Simon does not want to be walked

fhicat

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The last 5 seconds made me choke on my glass of water. "Ain't no speed bump gonna stop me!"

Here's the clarification from the owner about the harness:
These are my two cats, Simon and Wash. I have seen some people upset by the video and I wish they didn’t feel that way. Both of my cats are wearing a harness specifically made for cats. The leash attaches at their shoulderblades and is designed so that  there is no pressure exerted on the neck. It’s very similar to a helicopter harness where the weight is mostly supported at the armpits. The straps are fairly wide. The grass is healthy and is a low-friction surface, in my opinion. 

This is the second time that I’ve taken them to this park and they live indoors, so I think that has a lot to do with the way Wash slinks around. Any time that I put something on Simon (like his Stegosaurus costume) he falls over like this and pouts.

I do not think either of them were in any distress and I apologize to those of you who are upset by this video, but I love both of my cats very much and would be heartbroken if they got hurt. River, Simon’s sister, died about a year ago and I cried like a baby for a day.
 
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goholistic

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That is terrible, but funny. I was definitely laughing out loud. 
  I understand about the harness. And the Stegosaurus costume comment is so true. I once put a sweater on Caesar (made for small dogs) because he's a tiny cat always seeking warmth. It didn't go over well. I took a video and it's hilarious, but I never shared it because of possibility that people think I'm torturing the cat. It's a sweater for crying out loud. I meant well. 
 

brendan2282

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I can't stop watching this!  It's hilarious and it really was much-needed laughter after a stressful day yesterday!
 

betsygee

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That's hysterical!
  Looks like my cat Skittles the first time I tried to get her walking with a harness.  She never did take to it....
 

goholistic

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Okay, I watched it again, but this time with the volume up. The guy laughing at the end is really funny, too. 
 

tammyp

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The thing is...you gotta do some training!!  Can't just take a cat to a park and try it out - 1. they probably (not all) will be scared by the new surrounds, 2. harness training needs to be done bit by bit, with treats and fun distractions inside the known territory until they are completely oblivious to the fact they are wearing a harness (one of mine ran off from me after their walk yesterday, so I didn't take the harness off her until she came upstairs...and used the litter box completely unphased she was still in harness!).  And you learn (or should) quite quickly about what is helpful to training and what is not - so dragging (while harmless on harmless surfaces, and funny), isn't really teaching them anything.  Mine will on the odd occasion not come when I call 'hometime', but I cannot see any reason/benefit to drag.  I pick them up and take them some of the way, then put them down and see if they will walk (usually the flop is a protest that 30mins outside was NOT long enough), and if not, then they get carried home.  The 'drag' has never convinced either one that they should get to their feet and walk, so I consider it unhelpful to training.  What is really helpful is 'positive' persuasion.  Whne I have a day where the cats don't want to go home yet, I use a stick, or a long blade of grass and wriggle it around like a toy - they come trotting back leaping and trying to get, all the way home like they're following the Pide Piper!
 
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