Post by Jeremy on Mar 5, 2017 16:38:58 GMT -8
Clover is not a kitten anymore and we are doing our best to learn what motivates her to be a strong hiking member of the troop. With six kids, three dogs, two cats and what seems like a mountain of gear, mobilizing our crew sometimes feels like organizing a small circus to take a walk in the woods. We learned a lot with our first hiking kitty and figured we would share what has worked for us.
We are blessed that our first hiking kitty loves to go as long as the hike does not exceed a couple of miles. More than that and he is likely to ‘demand’ a ride. Here is what we learned with him:
We are blessed that our first hiking kitty loves to go as long as the hike does not exceed a couple of miles. More than that and he is likely to ‘demand’ a ride. Here is what we learned with him:
- Kittie bag: We have used a kitty bag to transition our kitties from the car to the trail, cars in parking lots are scary and the bag offers some security while preventing you from getting scratched and losing your companion. The bag has a zipper at one end to place the cat’s body in and a velcro collar sized hole at the other so that your kitty is able to have their head out and see what is going on.
- Patience: The first time out can be stressful, not much hiking occurs, every sound or shift of the wind catches their attention.
- Start leash training on a single track trail: Herding cats is not just a joke, similar to directing cattle with a chute, we have found that a path lined with shrubs, trees, or tall grass encourages them to assume the easier path.
- Motivation: Our first hiking kitty was strongly motivated by his independence. He wanted down and we used this to our advantage. Every time he chose not to move in the direction of the group or chose not to move at all, we would simply pick him up. He quickly learned if he wanted to be able to explore, he need to do so by moving forward along the path. Clover is not strongly motivated by independence but is strongly motivated by food and we are exploring this option.
- Environmental changes: Our cats do not appreciate the cold. They love their creature comforts. We are experimenting with jackets for them but this will take some perfecting. We would not recommend starting training in the cold.
- Time of day: Does your kitty have a favorite nap time. We love to backpack and if we choose to backpack at midday, we find that even our independent kiddy would rather be carried. We find that they are more interested to hiking in the morning or evening.
- Harness training: Our kitties live in their harnesses for weeks before going outside. This way their harness is familiar and they are not fighting it. This has worked out nicely for us when transitioning them into lifejackets or backpacks. The backpack carries minimal wait, but has been a useful training tool. The backpack is awkward for the cats and discourages climbing trees or attempts to move off trail through shrubs.
We are not experts in training cats but this is what has worked for us. Clover is just getting started hiking and we are looking forward to seeing her get out and explore more.
Attached are some pictures from our latest winter hike through a local rainforest. It was too cold and the kitties spent most of their time riding but we thought you might appreciate the update on Clover. As the summer gets closer, I imagine we will be spending more time herding cats…
