with excitement.
She loves all the different sights and smells. She even likes dogs. She’ll try and follow them around which they usually aren’t too keen on.
I’d had lots of people come up to me and say they wish their cats would walk on a lead. It’s definitely a conversation starter.
If anyone is thinking about walking their cat, I’d say to start them young so they can get used to the harness. And understand that the cat walks you!”
‘ I get odd looks, which I understand – I’ve got a one-eyed cat on a lead ’
MAT OMBLER walks his one-eyed rescue cat Kenny, two, around the block every day. Media professional Mat, 26, from Hull, says:
“WHEN I first got Kenny, I let him out in the garden and he was soon disappearing.
That’s fine for a normal cat but I wasn’t happy with him roaming on his own because of his impaired vision. So I decided to try walking him on the lead – and he loved it.
I’ve been very affectionate with him since he was a kitten, so he tends to follow me on the lead very obediently. He follows me around when I’m home, so that works quite well with walking him outside.
We do get strange looks, which I understand given that I’ve got a one-eyed cat on a lead.
Whenever I see a dog, I pick Kenny up. But because of his poor vision he doesn’t often notice them, so he stays relatively calm.”
‘ We take them to the woods, and they love splashing in the stream ’
JOSIE PARISH, 27, of Bristol, has two Maine Coon cats, Audrey Lily, one, and King Louie, nine months. Police dispatcher Josie says:
“I SADLY lost a few cats while growing up due to them being run over, so I wanted to protect these two.
This means keeping them as indoor cats – but of course it’s in their nature to go outside so we started walking them on a harness as a compromise.
My partner James and I take them into the woods, and they love sniffing around and splashing in the stream.
We get a few odd looks and comments, but overall people tend to think it’s cute or funny.
We keep them on a short lead so I can grab them easily if there are any dogs around.
Maine Coons are big, strong cats, so it’s sort of like having dogs anyway. They’re too big for a cat carrier, so if we need to take them along to anywhere we walk them or put them in a backpack.”
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
‘ Kids with their status dogs snigger at us, but I know they’re just jealous ’
NICK HARDING, 49, lives in Ashtead, Surrey, with wife Stephanie, 39, and their two-year-old cat Barry. Author Nick says:
“IF you told me ten years ago that one day I would walk a cat on a lead in a park, I’d have laughed in your face. I hated cats.
But then I met my wife and she made us buy one.
Barry is a two-year-old pedigree Bengal and is free to wander outside, but he still likes getting his cat harness on and going for a stroll.
Because he’s not that smart, he doesn’t walk to heel and tends to dart off after birds – particularly pigeons which he hates. For this reason I use a retractable lead.
The kids down the park with their status dogs snigger at us. But they’re just jealous.
As cats are so choosy about where they do their business, I walk him knowing I won’t have to trudge after him with pockets full of warm filled plastic bags. ”
- A Tale of Two Kitties, by Nick Harding, is on sale on Amazon.
Link
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/cat-owners-are-harnessing-their-pets-for-a-daily-stroll-and-giving-surprised-passers-by-paws-for-thought/
News Pictures Cat owners are harnessing their pets for a daily stroll and giving surprised passers-by paws for thought
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.
Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”
kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NINTCHDBPICT000460961661.jpg?strip=all&w=960
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