I have seen a few cats on leashes and always thought it unnatural. Is the cob there to train it in the line of demarcation? There's a long yellow line in the picture. Is it a boundary of some sort?

Is it because someone read the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture (1916) publication entitled "The Domestic Cat: Bird Killer, Mouser and Destroyer of Wildlife" while sitting in the outhouse (hence the corn cob)?

That wouldn't have occurred to me, but now that you mention it, oy, my ribs they hurt from laughing.

When my Mother lived in NYC, she trained her Siamese to walk on a leash, so she could give her some outside play time. She would walk her every day.

So you can swing it around to see how man Gs it can take before it passes out?

"Walking My Cat Named Dog" by Norma Tanega

I'm walking all around the town
I'm seeing all the people down
Walking around
Talking around

Me and my cat named Dog
We're walking high against the fog
Singing my song
Singing my song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTnOyrnWYpc

I think the corn cob is a red herring ;)
My son and family have cats who will walk on a leash.

To keep it from jumping after whatever you have on the barbie with the rest of the corn?

Is it one o dem corn-founded Democats? Ya jus' caint put no trust in 'em kinds.

My cat follows along when I take the dog for a walk, but if I get too far away from home the cat becomes very nervous and threatens to freak out. Maybe a leash would help.

Some cats take to leashes very well. Maine Coons, in particular, are known to be leash-friendly (although that wasn't true for my first one, and I haven't tried with the second). Start 'em as kittens, show some patience, and see what happens. If you're the one that ends up getting trained more than the cat, then it's probably wise to discontinue the experiment. And I have no idea what's up with the corncob.

Cat? Leash?
These words should never appear in the same sentence.

I can't even get the cats to wear collars...they're like Houdini! I put one on either of them, five minutes later it's in the middle of the floor, as a sign of defiance.

There is no way I could get a harness on either of them.

If they're indoor cats (i.e. declawed) you leash them because you don't want them running off and not be able to defend themselves.

LS, I guess you've never attempted to introduce medicine into a declawed cat. They still have their teeth, and they still have their hind legs.

I know...

The corn is for your squirrels or birds that you feed.

The cat figured out if it could get the corn down from the post.. it could get the prey...

Hence the leash. To keep your cat from climbing up and getting the corn and making it a strawman for squirrels and birds...

I occasionally take my cat on the leash for a drag...