# Can you herd cats? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-herd-cats/676643 "2013-12-18T14:05:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-herd-cats/676643/21 "2013-12-19T01:19:37Z")
I once presided over my county’s Democratic Central Committee. Yes, you can heard cats, but what why would you want to? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-herd-cats/676643/22 "2013-12-19T08:34:19Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > What you describe is consistent with what I was saying, and what is shown in the duct tape video: the cat tries to move away from the object, whichever direction that may be. Duct tape on top? Cat stays low. Duct tape on belly? cat tries to climb over it. Duct tape on left side? Cat stumbles to right. These guys – [ThunderShirts](http://www.thundershirt.com/Product/ThundershirtForCats.aspx) – are claiming that a snug-fitting shirt is calming for dogs or cats with anxiety problems. (Scroll down a bit for some “theory” about how it allegedly works.) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-herd-cats/676643/23 "2013-12-19T13:46:30Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > These guys – [ThunderShirts](http://www.thundershirt.com/Product/ThundershirtForCats.aspx) – are claiming that a snug-fitting shirt is calming for dogs or cats with anxiety problems. (Scroll down a bit for some “theory” about how it allegedly works.) Sure seemed to work in those “cat sweater” videos. The cats calm down so much that they stop moving, regardless of what you do to them. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-herd-cats/676643/24 "2013-12-19T14:29:50Z")
Of course I’ve heard of cats! Well, someone had to say it, right? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-herd-cats/676643/25 "2013-12-19T15:57:52Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > But I’ve seen people walking a cat on a leash, so it can’t be that hard to train out of them. It’s not that it’s hard to do. You just \*\*have \*\*to start early. If you don’t start leash-training when they’re kittens, it’s effectively impossible. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-herd-cats/676643/26 "2013-12-19T16:18:47Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Oh, and I’m not sure if rabbits can be herded themselves, but they have been known to [herd sheep now and then](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeuL5IGimCQ). That’s an amazing video. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-herd-cats/676643.md?page=1)