Walking My Bengal Cat

Tiger the Bengal Cat Taking a Walk

Tiger the Bengal Cat Climbing a Tree

We got Tiger, a Bengal cat to keep Snowy company. Tiger is a crossbreed of Bengal tiger with domestic cat. Therefore he looks and acts like a tiger. The Bengal cat are not your typical lap cat, they tend to be more active. As I said, I always wanted dogs. Since I do not have one, I would like to treat my cats as if they are dogs. That included taking walks with my cats. Some of you may know that cats do not like unfamiliar places. A cat never left home will be super scared of the world outside. Also, they do not like harness and leash. It takes several months for people to leash train their cats.

I did some research on cat harnesses and chose the one in the picture. But I put two harnesses on him to make it more difficult to slip out. We did not want to risk losing him. Before taking him out, I let him play with his harnesses and even wear them at home. That lasted for about 3 weeks. Then I took him outside.

When we went out for the first time he was overwhelmed. There was so much to see and so much to listen. There was not much traffic near where we lived, so that helped. His legs trembled. I stayed close to him and constantly petted him. My petting seemed to really comfort him and made him feel safe. The second time when we went out he was still a little nervous, but he seemed to remember a lot of places and sounds. Gradually he did not tremble anymore. He began to chase birds and flies. He remembered the way home. If he saw strangers, he would rush to the door to get home. After about five walks, he began to like going outside. Sometimes he even tried to open the door by himself.

Once Tiger learned all the tricks of walking outside, he has become quite an explorer. Occasionally, when he decided to give a serious chase to something, he would run very quickly, forcing us to run with him too. We were often out of breath at the end of the chase. It was unbelievable that such tiny cat could run so fast. The harness that we got proved to be very effective. I highly recommend for those who have small dog or large cats like ours.

So far we have only taken Tiger for walks near the home, we may take him hiking in the near future. If we do so I will certainly share the experience with you.