I've come to a conclusion: Don't walk your cat.
Cat walking is something that has to be taken seriously if you're going to do it right, and it's impossible to take seriously.
This whole time, I've been acting like I was in a Chevy Chase movie, while my cat has been starring in No Country For Old Men. The point of this exercise is to get him to lose weight, because I thought his obesity represented a slight threat to his life. So ironically, I took him outside and exposed him to a whole world of threats and perils. It's like every tree, bush, car and especially bicyclist has Anton Chigur's haircut.
Anyway, today we took Gizmo for his second cat walk. We carried him to a fairly secluded grassy area and let him sniff around. No bicyclists happened by, and nothing really scary happened. Gizmo chilled in the shade for about 15 minutes, and then we carried him home.
It seems like the only way catwalking can provide him with real exercise is if something goes horribly wrong; i.e. he gets loose and sprints around the apartment grounds while I frantically try to catch him. If everything goes right, he sits in the shade while we occasionally feed him snacks.
If you're going to walk your cat, you have to take a smart, careful, considerate approach. And if you're really that smart, careful and considerate, you probably won't try something as stupid as walking your cat on a leash.
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