Expert: Brandy - 1/20/2007

Question
Hi! I have an 8-year old indoor MALE cat named "Jasper. He's never been outdoors, except for on the balcony of my previous apartment, but since my new apartment is a lot smaller than my other one, I was wondering if i could at least make his life more interesting by taking him on walks with a leash and a harness. When he was a very young he wore a collar and sometimes a harness and it never bothered him, but know he is very stubborn and just lies there without moving if i put a harness on him. also, he is very shy, but again, when he was very young, that was not the case and i actually took him to friends' houses and one time even I drove to Vegas with him and a friend and he just loved stretching out on the back dashboard in the sun and used his little litter box that we put on the floor of the car behind the seat with water and dry food behind the other seat. No one ever knew as we smuggled him into the hotel and had the "do not disturb sign" on the door during our entire stay. But now he is very shy - especially when he hears a man's voice (I'm gay so i don't usually have men over). Then he hides and only comes out after the "coast has been clear" for at least 10 minutes. He is afraid of women too, but warms up to them during their visit and doesn't hide.

Answer
I think that the old adage of 'you can't teach an old dog...' should be changed to '...an old cat'.  Jasper sounds like he's very comfortable being an only cat with his favorite human, and on occasion, going out on trips with you. One of my cats will tolerate a harness, only to do the 'road-kill' flop whenever he sees another person. If you and Jasper don't mind seeming a bit eccentric (a common trait of every cat, BTW), there are 'kitty carriages' that you can use to sit Jasper in it and wheel him around the park. And like every king - er, cat - he can sit comfortably adnd survery his surroundings.

If you have several windows, placing kitty perches near them could give him something to look at, and you can also add birdfeeders that attach to the outside of the windows with suckers to entertain him.

Men have deeper voice tones, and coupled with your lack of men in your apartment, Jasper is probably not just used to the sounds. Jasper seems very normal, just your typical wekk-loved only cat.