Cassie enjoys the outdoors I love that cats can join their humans on outdoor adventures like hiking, surfing and boating. Laura Moss’ wonderful book, Adventure Cats, brings these stories to life along with marvellous how-to tips that helped me to leash train my own kitty. The instructions on harness-training were very helpful when I needed to learn the skill. Like many rescues, the RAPS cat sanctuary, who allowed me to adopt Cassie, required outdoor access only in a controlled environment like a catio or while walking on a leash. As I believed it would be excellent for Cassie’s health challenges to have time in nature, I was keen to begin.
As a catio didn’t seem practical for our space, I bought a large-sized harness for Cassie. While it fit her neck, the belly was still too small. As the harness was sewn in Canada, I figured I could re-sew it myself. I found some black nylon strapping and added a few inches for a made-to-measure fit. Moss’ advice was to train gradually, making every experience with the harness a positive one. I began by simply introducing the harness. Cassie sniffed it and then enjoyed a bite of tasty salmon. Soon I was able to rest the harness on her back while she ate the salmon. Then I tried closing the neck strap briefly. The first time went well, but the next time, Cassie reacted a bit fearfully. I then backtracked to simply resting the harness on her back while she had her salmon snack. But summer was quickly disappearing. After three weeks, when Cassie was bugging me for food, I wondered if she overate out of boredom, as some humans do. As she sat on the kitchen table in front of me, I asked her, “Do you want to go outside?” I took the harness and leash to the patio door and beckoned her over. She ran up to me. When I attached the harness completely this time, she had no problem with it, her eyes fixed on the view outside. She popped through when I opened the door, walking confidently in the harness. First she explored the whole back yard, patrolling the perimeter. I let her set the pace as we walked together. August 30 was a quiet day, with families away enjoying the last hurrah of summer before back-to-school. When Cassie popped through the gap in the hedge to the front yard, it was only birds and bugs who joined us. Without the harness, I would have discouraged her from leaving the yard. But she was keen to explore and I was confident that I could help her with whatever arose. Cassie led me down the lane, and when she heard voices in the distance, decided to turn back. But instead of turning back home at the end of the lane, Cassie headed down the sidewalk. She didn’t get far before we saw a sport utility vehicle approaching. Cassie stopped and stared. I waved at the driver as she slowly passed us, smiling as she saw my cat on a leash. Cassie has that effect, if people notice! But as soon as the vehicle moved past, Cassie bolted. She tried to run to one side, then the other, but the leash and harness held perfectly. I picked her up and carried her to the back yard, where she calmed and continued exploring. How do you pick up a frightened cat without getting scratched? The secret I have found is to pull your dominant arm under the cat’s body with your hand coming through the forelegs. The back legs are pressed against your body while the forelegs dangle a bit, claws out of reach. No need for a towel, as kitty is secured, even if she struggles a little until she realizes she is safe. Our first garden walk was TWO HOURS long. I let Cassie lead and was prepared to be patient. It wasn’t always easy! Now I’m more mindful of what I want to do. Cassie gets it when I don’t want to walk under a bush or through a cobweb, and she’s fine if I choose to end the walk. It helps that there could be a morsel of tuna waiting for her inside! Our walks are usually fifteen minutes to a half hour long, at least once a day. With the fall weather, we’ve been out in light rain and a windstorm (avoiding trees where branches might fall). This morning I had to bundle up, and we spent more time in sunny patches. I’m looking forward to seeing Cassie making footprints in the snow! But that can wait, please! It’s adorable to see the garden through the cat’s unique view. The odd moth and even a leatherjacket were quickly munched when caught. Spiders and beetles can be fun to watch when in motion, but aren’t tempting to eat. On the other hand, birds are riveting! Chickadees, wrens and Oregon towhees are frequent visitors to the bird feeder. Cassie watches them all day from inside. When we venture to the front yard, she sits low, hiding behind a rock, planning her attack. But the birds are then out of reach and chirp to warn the others, added to my own warning. I tell Cassie that birds and bunnies are our friends, but she still gets excited about them. For a few days, a wild bunny took up residence between an azalea and a patch of feverfew. The wild plant seeds itself, showing tiny daisy flowers in either single or double petal formations. The bunny stayed still as Cassie and I walked right past without her noticing. But the next time, she saw the bunny and went to charge for it. It was time to go back inside. There was one unfortunate incident with a wasp. Cassie ran toward the hedge and began digging around in the fallen leaves. Something there was fascinating. Suddenly she jerked out, swatting at her eye. I carried her inside, where I was horrified to find one eye completely closed and watering. I called the vet, who agreed that she was likely stung by a wasp, and recommended a quantity of Benadryl to reduce the swelling. I’ve found that Cassie likes her pills ground up and mixed with tuna, but this medication made her drool and seemed to taste bad. She only had a little. But she steadily improved, and the swelling was gone by the next day. She was ready to walk again in the morning. I learned not to let her dig around under the hedge or wherever I couldn’t see what she was getting into. Cassie isn’t too savvy of wasps and sometimes still wants to swat them. Other than that scary incident, our walks have been fun. Cassie hasn’t had another bladder infection. I hope that she’ll work off her excess weight more easily and improve her heart function and wonky back legs. I’m getting exercise too! When Cassie stops to sit, I often do squats, quad stretches or whatever seems right. I’m finding the leash is much safer than supervised access to the outdoors. When I used to take B.J., who looked much like Cassie, into the garden, there was often a point in the front yard where he couldn’t resist heading to the neighbour’s yard. There was nothing I could do when he scooted under the hedge, except walk around it and scoop him up, after letting him enjoy some of the scents he found tantalizing. Before that, when I briefly let B.J. out unsupervised, he returned with an injury from a fight with another animal. I agreed with the vet’s recommendation to end those wanderings to avoid further injury. But even with supervision, the unexpected can happen. Kringle, my senior orange tabby, was enjoying supervised time in the garden last year, when suddenly another cat appeared. Kringle chased the orange tabby off the property -- twice. I was impressed with his prowess, but it was a lot for him to handle and after the second time, he became fearful of returning outdoors. Now, if there’s a visiting kitty, I can watch and control my cat to keep her safe. And when Cassie wanted to go to the neighbour’s yard where B.J. used to run, I was able to redirect her without much difficulty. Maybe it helped that there’s a dog living there now. After a few redirects, she understood. It feels wonderful to have this level of control and safety for my kitty. Adventure Cats offers extensive suggestions on how to prepare to keep your kitty safe, and even ideas for the right harness for your kitty. Many find success using those designed for small dogs. I wonder if they would work better than Cassie’s harness, where the top section tends to slip to the side. Occasionally I reposition it during our walks. The book also gives sixteen “Cat Tales,” paired with beautiful photos, featuring famous cats enjoying adventures that we once might have thought impossible. I loved the chapter devoted to special needs cats. Blind kitty Stevie climbed Ireland’s highest mountain. Wobbly kitty Zhiro can’t jump, but she joins her human rock-climbing in Utah. Lacy Taylor says, “Her wobbly walk has almost disappeared, which I attribute to the fact that we keep her active either outside with us or inside playing with my other cats…. She has taken us on hikes recently, pulling us up the mountain trails.” There’s even a Canadian story featuring hiking and boating tabbies, Bolt and Keel of Victoria, B.C. The story of the two kittens, found abandoned in a park, is now featured in their own book, Bolt and Keel: The Wild Adventures of Two Rescued Cats by Kayleen VanderRee. I wonder what new adventures await Cassie and me. I have a feeling that the garden is just the beginning. - Irene Plett TOPICS: travel with pets, leash training cats, cat training, garden cats
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