Walking with a Buddy
On Wednesday, I had two things on my agenda…meet with a prospective renter for one of our buildings and go to the bank. It was a nice day here and I was longing to be outside, so I came home between the two errands, put Skunker Doodle II, better known as Skunkers, in his backpack and walked to the bank. This cat is not going to be an outdoor cat by normal definition, but if he’s going to live with me, he’s going to have to adjust to traveling and doing some outdoor activities. He’s too small for the smallest harness I could find, so right now that means he’s confined to the backpack when I’m hiking or walking. So far, he’s doing great. He can see out from three sides of the carrier.
This was just a simple walk in my own neighborhood, but it felt so good to be able to take a walk with my little friend.
15 response to "Walking with a Buddy"
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I love simple walks like that that I can integrate into my daily activities. So good to have any goal for a walk. I bet Skunkers enjoyed it, too. That common area behind your house is lovely! And if Skuners is an indoor cat, he won’t be a threat to the birds.
Yep, a goal makes it so much easier than just pacing around the subdivision on asphalt and sidewalks. Some streets like my dead end, do not have sidewalks. I bought a new Kindle and some super duper earphones to see if listening to books while I walk will make the concrete more bearable if I’m walking minus the cat.
Rachael will be so envious when she reads this. She’d love to have a cat again, and this looks like her dear old cat Prufrock. I can’t believe you manage to get it inside that pack though! Any of my cats from the past would have lacerated my forearms if I tried that stunt with then.
He really is a sweet cat. He goes inside easily for now, but he’s only five months old. I hope he doesn’t outgrow the backpack or what my back and hips can tolerate. I may have mentioned before that we fostered him since he was two days old, but he’s all ours now. Some people call that “foster failing,” but I just think of it as a blessing for both the cat and the old couple..
Scott’s right, I’m jealous! Cute cat.
Thank you. He’s in trouble tonight. He walked through his wet food with all four paws and then marked the clean floor with his paw prints. (Relatives will be here around 9:30AM!) And as if that wasn’t bad enough, I tried to catch him and he ran in the kitchen, jumped on a cloth-seated chair at the table and then ran from chair to chair to chair. He must have had the food squished between his toes for the amount of mess he made. Remember the tale about the child that went something like this?…”when he was good, he was very very good, but when he was bad he was horrid.” That’s the first thing I thought about as I put him in his cat condo, so I could get the mess cleaned up.
Oh, btw. On image centering. Click on the image, then click on the pencil icon. It gives you options for either aligning (left, right, or center), or sizing. If you assign it to full size (as I do with all mine), it fills the frame. And while you’re there you can caption it too if you wish.
I wonder how many times you’ve had to explain this to me. I have to be the slowest learner as far as this website goes. I did exactly what you said and said update, but I’m seeing it as it was, not as you see it now. Maybe I need to log out and check it tomorrow??? It ain’t been the best of days…dropped the camera and not only seem to have a problem with the camera, but the lens protector broke and the rim is damaged enough that it will not screw off. I do think wine would be better for me than whine. Gracias…one of these days I will surprise you and know how to manipulate things on this lovely and friendly little site.
I love that you are training Skunkers to do outdoor activities with you. My experience is that the adapt to that and are very good at it. You common area looks delightful!
It should warm up soon and I’ll try another bike ride. He’s so much bigger than the one when he was four weeks old, that I’m hoping I can do it. I’ll have to try out a few different containers to haul him in. When I put the harness on him (I’ve figured out how to clip it tight enough for training around the house, but it does not fit him yet), he still lays down and plays dead. I’ve been giving him physical therapy by holding his belly and coaxing him along, but as soon as I let go he flops down. There is nothing restraining his legs.
I commend you on your pet-naming ability. Skunkerdoodles is clever, appropriate, and fun. He looks like a cat version of my dog, Diggity.
Also, I’m jealous of your greenery.
I drove to a county about 60 miles from us…farmland area…today and noticed that there isn’t nearly as much green out that way. When this cat was tiny, every time I’d look at him, that white stripe running down his nose reminded me a skunks with white stripes. My daughter had a cat named Skunker Doodle…so Skunkers became formally Skunker Doodle II.
Great you got out for a walk and especially with Skunkers!
I DO get some looks by passersby when I have our cat Max out on a leash. 🙂
Someone had a cat named Micetroe, which I thought was pretty cool.
I am hoping to get him leash trained…right now just trying to get him use to the harness. Not so much so I could walk him, but if we’re traveling and I stop and put him in the litter box, I do not want to take the chance he’ll run off. So far, he hasn’t attempted to run out any door, but I just don’t want to risk it, especially if I’m in an unknown area. I had an adult foster cat do that once and I don’t think my heart ever beat normal again that day. I actually had him on a leash, but he escaped the harness and ran in a few seconds. If you have traveled by car with your cat, I welcome any advice.
No long distance overnight travel — so a carrier works just fine — Ive wondered about that too.
We had a cat with the white nose stripe, first time I saw her I thought it was a skunk too — originally named Sylvester, but when we discovered he was a she, she became Sylkie.
Great to hear your newborn foster became a permanent resident.
Caring for a newborn is quite a commitment and you obviously get an A+!