WICKER PARK — If you hang out near Wicker Park's namesake park long enough, you are bound to see a "super social" cat named Charles being pushed around in a stroller.
"I keep trying to convince other cat owners to put their cat in a stroller, so I am not the only weirdo," said Connie Bacon, a 47-year-old Wicker Park resident who walks her cat, Charles, in a stroller and on a leash for one-hour-long walks twice daily.
Bacon bought a stroller, specially designed for pets (but not necessarily cats) about a year ago, when she moved into a small apartment across the park at 1425 N. Damen Ave.
"At first he was resistant to the stroller but it took about one month to get him to where he would not go flying off and try to jump out," Bacon said of Charles, who is a 14-year-old rescue cat adopted when he was a kitten.
"He is very grumpy and yells a lot, he hisses and growls. He is super social but it sounds terrible when he grumbles all of the time," Bacon said.
On a typical afternoon, Bacon usually wheels Charles over to the Wicker Park dog park, where Charles has some dog friends such as "a little yappy dog" named Martini and a bulldog who rolls over and shows his belly whenever he sees Charles through the fence, Bacon said.
"Usually dogs are much more afraid of Charles than he is of them. He is so unaffected by them," Bacon said of her cat, whom she describes as "very bright, vocal and smart."
The duo also checks out trees.
"He will stare at the tree, bolt and go flying up the tree with the leash, and I am standing with my arm in the air [holding the leash]," Bacon said.
Bacon said she takes Charles out so he can get fresh air.
"If you are a pet owner you have a responsibility to give them the best life you can. He needs to be outside and see birds and nature. I live in such a small apartment, it is hard to not have stimulus," Bacon said.
Bacon a former adjunct art professor, is currently unemployed, so she has time to take Charles on long walks when she is not volunteering at a few nonprofit organizations.
"All my friends call him 'Prince Charles' because of the way he bosses me around," Bacon said.
When asked if Charles is planning to go outside in the winter, Bacon said she is considering buying him a snowsuit if she can find one made to fit cats.
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