# Please use a harness rather than a neck leash on cats (graphic)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-use-a-harness-rather-than-a-neck-leash-on-cats-graphic/919699>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 3, 2020, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-use-a-harness-rather-than-a-neck-leash-on-cats-graphic/919699 "2020-09-03T10:51:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-use-a-harness-rather-than-a-neck-leash-on-cats-graphic/919699/1 "2020-09-03T10:51:00Z")

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My sleep schedule is messed up so I was taking a walk at 4AM. Found a cat on a sidewalk. He’d shat himself and was salivating, not moving his body aside from his head. Ran back to my place to get a cage. Took a cab to the 24-hour vet. By the time we got there, he was having spasms. His body was contorted. They euthanized him as quickly as they could. They said he had less than an hour to live. It was bad enough they didn’t charge me for it. I left the cage behind because I didn’t want to clean it or be reminded every time I saw the cage.

The leash around his neck looked like it had snapped and with it, his neck.

Please use a body harness rather than a neck leash. If the leash gets stuck or something jerks on the leash, the force can be transferred to the neck and it’s not pretty.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-use-a-harness-rather-than-a-neck-leash-on-cats-graphic/919699/2 "2020-09-03T12:46:28Z")

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So somebody was walking a cat on a leash, something happened and they just abandoned it? I don’t have words to express how that makes me feel.

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**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-use-a-harness-rather-than-a-neck-leash-on-cats-graphic/919699/3 "2020-09-03T13:01:06Z")

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I’m not sure what happened. I’ll go around that street and ask people if they’re missing a cat. I think the cat may have been out on a leash without supervision and something happened that jerked the leash with enough force to damage the neck.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-use-a-harness-rather-than-a-neck-leash-on-cats-graphic/919699/4 "2020-09-03T13:14:07Z")

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There are also elastic collars for cats. They’re intended to allow the cat to get free if it snags it’s collar though, not sure if they would prevent a broken neck from a jerk on a leash.