Walldog":1qk0lm1l said:
Looks like Jim or Joan of Wild Blue has new sideline business.
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/mi ... 45130.html
Hi Herb,
Certainly not us, the ad is from MINNEAPOLIS! :shock:
Joan has called me "the Cat Whisperer". Let's clear a few things up... I'm not sure you can
make a cat walk on a leash. Before Molly, we had a cat named Smoke. Smoke loved to be outside, but put a leash on her and it would be like trying to walk a fish! I once joking said I was going to take the cat for a
drag.
Molly, on the other hand, was 6 years old when we met. She looked like a cat, but was a highly advance being in a cat suit. She understood everything I said, and I could understand her body language and facial expressions. I hear people say that they have a "great cat", Molly was beyond that. I could say, "Molly, would you get me a rum and Diet Coke," and she would ask, "With or without ice?" She walked on a leash because she wanted to walk beside me... and there are lots of places that have leash rules. That cat really enjoyed the attention she got while on the leash, and she absolutely understood what people were saying about her. I miss her every day.
I used to tell people that "it took a lot of patience to teach Molly to walk like this," but I clipped a leash on Molly and we walked. No harness, no pulling, no fussing. There was no learning process. Sometimes we went where I wanted to go, sometimes where she wanted. Rarely did we have any destination; we just enjoyed the walks.
Izzy may be the sweetest cat. She has learned to walk on a leash. She has a mind of her own, but I occasionally pull the "I-saved-you-from-the-shelter" card. We don't walk, we meander. Who knew that every rock, blade of grass, stick, twig, and leaf has a different smell and must be smelled? Joan and Izzy picked each other, and I understand my place in the pecking order.
Now, regarding that Craig's List ad: can someone really help you teach a cat to walk on a leash? Not for $50 in an hour. They may be able to give YOU hints on how to adapt, but it will take you months of consistent effort to coordinate movements enough so it looks like you are walking the cat. And it still depends on if the cat feels like it.
Judging by the number of comments I received while walking Molly and now with Izzy (one guy came running out of his motorhome last week, just to ask how I did this), there may be a market for teaching
people to walk with their cats.
Please send $50 (cash only) and I will send you a comprehensive, all-inclusive written report
(one page, double spaced) on "Walking Your Cat For Fun and Profit".
Maybe this
is the information age. :wink:
Best wishes,
Jim
PS Some of my sailing friends have given me crap for walking little Izzy with her sweater on. Karma for all those years of me making fun of guys walking little yappy dogs in sweaters (no offense to Snack). Some of those guys even used the "whipped" phrase, in reference to me. I responded with, "You will know I am whipped when Izzy and I have matching pink and gray outfits!" :amgry
Yeah, it's a photoshopped joke.