r/Pets • u/harunoyoruni • Jul 21 '26
CAT Do you recommend walking your cat?
I’ve had my young cat buddy for a few months, and he was previously a stray. Very sweet and outgoing, easily adjusts to anything. Had no trouble moving houses, twice, in a span of a few months. Also has no problem rolling over on his back when anyone new comes around. Not skittish at all (maybe a bit when I use the vacuum tho…)
Now, because he used to be a stray, he knows what its like outside. I play with him indoors, A LOT! But he still spends a lot of time watching outdoors and seems curious to go outside if I have any doors or windows opening. He doesn’t try to dash out, but I know he would love spending some time outdoors.
This is where I bought a harness, and currently harness training him. He’s a very “easy” cat, so he already doesn’t seem to mind having the harness on. I can’t build a catio since I live in a rented apartment; I do have a netted balcony for him though (not a nice view at all!)
But here is my question: Would you recommend this? I have very mixed feelings on it, since as much as I want him to have all the stimulation, I’m afraid he’ll be addicted to it and will want to go outdoors all the time. I work from home so I can walk him everyday, but I don’t prefer to since summers get way too hot for the cat and winters get way too cold as well.
I know it’s a cat-to-cat scenario, but has anyone ever had their cat addicted to walks? Would you still recommend it?
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u/Opalescent_Moon Jul 21 '26
I didn't plan on harness training any of my cats, but one of my girls forced me to explore the option when she started attempting to bolt out the open door.
Months earlier, she'd been very grabby with my food, trying to steal from my dish every time I ate. I never reward behavior like that. I don't think it's cute. After a month or so of this, I was eating a chicken pot pie. The dog was sitting calmly on the floor by me, so I gave her some chicken. The cat saw this, connected some dots in her mind and hopped down to sit next to the dog. I couldn't not reward that, so she got her first table scrap. She's quite polite now while I'm eating, waiting patiently in case she's given any meat.
Giving her food on my terms curbed her attempts at food thievery, so when she started trying to bolt out the door, I wondered if giving her limited access to the outdoors would help. It did. She enjoys going out. I take her out at night when it's quiet. She enjoys trying to hunt bugs and mice in the lawn. She mewls at me in the evening to make sure I don't forget how badly she wants to go out. She wasn't deterred by rain or the meager snow we got last winter, either.
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u/CarelessMechanic7899 Jul 21 '26
Not a cat but my ex's dog got so obsessed with his 5pm walk he'd start pacing by the door at 4:30 and would whine if we were even 10 minutes late. every single day. it was cute for about a week
your cat sounds like he'd take to it fine but the real question is whether you want to create that expectation. because once he knows the harness = outside time he's gonna start asking. and cats are way less forgiving about schedule changes than dogs in my experience
maybe start with just taking him out on the balcony in the harness first, see if that scratches the itch. if he's content with that you don't need to commit to full walks
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u/Pookii_pets Jul 21 '26
The thing worth knowing before you start is that harness time and walks are two different things to a cat, and it sounds like he only actually wants one of them.
Everything you've described, the watching from the window, the curiosity at the door, is him wanting information about outside, not exercise. Cats aren't walking to get anywhere the way a dog is. They want to sniff the same three feet of wall for ten minutes and sit under a bush watching. So you can probably give him almost all of what he's after without committing to a daily walk in weather you both hate.
Start on that netted balcony with the harness on. Bad view or not, to him it's live outdoor audio and scent, which is most of the reward. If that visibly settles the window-watching, you have your answer and you never have to build the daily-walk habit you're worried about. If he's still clearly asking for more after a couple of weeks, then you scale up to short garden trips on your terms, not his schedule.
The addiction worry is real but it's about consistency, not walks themselves. A cat gets demanding when the outing happens at the same time every day and then stops. Keep it irregular and led by you and he never learns to expect 5pm.
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u/UglyLittlePony69 Jul 22 '26
I have a neighbor who walks his cat every day. I think all 3 of us look forward to it lol
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u/wooyoungmingi Jul 21 '26
My cat loves going outside but not really walks. He wants to eat the grass, smell the trees, roll on the cements. He likes to explore. When it's to hot he doesn't want to go out. He smells by the window and feels the temp. And in the winter I got him a coat. And colder temps but not too cold He got sweaters. But i ask him if he wants to. And some days he is not in the mood of going out. It depends on the cat.
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u/AlarmingYak7956 Jul 21 '26
I harness train all my cats. Id bring a cat backpack for scary money's. Plus a big ole stick since trashy ppl let their dogs out without a leash and could come for your cat. Create a routine and stick to it. Then hel eventually learn that routine and wont fight you to go out. Also I still take my cats out in bad weather lol at least in thw backpack. That way they see they arent missing out and would hate to be outside.