Cat Stroller

Cat Stroller photo by ehavir

Never thought about them, never knew about them

I have never seen one in action, but a Cat Stroller could be one way to get our cats out of the house safely. If we combine a pet stroller with a cat enclosure we are maximizing our cat's lifestyle. This post is a voyage of discovery for me. Update: I bought one years later and still have it and use it! :) Click this link to read about it if you think it might interest you. This is my girlfriend with the stroller by the Thames River. I took the picture.

Cat strollers must be used far more in the USA than the UK or in Europe because as I said I have never seen them. I've seen some cats on leashes. There is a Siamese cat that walks around the back garden of this block of flats on a leash, very sedately and ladylike. I've seen a cat on a leash on a busy Paris street in the 1970s when I lived there; very brave, I thought, and quite eye catching.

People search for Pampered Pet Strollers, pink pet strollers, a double pet stroller, a Jeep pet stroller, a Four Paws pet stroller and so on. There are a lot of manufacturers making these but I never see them.

It took me a while to figure out what it actually was. I think this is because it is a kind of "pram", a child's pram. I'm not sure that the word "pram" is used in the US, I think not. So, a stroller is probably more a US term (wrong?). So, a pet stroller for us Brits is a "pet pram", which actually sounds more interesting. I think in this country we use the term "stroller" for a pram for bigger children. Another term would be "buggy".

Cat Stroller - photo by jesshibb

The thing is, how can you get a cat to use one? A dog, I can see using one as this is more their style, particularly if the dog is small. But cats; my first thought is no, it wouldn't work. But for an old cat that used to go out but can't so much it might work. It may even work for a defensive nervous cat but I am not sure (see "privacy parlor" below). A nervous cat might want to escape the stroller and get stressed nullifying the whole point of the exercise. Then again, some cats simply don't mind being caged for a while and looking out. It's really guess work, until we try.

But looking at the pictures published on this page (which are published here under a creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License), I'm beginning to think differently. In fact, it is very nice of people to take their cat for walk like this, to stimulate the cat's brain and keep him/her mentally active. I'm warming to this and I can see my cat actually liking it. I could take her with me when I go across the park to get the morning paper.

The best and most practical way, it seems, to me would be to train our cats from an early age to use a pet or cat stroller, but I am sure that this rarely if ever happens. By the way people search for a Pampered pet stroller. Is a "Pampered Pet Stroller" a brand of stroller or just a device that pampers a pet? I think that I may have just found the answer (stress "may"). There is a business called "Pampurred Pets". So, people who search for Pampered Pet Strollers probably mean Pampurred Pets, which is a UK company with a large number of large shops in the south and south west of England.

On the basis that we can get our cats to use a pet stroller, do we have the courage to use one? From a personal point of view, I might feel a bit foolish, at least at first. But you know that is my problem, which shouldn't get in the way of giving me the best possible life experiences. Anyway, I might feel stupid until people came up to me and looked into what they thought was an unusual child's pram and saw ah, no a cat. Gosh that's a funny looking child! Great way to meet people.

Maybe on a more philosophical level a Pampered pet stroller is a good thing as in using it we are treating a cat as a human, to the same high standard of care and that is the kind of care I like to see. However, I've just seen one Flickr photographer's caption to a photograph of a cat in a stroller. It says, "Lazy bastards". Amusing, but I wonder if that is the impression we might give if we go out with a cat in a cat stroller? You know what I mean, over pampered pet, slightly crazy people? I'm not sure.

Cat stroller in Central Park - photo by bnittoli.

The photographer's caption to the photo left reads, "random strange sighting in central park". That's the point I am making. It does look a bit strange. But in a quite hostile world for the domestic cat the stroller and a cat enclosure seem the only practical answer.

Some (perhaps all?) pet strollers can be converted to pet carriers by detaching the cat stroller frame and wheels making the device more useful. If you're thinking of getting a carrier, think stroller!! No I'm not getting a commission.

What does a cat stroller cost and where can you buy them?

I've just seen an American website (http://justpetstrollers.com/) that specializes in pet strollers. I like their Kittywalk Blue Fifth Avenue model at $199 including shipping at the date of this post. It is designed to take a pet of no more than 25 lbs in weight. The only cats of that kind of weight are F1 Savannah cats and a Savannah cat is not, in my opinion suited to a cat stroller, maybe a leash though. (go to Largest Domestic Cat Breed).

It looks nice and functional and not too much like a child's stroller. I'd prefer that as people might think you're a bit crazy if you put a cat in a child's stroller (pram). It looks lightweight and it can be folded as well. It is nice an open and suited for cats that like to watch lying down. There is also a "privacy parlor" (love that phrase). This is a curtained off area where our cat can seek some privacy if it all gets too much. You'll see the same kind of thing at cat shows when the show cats are in their pens waiting to be taken to the show ring. This company do a wide range of dog and cat strollers (the same thing).

In the UK a business called PretaPet (http://www.pretapet.com) do a pet stroller but this looks more suitable for a dog and for the animal to look out of the top window he/she would have to be quite a tall animal, probably a dog. Price: £61 at the time of this post.

Another UK business is http://www.roofrackshop.co.uk. Their pet strollers are I think more suited to dogs too and look (for me) too much like a child's pram. Prices are in the mid £50s.

Conclusion

Let's throw away our pride, our self-consciousness and do what is best for our cat. If we think a cat stroller would improve her life, let's get one and meet people.

Pampered Pet Stroller to Home page