Buddy - The Making Of An Adventure Cat?

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elgecko

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ileen

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With his tail fluffed out & skinny body, it almost looks like you've got a squirrel on a leash at one point. Buddy is adorable. Please post a video of the jump command if you get it.
 
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elgecko

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Was it nice today. Hit 72 degrees here in SE PA.
The Spring Peepers where out.

Not sure if Buddy was going for; Rock Star, King of the Rock, or Mountain Lion pose.....

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He wanted to get closer to the edge then I would let him.

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elgecko

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I've had some questions about how I started Buddy off to become an Adventure Cat, so I thought I'd go into a little more detail about how I did it. This has worked for me and my cat.

The first post of this thread has many of the pictures from the steps listed below.

Probably about a year ago my wife finds a website called Adventure Cats.
On the site it shows people doing all kinds of activities that one normally does not see cats doing. It has articles on how to get started training an adventure cat.
I thought this would be neat to try, but at the time we had a deaf 20 year old cat, Tigger. This is not a cat to try this on.
So now that we have a 5 week old kitten, Buddy; I have a cat to see if he has what it takes to be an adventure cat.

The start of training to be an Adventure Cat.

Some cat personalities will not become an Adventure Cat. I’m hoping Buddy will.
I start with seeing how he will react to having a harness on inside the house. He didn’t miss a beat. It was as if nothing was put on him. I start to put the harness on Buddy when I get home from work and leave it on him till I go to sleep. It does not take long for Buddy to start purring when he sees me get the harness. After several days I proceed to the next step of a leash attached to the harness.

Next was getting Buddy use to a leash on the harness inside the house. Again I’m shocked how this cat has no issue with the harness and leash. I walk around the house and with him leashed up and follows me where I go. Again I repeat this for a few days.

I start to clicker train Buddy to come when called.
I’ll be honest, when he’s outside with all the sights, sounds, and smells, I am not counting on him to listen to any commands I give him. I could be wrong, but think he will be too engrossed in his surroundings.

I decide if I’m going to take Buddy out on hikes, car trips, backpacking trips, kayak trips, you get the picture, I will need a way to get him to these destinations.
I purchase a backpack for just these situations. It will never be used to take him to the vet. I want no negative experiences to ever occur with his backpack.
I clicker train Buddy to enter his backpack. I let him get use to the backpack for a few days. Then it was time to zip up the backpack once Buddy entered and put it on and walk around the house. We did this for a few days. Then I moved onto taking Buddy outside for very short walks while he was in the backpack.

A hint here is to never let your cat to walk out the front door themselves. This can create door dashing down the road. Having your cat run out the door without a harness and leash could create a problem….possibly a lost cat.
Some people will carry there cat outside. I didn’t want to do this as I have no idea how Buddy would react. Buddy’s only means to access the outside is through his backpack.

After all that, the big day came on 10/22/17. It was time for Buddy’s first outdoor leash adventure.
I placed Buddy’s harness on, got him loaded up in his backpack and out the door we went. I walked a short distance to a small quite park. I took off the backpack and placed it on the ground. I unzipped a small portion of the top of his backpack access to attach his leash to his harness. Once he was attach to the leash I unzipped the main front door, and waited.
Buddy was unsure what to do. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to leave the safety of his backpack. After a few minutes he built up the courage to exit the backpack and explore the huge world around him.

I always carry the backpack unzipped in case he gets startled, I can just place it on the ground. He can then easily enter the safety of his backpack.

The first few times out I watched his body language to see how he was liking it. At first I wasn't sure he enjoyed being out. After a few more times, I know that he loves it. He struts down the trail with his tail held high in the air.

When is the hike over? Buddy makes that call, unless I'm out of time and have to get home, then I stop the hike.
What Buddy usually does is he will just sit for a few minutes. When this happens I place his backpack down. Sometimes he enters, other times not. Even if he enters the hike may not be over. I usually wait a few minutes because many times he comes back out and takes off down the trail again.
If he does stay in the backpack for a few minutes, I will zip him up in the backpack and have him ride along on my back while I hike, if I'm not done. I will usually stop and see if he wants out after some time. Most times he will come back out again.

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elgecko

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Had a AHA moment today.

I've been fortunate that I have not run across to many dogs while hiking with Buddy so far.
Only 4 times and only 1 was not leashed. I called to the owners to get their dog and they leashed him. I have seen them all long before they were close, so I had plenty of time to place Buddy in his backpack.

Today it hit me; I made some laminated signs to post at the trailhead and forks in the trail alerting people I have a cat and keep their dog leashed.
Hopefully people will be considerate enough to do so.

Buddy sign.jpg
 
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