h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, that explains cat collars, and dog collars get a mention - but how about other animals? When our budgie started pecking at a sore on his abdomen and pulling his feathers out we were invited over the phone by the vet to make him a collar out of thin card. Oh, what fun we had! It will be a source of considerable amazement to anybody who reads this that we were not altogether successful. Interestingly, the budgie has since died.

Rabbits can have collars, can't they? Then you could take it for a walk (hop?) on a lead. If anybody is thinking of this, please let me know - I'll bring a camera.

I had a rabbit, and instead of a collar we got it a harness that attached around the neck and the belly and was connected by a strap. We thought it would be fun to take my rabbit on walks, but it hated the thing and chewed it off(i still dont know how it got a hold of it in his mouth) within a day.

I should have thought that if you were going to put a harness on a rabbit to take it for a walk, it would be better to take it off between times - or did the rabbit manage to chew it off whilst it was actually on the lead? Animals are scarily adept at doing exactly what you don't want.

It opens up all sorts of questions though, (well it does for me) of what sorts of animals you can take for a walk. I'm sure I remember reading an article about some oddball who tied his tortoise to a roller skate and took it out for, erm, a roll. Or a drag? I can't imagine why, unless it was to get his picture in the paper. Then again, why would a tortoise want his picture in the paper? I think perhaps I should go and have a nice lie down until I feel better.

Actually taking a cat for a walk is quite an experience as cats are, generally speaking, really not interested in going anywhere very fast. They like to sniff, nibble grass, nudge bushes, etc. and this makes for long moments standing around doing absolutely nothing while they get on with it.

Then there's the exploration business. Cats like to explore, climb, dart and run. Leads don't make that easy. A loose grip on the other end, however, opens up all kinds of opportunities. Cats will instinctively know exactly when you ae least expecting them to dart and make a run for the nearest gate or fence.

Actually, that could work quite well in the opposite direction. They could take you for a run, and teach you how jungle creatures stay fit. That should strengthen your heart.

My parents live near a busy road and when we were younger, we had a kitten. To prevent him doing what kittens seem to enjoy doing (running in front of a car) we had a harness for him. I've never seen a cat sulk so much. Ever. Don't put harnesses on cats.