ANDRE BEGIN

As I was preparing Ivy for her leash walk this morning, it surprised me to think that it has been almost three years that we’ve been taking these wonderful walks together.

At first, the idea was just to give her a little bit of supplemental exercise to keep her metabolic rate up and her weight down. But over time, these little walks turned into so much more… including a learning opportunity for me on how to put a leash on a cat who really wants to go outside but clearly doesn’t want to have a leash put on her.

I accepted that this was a very typical reaction on Ivy’s part because she refused to put on adornments or costumes of any kind.

Meanwhile, for me, this was also a new experience, and Ivy’s attempts at scratching me and biting me along the way always instilled a little fear.

In the moment, it wasn’t apparent who was more apprehensive about the whole thing, Ivy or me?

But fast forward three years, and I think it would be fair to say 9 times out of 10, putting the leash on Ivy is fairly uneventful. At least not like it was.

I won’t go into the specifics of how to put on the leash given how many different makes and models are available. But I would like to offer some fairly general advice on my thinking process and my approach that should help make it a more pleasant experience for you and for your cat.

#1 – Patience

Just because Ivy may be at the baby gate, wailing like an ambulance, announcing she is ready to go for a walk, it does not necessarily mean she is ready for a walk at that very minute.

When I open the baby gate to release her into our mudroom and she gallops to the door, seemingly ready to go out, I have learned the hard way that the walk may still be a few minutes away. She is a cat after all.

I just need to get prepared for the walk, to follow her lead, to read her body language, and to be patient.

#2 – Wait for the sign that she is REALLY ready

While I wait for her to decide when she is ready, I will prepare the part of the leash that goes around her neck and have it ready to slip over her head as soon as she decides to stand still by the door.

I know it sounds like I’m giving her an awful lot of control and power, but to do otherwise makes for a more unpleasant experience for both of us.

#3 – Ivy’s preparations for the journey

Even after I have been summoned to the mudroom, there are times that I need to let Ivy go through her own checklist of things to do before leaving the house, which is much like our own need to check that we have house keys, car keys, wallet, and cell phone with us.

In Ivy’s case it might be a need to run back to the bathroom and have a quick pee before leaving… Like father, like daughter!

In other cases it may be the need to go back to the kitchen and grab a quick bite before stepping out for the walk, which is totally OK too.

The consolation is that these last minute preparations only seem to take a minute or two. Her own strong motivation to go outside tends to keep this a short process.

#4 – OK, NOW I’m ready

Some days, it is the easiest undertaking in the world. She stands still and sticks her neck out in the perfect position, ready for the loop to go over her neck. Once her head is in the loop, I slowly and gently take the straps dangling below her chest, pull them behind her front legs, and clip them to the back of the harness.

On other days, getting the leash on Ivy is a bit of a dance between the two of us. But now that I know the algorithm for Ivy to get ready for a walk, there are few surprises.

#5 – Spatial Awareness

A word of warning: when kneeling by your cat, adjusting the harness and fastening the buckles, spatial awareness is very important. Let’s just say that monitoring the proximity of your knees to the cat’s tail is something to keep in mind. I think it would be fair to say that the cat does not appreciate having her tail squished by your knee, even if by accident.

#6 – Relax

To pick up on a couple of keywords in #4, “slowly and gently” are key.

It definitely helps to be in a relaxed state of mind, fully in the moment and not rushing through the process. When I take my time, Ivy knows that I don’t mean her any harm nor am I trying to rush her through anything. And as we know rushing a cat will just prolong the process.

#7- After the walk

When the walk is over, I simply unfasten the clips and stretch out the loop around the neck. Over time, she has figured out how to back up and back out of the loop around her neck. And then she gallops merrily into the kitchen for another bite of food. Easy peasy.

Now that I am retired, what a difference. In having more free time on my hands, it’s easy to be patient, while she sorts out her pre-walk needs and wants.

It’s not like the time when I was working from home and only had a 15 minute break, trying to rush Ivy into her leash as quickly as possible to be able to maximize our time outside and to be back in time for my next commitment at work.

Rushing was a recipe for disaster which did not lend itself to an enjoyable experience for either of us.

And more recently, I realized that these precious few minutes getting ready to go outside for a walk, are made even more enjoyable, when accompanied by a little scratch behind the ears, a little petting and lots of sweet compliments… For Ivy, not for me.

There were times when we first started this ritual that I often wondered if we would ever get to a point that Ivy would be comfortable with the leash. It eventually did. Practice makes perfect.

We got into a groove where putting on the leash can sometimes take seconds, and other times it can take a couple of minutes. And in both cases I’m fine with that.

Either way, when it comes to putting on the leash, it’s on her time and her schedule. Ultimately, she’s the boss.

Once the leash is on, going for a leisurely walk outside for fresh air, sunshine and enjoying watching the wildlife frolicking around our yard, it has become time we have enjoyed together that I hope will offer memories to last a lifetime for both of us.

 

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Have a great day,
André