90-year-old couple take their elderly cat for a homemade cat stroller walk daily!

Cool. What makes it even cooler is the homemade cat stroller (re-purposed) used by an elderly couple to give their equally elderly cat, Angus, some mental stimulation. 

This is not the real thing but a neat substitute for an elderly cat who stays put. There's no roof on the 'stroller'. No problem. He has no intention of jumping out. They are a great elderly threesome, and I bet they catch the eye of pedestrians.

90-year-old man pushes a homemade cat stroller with elderly cat on a walk for himself, his cat and his wife who is the same age. Image: Screenshot.

It is their granddaughter who posted the video below on TikTok. They've got some attention there too as the video is heading towards 1 million views. Although TikTok fudges the viewing figures because they put the videos on a loop which probably doubles the true number.

Look, there is hardly anything better in the world of cat ownership and caregiving than seeing an elderly couple adopt an elderly cat (I presume from an animal shelter) and then use a cat stroller to provide some mental stimulation for their cat and some exercise and mental stimulation for themselves at the same time. Wise.

1939 Cat Stroller!

This contraption looks more like a baby's pram than a cat stroller, which I am sure it is. I do not think that they had invented cat strollers in 1939. I have got to guess and say that this is a pram that has been "converted" to be a cat stroller. I don't mean converted in the normal sense like actual work taking place on the pram. 

Cat stroller 1939! Reddit user (u/Megatonin) said "My grandmother pushing a cat in a stroller circa 1939".

I mean that a cat was put inside a pram and pushed around. There is no top to it and therefore the cat can jump out at any time so, to all intents and purposes, this is not a cat stroller! It is a baby's pram but it is nice to describe it as a cat stroller. 

I'm sure that back in 1939 there was no need for one because almost every domestic cat was an indoor/outdoor cat. There was no real concept of full-time indoor cats at that time and therefore there was no requirement for a cat stroller. Cats were free to come and go as they please. That was 1939, just before World War II. The life of the domestic cat in those days was very different to today.

Amusing but disastrous attempts to get cats to walk on a leash

There is a funny side to trying to get your cat to walk on a leash and there's a disastrous side to it because it can be so damn stressful for the owner; as one of the ladies in the video makes clear. Perhaps an important aspect of this video is that it shows cats being put in a harness and taken for a walk for the first time. Things change.

Bushwah an F1 male Chausie on a leash. Photo: Helmi Flick.

These are typical reactions. One guy in the video does take his cat for a walk. He's a 'cat-man'. He is completely correct in saying that if you want to get a cat to do something you have to trick them into believing that they want to do it. You can't force a cat to do something.

It takes 2 women to get this harness on their cat. Screenshot.

But he is very patient and he has got his cat to walk on a lead through that patience. And that is the point, domestic cats will get used to a lead if you are patient enough. The initial reaction is rejection both in attaching the lead to them and then trying to walk on the lead.

The whole thing can be fraught with difficulties and indeed dangers. In the video you see the black and white cat trying to get out of the harness. They are obviously outside the home. If the cat succeeds, he or she may run away in terror. That can present some really big issues for a cat owner. This is a put off to trying to take your cat for a walk on a lead.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

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What if a dog arrives and your cat panics and breaks free of the lead and disappears? These are the reasons why people don't take their cats for a walk on a lead even though it is really an excellent idea especially for full-time indoor cats. It gets them out safely; great stimulation but great stress for the caregiver.

Perhaps the biggest barrier with trying to get your cat to walk on a leash is that they tend to flop to the ground as if paralysed. This is one of the great mysteries of the feline world. Whereas dogs love to be taken out on a lead, cats tend to rollover, belly-up and have to be dragged along.

Thundershirt. Pic in public domain.

I don't think that I have seen a satisfactory reason for this feline response. I have proposed that it is very similar to the response that cats have to the cat product called the 'Thundershirt' (see above) which you can buy online. It is a harness-like product which envelopes the cat or dog and calms them. It does so by the pressure on their bodies. It is effective but I don't recall anybody explaining why! Clearly pressure on the body calms a cat and dog. In the case of a cat, it calms them so much they become almost comatose and paralysed.

Although individual cats respond in different ways. Some will accept the harness much more readily than others. This paralysis response is the initial response. They get used to it and they stop falling over and they start walking. And then gradually, little by little, you will end up taking your cat for a walk on a leash. You just have to go through these barriers.

There is an alternative to the leash, which is the cat stroller. This is also an unusual product. I have both a harness and they cat stroller in my home. I like them both. Anything that helps to make a cat's life more enjoyable through new experiences and stimulation should be the objective of all cat caregivers.

Culkin walking his cat in a stroller. Photo: Reddit.

The only problem with the cat stroller is getting the cat into it! It's a bit like getting them into a cat carrier when taken them to a vet. Although this will vary tremendously because cats should learn to enjoy being in the cat stroller and when that happens, they will not object to being put inside. At least, that's the theory. 

CLICK FOR SOME PAGES ON 'LEASH LAWS'

Incidentally, cat strollers are great ways to meet people because passers-by invariably want to talk about it. They initially see a baby in a pram and then in the Eureka moment that follows they see the cat which prompts spontaneous conversation.

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".

RELATED: Picture of a cat stroller with cat by a river.

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.

RELATED: Jennifer Garner, actress and entrepreneur pushes her cat in a stroller.

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