AITA for bringing my cat with me on a popular hike and accidentally antagonizing a few dogs?

Jonathan Hours
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Picture a crisp weekend morning—birds chirping, a trail winding through towering trees, and a Reddit user trekking along with their cat snug in a mesh backpack, purring at the fresh air. This solo city dweller, a hiking buff since the pandemic, thought their feline buddy would love the adventure on a well-known, sometimes remote trail. All’s well until a trio of unleashed dogs barrels down, barking like they’ve spotted a squirrel convention, with the cat as the star!

The owners stumble in, yelling at their pups, then turn the heat on our hiker, sniping about “feeding” their dogs and banning cats from the trail. Tensions flare, leashes get yanked, and a glare lingers. The cat’s fine, but the user’s left fretting: was bringing their furry pal a misstep? Grab your boots—we’re hitting the trail to sort this wild encounter!

‘AITA for bringing my cat with me on a popular hike and accidentally antagonizing a few dogs?’

A hiker takes their cat along a popular trail in a backpack, only to face unleashed dogs and grumpy owners. Rules and pet etiquette collide. Here’s the original Reddit post:

So I live by myself in a big city. There are a lot of hiking trails around me so I’ve been hiking almost every weekend since the pandemic started. A few weeks ago I bought one of those mesh cat carrier backpacks to put my cat in because I wanted to bring her with me for company. She loves being outside. I used it this past weekend on a fairly well-known but still remote at parts trail.

About halfway through a pack of 3 dogs came down the opposite direction, unleashed, and started going nuts at my backpack (with cat inside). Their owners turn the corner and yell at them to sit, dogs keep barking, then they start yelling at me asking if I’m trying to feed their dogs. It ends up taking a few minutes with them having to releash each dog just to pull them away.

Before they left, one of the women gave me a look and said “keep your cats off this trail next time, should be common sense.” AITA for bringing my cat? I’ve been going over it in my head. The trail is open to everyone and dogs are technically required to be leashes, but people don’t care on the remote parts. My cat still ended up having a good time despite the dogs, so I want to keep bringing her but feeling anxious that doing so will just get more hate from dog owners.

Hiking with pets can turn a stroll into a saga—paws and all! This Reddit user, toting their cat in a secure backpack, ran into a canine frenzy—three unleashed dogs losing it, owners pointing fingers. The cat stayed safe, the trail’s open to all, but unleashed pups broke the rules. The owners’ ire? A classic case of dodging their own leash lapse!

Pet-friendly trails are booming—60% of U.S. hikers bring pets, per a 2023 REI survey (Source). Dr. Marty Becker, a vet, says, “Control’s key—untrained dogs off-leash risk chaos” (Source). Here, the user’s cat posed no threat; the dogs’ behavior did.

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Here’s what the community had to contribute:

Reddit’s troop storms in with feisty, fur-flying takes! They’ve got our hiker’s back, tossing shade at rogue dogs and owners who skip leashes. Here’s the scoop:

[Reddit User] − NTA - Your cat was in the backpack and on your back. It's not like you had your cat out on a leash for the dogs to potentially attack. The owners were just embarrassed their dogs aren't as well trained as they thought. Boohoo, the trail is open for everyone.

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mooweemag − NTA if a dog cannot behave does not respond to commands then it should be leashed trail or no trail. End of story. And I am a dog person.

idkthisisnumber3 − NTA typically trails have signs requesting that dogs stay leashed bc of things like this. if they can’t control their dog the dog has no business being off leash, not your fault at all

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[Reddit User] − NTA. The cat wasn't even on a loose/on a leash. And even though I'm sure the dog owners were surprised you had a cat with you, this situation would have been no different if their dogs had encountered another dog they didn't like. The dogs and the dog's behavior are the owners responsibility. You weren't breaking any rules or being irresponsible with your pet, so it's all on them.

[Reddit User] − Absolutely NTA! 1. Depending on country and region there are laws against unleashed dogs. Where I live dogs have to be leashed during seasons when birds that brood on the ground brood and on most hiking trails\public places. The chance that these dogs were illegaly unleashed is pretty high.

2. If their dogs cannot be put back under control when they see a cat, they are not fit to be unleashed in public. There is a reason for why dog training (especially for hunting dogs) exist. 3. The hiking trail is for everyone, including your cat. It wasn't even unleashed but savely tucked in a backpack. No harm could have come from your cat to anyone.

Enjoy your hiks with your cat. You weren't breaking laws and you didn't do anything wrong. The attitude SOME dog owners have is baffling. Apparently it's hard to understand that their dogs aren't the center of the universe.

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An unleashed dog once ran in front of my car (I was going like 5mph because of it and watched the dog like a hawk) on a street between villages and the woman walking it had the nerve to yell at me after I slammed my brakes. It was brooding season. She was lucky I didn't know her. Otherwise I would have called the police right then and there.

mynameisamirage − NTA. It's common sense that they need to be able to control their dogs. What next no squirrels in the park because it might upset the pups? They sound very self-absorbed.

PoppySiddal − Hey, OP. NTA.🐾 There are a lot of cats going out and about these days, you are not alone in wanting to share the outdoors with your buddy..

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If you’re looking for advice you might also post to /r/adventurecats or /r/Gary_The_Cat.. Gary especially does a lot of hiking, kayaking, and meowtaineering. His dad has lots of good advice about safety and gear, I’m sure he’d be happy to share his experiences with you.. Good luck and stay safe.. P.S. Cat tax?

milee30 − Your cat wasn't causing any harm and you weren't doing anything illegal or unethical. The problem was the unleashed and badly behaved dogs. That's not your fault or your problem that the dog owners aren't responsible enough to keep their dogs under control and haven't trained them.

That said, there are unfortunately a lot of entitled, problem dog owners out there so if it makes you anxious and you won't have a good time if other dogs act like this, you might want to leave the cat at home since this might not be an uncommon occurrence.. NTA.

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jpcats − “keep your cats off this trail next time, should be common sense.” Great advice from a h**ocrite who cant even follow the law or at the very least hiking etiquette. Dogs are supposed to be leashed. If you do take your dogs off leash, you are responsible for their bad behavior. I want to know exactly how it was your fault for bringing a cat? NTA.

Limp2myLoom − NTA. they should be able to control their dogs.

These Reddit riffs spark a giggle: Are dogs the trail tyrants? Can cats roam free? Leash laws or bust?

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This trail tale—cat in tow, dogs gone wild, and owners in a huff—keeps us hooked! Our Reddit hiker’s just enjoying nature with a feline friend, safely packed, when unleashed pups stir a ruckus. Rules say leashes on, trails for all, and the cat still purred through it. Did the user goof, or are dog owners barking up the wrong tree? What would you do if you found yourself in a similar situation? Drop your takes, trail stories, or sly quips below—let’s trek through this pet pickle together!

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