What Would You Do If Your Cat Won't Jog With You?

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Police in Lafayette ticketed a 19-year-old man Wednesday on suspicion of tethering his cat to a rock after the pet refused to go jogging with him.

Lafayette police Sgt. Fred Palmer said the man, Seth Franco, of Lafayette, brought his cat on a leash to the path around Waneka Lake Park near Baseline Road and U.S. 287.

"Apparently, the individual was trying to jog with the animal on a leash and the animal was either unwilling or unable to keep up," Palmer said.

According to Palmer, Franco secured the cat's leash to a rock while he finished his run. A passerby saw the cat and called police. According to police radio traffic, the cat was being attacked by a flock of birds while it was tied to the rock.

Lafayette animal control officers responded and found Franco retrieving his cat. Franco was ticketed on suspicion of "domestic animal cruel treatment," a municipal offense.

"Our ordinance prohibits that kind of tethering," Palmer said.

The cat was not injured, so it was released to its owner, Palmer said.
[...]

Messages sent to a Facebook account for a Seth Franco in the Boulder area were not returned. The social media site contains numerous images of a rescued cat, Stella, including some with the cat on a leash outside.

http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayette...und-lake-owner

Not sure if that's the same Seth Franco, but he does seem to like his cat.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003114935430


Why would anyone take a cat jogging?

[sheevaa]

It's a cat....cats don't jog, lol. Jogging buddy would be a dog, silly human.

[sugarfree irony]

Protection from mice ? He needs to buy this .
lg-18948-27042P_7.jpg

[blacksheep]

My dear old ragdoll Hoover used to love his harness and leash. He was 11kg when I adopted him, I got him down to a fit 7kg, mainly through good diet and an active lifestyle chasing my other cat Alfred and running away from the kids. His harness was used for car trips. I took him to the kids school a few times, he was famous as the enormous snow tiger on a leash :) Some times I took him to a friends house, or to the kids playground/park. The trick was not to lead the cat, but train and allow the cat to lead YOU. If the slightest pressure was applied, he wouldstop, gently crouch low and patiently look at the lead, which allowed me to pick him up for whatever reason (wild kids/other pets/the fact he was trying to lead me to the top of the pantry cupboard..)

That delightful story notwithstanding, jogging LMAO

His fb has a pic of the cat on a pillar, in the harness crouch-reflex. But seriously. He's an idiot.

[LeaveMeBe]

I would only take my cat jogging with me if I really did not want to exercise.

[Shadow]

Cat's are very contrary, duh.. They aren't going to do what you want, they'll do what THEY want.. It's up to you to 'keep up with them'..
Dogs on the other hand, are only too happy to go for a run..Even our lil' squirt of a chug would willingly go out for a run because it means exercise. She loves to run and play.

~shadow

PS: I'm glad kitty is ok... want to smack the owner in the head though.

[Zazen]

If I wanted to jog with my cat, I'd tie a brick to a rope and drag it behind me. And I'd leave my cat at home because you know, cats don't jog.

[Tundratot]

I've had one cat in my life that liked to go out on a leash for a walk. Plenty of the others also liked to walk, but they hated leashes and would immediately crouch down and refuse to move. "Going for a drag" is how we referred to it. Even when cats enjoy the outing, they are mostly slow about, preferring to meander, smell things, and stay within a comfortable distance of their homes.

[Chinchillazilla]

Okay, I love cats and don't want bad things to happen to any of them, but this line cracked me up.

According to police radio traffic, the cat was being attacked by a flock of birds while it was tied to the rock.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The Facebook linked above is the right one.

Franco says there's another side to this story. He calls it a big misunderstanding and hopes others will learn from his mistake.

"I'm more of a dog person but this cat is so cool that I just took her in and take care of her. I love her," Franco said.

Franco says he found Stella in a sad situation last October.

"She was tied up to a tree behind Boulder High School with a note that said, 'I need a new home,'" Franco said.

Six months later, the two are almost inseparable.

"I just care a lot about her. I guess more than the average person does," Franco said.

Franco says he wanted Stella to enjoy the beautiful weather.

"So I thought, 'Hmm, maybe before work I can go run the lake and the cat can come with me,'" Franco said.

Wednesday afternoon, they went jogging in a loop around Waneka Lake Park in Lafayette.

"She ran about 45 percent of the way and then it was so hot she started panting real bad," Franco said.

Franco tethered Stella to a rock underneath a tree so he could keep jogging.

Franco didn't know that kind of tethering is against Lafayette city ordinance.

Someone called the police and said Stella was being attacked by birds.

"There were no birds going at her. There were crows crowing at her," Franco said.

Some passing joggers scared the crows away as Franco finished up his run.

"And they were yelling at me. Telling me I abuse my animal. I did not intentionally abuse my animal. If anything, I just take care of it," Franco said.

Franco was issued a summons to appear in court on a charge of animal cruelty.

"And they kind of just told me it was common sense to not tie an animal up," Franco said.

Franco hopes others learn from his mistake.

"Don't abandon or hurt or abuse your animals or leave them tied up while you go jogging. Because you'll get in trouble," Franco said.

http://www.9news.com/news/local/arti...at-during-jog-

[Shadow]

is it possible that it was a misunderstanding? I mean some people are pretty stupid when it comes to owning a pet. Doesn't make the things they do 'ok'..but it does maybe explain it.


~shadow

[TheMeaningOfItAll]

Am I the only one that thinks this is totally blown out of proportion? There are plenty of people who just let their cats outside to roam free. Those "free-roaming" cats could theoretically be attacked by a flock of birds. I really don't think it's abuse for him to secure his tired cat and continue to jog around the lake. People tie their dogs outside of stores all the time. If you watch that show on Animal Planet "My Cat From Hell", he sometimes recommends people take their cats out for a walk. I dunno. I just see this as a huge overreaction. He obviously loves the animal and was trying to give it the best life possible.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Am I the only one that thinks this is totally blown out of proportion? There are plenty of people who just let their cats outside to roam free. Those "free-roaming" cats could theoretically be attacked by a flock of birds. I really don't think it's abuse for him to secure his tired cat and continue to jog around the lake. People tie their dogs outside of stores all the time. If you watch that show on Animal Planet "My Cat From Hell", he sometimes recommends people take their cats out for a walk. I dunno. I just see this as a huge overreaction. He obviously loves the animal and was trying to give it the best life possible.

It's because the city has a law against tying your cat up. That law is probably there because too many stupid owners were ending up with hung/strangled cats. This is an example of how well-intentioned folks can get caught up because of other people's lack of brains.

Although, I'm not sure I would go off and just leave my cat hooked to a rock in public. Only because I would worry that someone else may take a liking to her and take her... or take a dislike and do worse.

[TheMeaningOfItAll]

It's because the city has a law against tying your cat up. That law is probably there because too many stupid owners were ending up with hung/strangled cats. This is an example of how well-intentioned folks can get caught up because of other people's lack of brains.

Although, I'm not sure I would go off and just leave my cat hooked to a rock in public. Only because I would worry that someone else may take a liking to her and take her... or take a dislike and do worse.

Agreed. I wouldn't do the same thing either, but maybe it's just my active imagination. I pictured him tying her up and jogging around the lake where he could keep an eye on her. We have a lot of jogging areas like that here. You can basically see all the way around the pond/lake. Either way, I hope this guy has learned his lesson (don't take your cat jogging and NEVER leave it tied up) and gets off with a tap (not even a slap) on the wrist.

[sugarfree irony]

Although, I'm not sure I would go off and just leave my cat hooked to a rock in public. Only because I would worry that someone else may take a liking to her and take her... or take a dislike and do worse.

Or think she is hot and loooove her too much .

[Tundratot]

Am I the only one that thinks this is totally blown out of proportion? There are plenty of people who just let their cats outside to roam free. Those "free-roaming" cats could theoretically be attacked by a flock of birds. I really don't think it's abuse for him to secure his tired cat and continue to jog around the lake. People tie their dogs outside of stores all the time. If you watch that show on Animal Planet "My Cat From Hell", he sometimes recommends people take their cats out for a walk. I dunno. I just see this as a huge overreaction. He obviously loves the animal and was trying to give it the best life possible.

I think the big problem is that the cat couldn't find shelter from the birds. We lived in a place with a large number of magpies that could get quite obnoxious at times. I took my cat out for a walk one time and this flock of magpies just got really aggressive. Maybe they were protecting a nest? The walk didn't go well. The cat stayed very low and hid under things, and couldn't wait to turn around and go home.