Trends generated by influencers all too often do not spare animals. Currently, for example, more and more cats are being led through city streets on a leash – or put in a backpack and taken on long trips or even to distant countries. Experts are critical of the trend because it suggests that cats can go for walks like dogs and that they definitely enjoy it.
For under-challenged indoor cats, it can be an enrichment to be able to spend time regularly on a harness and leash in a safe, natural area close to the home, says Angelika Firnkes from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. However, walks in different locations, through busy city parks, long hikes or long transport routes are not advisable.
Observers, not endurance runners
“Cats are ambush hunters, they do roam their territory, but they mostly stay in their preferred hunting grounds or places of retreat and often use the same paths,” explains the animal behavior therapist. Even a tour of a walled courtyard, for example, is not necessarily pleasant for every animal: the cat’s age, character and health are just as important as the owner’s sensitivity and willingness to train.
Just like dyeing dogs (doggy dyeing), petting owls in Japanese cafes (Owl Cafe) or keeping mini pigs as pets (Teacup Pigs), walking with domestic cats is a trend that should be viewed critically. Accounts such as “louieandtodd” and “nala_the_bengali” on Instagram have played a large part in the interest in these topics.
Petfluencer meeting in the park
The young Bengal mix cat Nala, who has around 60,000 followers, has mostly been out and about in the countryside in her videos, but has also been taken on SUP or to airport training. The two British shorthair cats Prince Louie and Todd from Chicago have already been through a lot more. With crocheted hats on their heads, colorful bows around their necks or dressed in cat sweaters, they have traveled far and wide and are doing a lot of advertising for cat equipment among their more than 170,000 followers.
In New York’s Central Park, the tomcats are placed with other petfluencer cats surrounded by people for a group photo. They go shopping in malls, are served milk foam at Starbucks and are photographed wearing bunny ears or Christmas costumes to suit the season.
Caressed by hundreds of strangers
Todd has already been on tour in Eastern Europe and new videos keep showing how the two cats seem to stoically endure the caresses and hugs of countless fans and supposed cat lovers. “Swee …
The petfluencers are always shown relaxed, and miraculously, critical situations with dogs never occur. Attempts to imitate are often documented on social media under hashtags such as #CatOnALeash or #LeashTrainingCats – including those in which the cat tugs on the leash in panic or presses itself to the ground, visibly frightened, and does not take a step.
A beautiful cat life?
Prince Louie and Todd do not appear stressed in the pictures and videos shown – but it is unlikely that they are enthusiastic about the cuddling crowds and the many backpack trips through crowded streets and shops. Cats are generally loyal animals and for the vast majority of them, transport and changes of location are associated with great stress, explains Moira Gerlach from the Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare (TVT).
“If you want to be able to go on proper walks with your cat, a cat as a pet is definitely not the right choice,” stresses the head of the TVT Dogs & Cats working group. Because even though influencers like to emphasize that a cat can be walked on a leash just like a dog, the animals’ movement patterns are actually fundamentally different.
Cats love to run from hiding place to hiding place and observe their surroundings in peace and quiet. If they spot something interesting, they can sprint off at a moment’s notice. They climb and balance, explore niches – all at their own pace and in the way they want.
The cat sets the direction
If owners still want to try a walk on a leash after sufficient preparation and patient training, the cat should be allowed to explore the surroundings, says Gerlach. “It shouldn’t be about covering a specific or set distance.” Risks of injury from dogs running loose, for example, should also be considered.
“When in danger, cats usually flee in the direction of their usual safety, for example back through the nearby patio door or up high,” adds Firnkes. If a cat flees in panic, the leash can get tangled in the bushes or up in a tree and strangle the animal.
Nothing to just test
Conversely, a cat can enjoy the variety of going out so much that it demands it vehemently and frequently, experts warn. Frustration can arise if walks are irregular or stopped altogether, says Firnkes. Frustrated cats can display behaviors such as being unclean or attacking furniture and doors.
The two pet experts have very clear words for the idea of taking cats in a backpack on hikes or shopping trips, as is very often shown in Instagram posts – often combined with advertising for the respective product. “Taking cats in a backpack on long hikes is unacceptable,” says Firnkes. There is “not a single reasonable reason” to do that to a cat, Gerlach also stresses. “At most, the needs of the owners are satisfied here.”
Contrary to animal welfare: cat backpacks
Particularly on longer journeys, insufficient air exchange or heat build-up is possible. “The advice sometimes given to strap cats into a backpack is also dangerous,” says Gerlach. The animals could injure themselves or even strangle themselves. “Transporting cats in a backpack does not represent appropriate accommodation and pain, suffering or damage cannot be ruled out through use,” concludes Gerlach. “Therefore, from the point of view of the Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare, cat backpacks are to be classified as accessories that violate animal welfare.”
Overall, the best thing for cats is to be able to go outside without a leash, stresses Firnkes. “If that is not possible for safety reasons, the best alternative from a cat’s perspective is a cat-safe, fenced, natural garden.”
