I just gave my cat an antidepressant

[IBrakeforPastry]

I'm glad your cat is on the mend. Whenever my little guy tries to stick his head in my coffee mug (our table manners are pretty loose when it's just the two of us), I try to tell him the last thing I need is a caffeinated kitty.

[Pax]

Glad your kitty is on the mend!

[smilingcat]

Oh poor kitty! Glad to hear she is getting all better. And good luck with harness walking. If she takes to it, it can be really fun for both of you. Have a story about walking my cat but will save it for later. My what an unusual looking dog you are walking...

[nuliajuk]

Short trips with the harness are the best way to go at first, perhaps 10 minutes at a time, working up gradually. You'll have to keep your eye on her at all times and be alert for any signs that she's panicking and overwhelmed, but the walks will get longer over time. We've become known around the neighbourhood as "That eccentric couple that walks their cat everywhere", but with busy roads all around us, there's no way we'd let ours wander around on her own. I don't know if we'll be able to walk the new one yet, I suppose when he sees that Taffy gets to go places he'll get the idea quickly enough.
With a dog, you get to decide where to go. With a cat it's more of a collaborative effort. The cat decides the general direction of travel, but you get veto power over things like other people's flower beds.

[lph]

Thanks for the tips, nuliajuk, I think I'll go pick up a harness today as it breaks my heart to see her moping at the window all day. I know that once she starts getting really bored she'll start to rush us at the door too. Nothing like a really determined cat.

[Pax]

We had a neighbor once who walked their cat every single day, and every single day the cat rolled around and hid under bushes, it was hysterical.

[nuliajuk]

Ours will sometimes roll in the dust while wearing her harness, and sometimes in mysterious substances that we'd prefer not to think about at the base of the communal mailbox. We've learned not to let her get too far into bushes.
It's really kind of time consuming. She has to sniff every bush, nibble at every blade of grass. Once in a while she'll get a wild look in her eye and sprint up the nearest tree, then we have to make sure she doesn't go too far up or get the leash tangled in branches. On the whole, though, it's worth the patience required as she gets to get outside and do cat things without us worrying about her.