The New York Times put out an interesting opinion piece this week on…walking your cat, which takes into account the fact that, while domesticated dogs have retained some semblance of an outdoor life, many cats have not. And it’s not fair to them.
We can all admit that they are born hunters. “Cats belong to a proud race of savanna kings and nomadic carnivores. Their ancestors slunk out of the deserts of the Near East 10,000 years ago to hunt mice in our early villages,” the article explains, “…They have not evolved to slumber in our living rooms.”
The author notes that “Even the advent of Kitty Litter in 1947 could not contain them completely; tomcats still prowled alleys at night, in search of a mate — or a fight. Today’s indoor cat is a tiger robbed of his dominion, a Lamborghini left idling in the garage.”
And how they sit, watching from the window, as the birds skirt across the yard or squirrels scale trees.
The solution? A good hearty walk. The author began walking his kittens 13 years ago to allow them to see beyond the bounds of his 800-square-foot apartment. While he admits that walking has always been a challenge, I admire his love for his pets.
Photo: Zoë Gayah Jonker on Unsplash
Become an Insider
