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  #1  
Old January 21st, 2013, 10:37 AM
tezster tezster is offline
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Possible to walk two cats at the same time?

I'm wondering if it would be possible to walk both of my cats at the same time? I'm not quite sure if this is a good idea, or if it's a recipe for disaster? Does anyone do this successfully?

Quick background:

Newt (black DSH) is an adopted stray. She's 99% leash trained, loves the outdoors, and I've taken her out many times on walks.

Newton is Newt's kitten. Now 5.5 months old. He's about ~40% leash-trained.

Newton has picked up his mom's love of the outdoors. I haven't taken him out on walks yet, since it's just too cold during the winter months, but I have had him on a leash a couple of times during vet visits. Aside from the challenges of getting the harness on, he has adapted to it fairly well.

Once it gets warmer, I'll probably start taking both cats out on walks. Whether I walk them individually or together (using a double-leash) is something I'm not sure of.


Last edited by tezster; January 21st, 2013 at 10:38 AM. Reason: added photo
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Old January 21st, 2013, 05:50 PM
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Reg Reg is offline
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Hi:

It's been years since I have taken two cats out on a leash at the same time. The first two or three times was just around the yard at the house, and there was no problems. The last time I tried it was a fiasco. One of the cats walked behind an old broken hockey stick and it fell over hitting the other cat putting her in the fight or flight mode. She took off on the dead tear and came to the end of the leash about 4 feet away from me, at this point she turned and looking for someplace to go decided to run up me. Fortunately I was able to stop her before she got to my head. But by the time I pried her off my chest she had embedded three of her nails deeply into the breastbone. I had to pull her nails out of my chest after I got her back on the ground and settled down. At that time I had no idea how strong a cat could be in a state of panic. The other thing was they hadn't had enough training before I had tried taking them out on a leash together.

I think if I were you I would make sure Newton was well-trained to your satisfaction, and if I were taking them out together I would have someone with me, who the two cats were familiar with, a few times before doing it alone. Just in case something happens to scare them severely, and you could end up in a similar situation as I had.

As far as the coupler double – leash goes I would be awful careful with it. It might work well for dogs, but cats are of different temperament and if it came to fight or flight they wouldn't be able to be separated fast enough, and that could put an end to the relationship between the two of them.

Hopefully somebody with more experience will give you some of their ideas. But that's just my thoughts I would hate to see anything come between Newt and Newton they are a great-looking pair.

It would be a lot of fun to be able to walk a couple of cats on a leash at the same time. If you decide to work on the idea I would be awfully interested in knowing the outcome,
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Old January 21st, 2013, 07:48 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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I have a friend that's used a harness to walk her cat and the cat has excelled in finding new and unusual ways to get out of a harness during walks! I think I'd worry about trying to retrieve a cat that slipped the harness while the other was still with me? I'm definitely inexperienced with cats, though.
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Old January 22nd, 2013, 08:47 AM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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I have a friend that's used a harness to walk her cat and the cat has excelled in finding new and unusual ways to get out of a harness during walks!

the thing with cats is u regard leashes harness's etc as just enough time to grab the cat
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Old January 22nd, 2013, 09:10 AM
tezster tezster is offline
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Sounds like I will just have to experiment and play it by ear, so to speak.

The cats encountering something during their walks that spooks and/or excites them is what I'm most concerned with. It could be as simple as seeing a squirrel, or someone else walking their dog. Even with no external trigger, I can envision both cats wrestling with each other, then feeling the need to bolt off in opposite directions. I can deal with one cat in distress... two, that would definitely be tricky.

And I do realize that a cat can get out of its harness if it really wanted to. They key is exercising proper leash control which I've learned (sometimes the hard way) with Newt. I imagine leash control with two cats facing different directions would be close to impossible.
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Old January 22nd, 2013, 11:49 PM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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hey key is exercising proper leash control which I've learned (sometimes the hard way) with Newt. I imagine leash control with two cats facing different directions would be close to impossible



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Old January 23rd, 2013, 08:45 AM
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I would say it would be very difficult to walk two at the same time, however it would really depend on the cats and their reaction to surprises. If it was me, I would only walk 1 at a time, unless it was in a secure place such as your back yard. Should something happen and one of the cat does escape, what will you do with the other while you go after the escapee? You can't go back in time, so to me, it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your cats.
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