I've been in correspondence recently with many kitties who are troubled by either a general lack of spoiling in their lives, or even the unimaginable horror of having not nearly enough treats.  This has been troubling me greatly, and I’ve been pondering the best way to address these desperate situations.  After much thought, it seemed that the best route might be to lead by example!  So, here in all its glory, is an example day in my life and training of pawrents. 

My first, and purrhaps greatest, tip is that one should always start the day off best paw forward.  This means that paw should be resting squarely and firmly on your designated pawrent’s face when it is time fur first breakfast (as opposed to second and third breakfasts, of course.)  I myself like to begin that process somewhere around 4 am, in order to give my meowma and pawpa plenty of time to peel their eyes open and shuffle their feet to the refrigerator fur my venison hors d’oevres.  I’ve found that without an early start my pawrent’s are prone to neglecting my starvation until after their own feedings, which is entirely unacceptable!

After breakfast, I usually help to make the bed, make my first rounds to check fur invading lizards on the catio (as long as it isn’t raining!), then make my way over to the piano (or pawsibly the string bass) fur a little practice time.  I’ve been working a lot on my paw-work recently, and the jazz riffs are starting to fly from my claws.  I ‘m also doing my best to inspire my hooman sisfurs to their musical practice – they seem to have a much harder time when it comes to that, and I’m hoping to bring them into my jazz-cat band one day if only their proficiency can improve a bit more.

By then, it is onto late-morning nap time fur me – all that hard work takes incredible energy!  And, BTW, if you don’t see me mention it elsewhere, simply assume MANY naps throughout the day.  And intermittent begging fur treats – all that high energy work takes extra calories!

Once naptime is over, it’s onto the incredibly important job of supervising meowma as she makes lunch.  While she doesn’t believe that this food is fur me, I know better!  After all, I firmly intend to snitch several licks, and at least one paw swipe over the course of lunchtime.  And there is always the eternal hope that she will neglect her finished plate on the table, in which case I am most happy to help clean it up.  All said, I am happy to report that my watchful eye has produced excellent results in the kitchen, and that I’ve convinced (suckered!) her into believing that my lunchtime companionship is a blessing.

Afternoons are often a quiet time at our household – either meowma is writing (in which case I ALWAYS tuck myself on her lap or on the desk), or I nap in front of the door if she goes out on errands (someone needs to protect the house.) Either way, it is a sleepy time of day.  If she is writing, there is always the need to inspire her once in while with purrs or kisses, but mostly I do try to rest up.  Evening is coming, and there will be laundry to be done, the garage to sneak into, and so much more cooking to inspect!  Not to mention the incredible energy output that it takes to inspire an early feeding of my own dinner! 

When it is all done, and we are finally heading to bed, it is time to remind meowma one last time about how empty my tummy is (she NEVER feeds me enough dinner!)  So, just before we climb into bed fur the long snuggle, she pulls out the treats one last time and we play bedtime Tricks-Fur-Treats.  I believe that it helps her to relax her mind and sleep better.  Certainly it fills my tummy until the 4 am wakeup call! 

I hope that this has been helpful to all of you dear furriends, and lays out a shining example of the types of stimulus/encouragement/supervision that all pawrents require.  It is hard work, but when diligently applied it has the power to change the circumstances of all Cat-kind. ~ Much love from Haku🐾

Backyard adventuring for cats is a subject near and dear to my heart.  (While wearing a harness and leash – not roaming loose.)  It is a wonderful way for otherwise indoor cats to get the stimulation and exercise that they need to stay healthy and interested in life.  Every single time that I take ShiShi or Haku out to roam around our yard, or our neighborhood, I see an instant change in their moods.  They are happier, cuddlier, more interested in what is happening around the house.  And my picky eater ShiShi is far more likely to eat all her dinner.

When most people think about adventure cats, they tend to imagine kitties who are backpacking with their owners in the High Sierras, or perhaps hiking long miles through towering virgin forests.  And while those cats are purely amazing (not to mention their dedicated owners!) pictures of them on their gorgeous trips can sometimes be intimidating to less adventurous cat owners.  Cat adventures in the backyard, around the neighborhood, and local pet-friendly parks are definitely less exciting to talk about, and much less glamorous to photograph, but they have to potential to make kitties really, really happy.   And they are ever so much easier to achieve on a regular basis for those of us with crazy busy schedules (me!)  

So many people have written me commenting how they love seeing ShiShi and Haku exploring in my yard - and that they’d been overwhelmed with the idea that they needed to get their cats out on huge adventures in order for them to have fun.  (And then never got those same cats outdoors at all.)  So guys - this post is for you!

The expressions on my cats’ faces while sprawled under their favorite bush, or walking the fence line behind our house, make it easy to see how much fun they can have while exploring twenty feet from our back door.  True, I have a goal of adventuring farther and wider with them eventually, but those happy kitty expressions mean that I will always give them lots of time to explore near where we live as well.

True story:  Before I started taking ShiShi on bigger adventures, she used to roll over and purr when I pulled out her harness from the cupboard.  Now, she is still eager to go out, but there is occasionally a small edge of worry.  But once we are headed straight out the back of the lanai, all her fur fluffs up instantly and she starts pulling me to go faster.  She loves to make a tight circuit all around the house, then starts roaming wider and exploring the remnants of the old golf course that is directly behind our yard.

Haku is much the same, only perhaps even happier to explore at home.  He is still far less excited about those wider explores that we have been taking at one of our local parks, but really loves exploring around every edge of our (quite small!) backyard.  Mind you, his idea of exploring is to walk one or two feet, then sit while he sniffs at absolutely everything in range, then walk ahead another one or two feet to repeat the process. 

And once he’s found his happy spot under the moss-covered tree on the corner of the yard, it’s is all over unless I carry him around just to see more of the yard!  He’s completely happy to sit in the dappled light sifting through the mossy on the tree and sniff at the breeze for hours if I let him.

Are more extensive explores and adventures awesome too – you bet!  In fact, I really want to do some with ShiShi and Haku one day if they have shown me that their comfort levels are ready for it.  Not to mention the fact that I frequently drool over the pictures of some of my favorite adventure cats on Instagram.  But I think that those bigger adventures are going to be more about me and my desire to spend time with ShiShi and Haku while doing things that I love.  And to keep me interested in the idea of taking my cats outside (those backyard walks can get pretty mega boring for me after a while!)

Happy Outdoor explores!

BTW – If you are still trying to figure out how to introduce your cat to a harness, you can check out the post I wrote about it here:

I’ve been away from home all week, visiting family and old friends.  It’s been a wonderful trip, but what does this have to do with cats and this blog?  I have one word for you -  KITTENS!!!

You read it – I abandoned poor ShiShi and Haku at home with the rest of their loving family and have been cheating on them with my best friend’s adorable young kittens.  After a fun afternoon of kitten meet-n-greets, I couldn’t help wondering the next day if those kittens would love playing tricks-fur-treats as much as my kitties do. 

Now, this is going to be a bit of a short post because, well, travel.  The short answer is that barely four-month-old Catness and Miso (the kittens) loved learning their tricks!  And they each learned about 6-7 repeatable tricks within minutes (about 10 minutes in individual sessions).  Of course, those kittens weren’t like Haku and ShiShi and able to do their tricks with only hand and word cues – I had to coax them through each trick with the treats, but for moments at a time they looked like purrfect little purrfessionals.

Needless to say, my friend and her kids were amazed – they had no idea that their tiny kittens would be capable of all that, let alone an adult cat.  And I, of course, explained that cats are brilliant and capable of doing absolutely TONS of tricks and so much more (if only they happen to feel like it!)

Miso was my first choice to work with, because I knew from what was said that she is highly food motivated.  (Although she’s also a very independent thinker – that kitten’s teen years are going to be a doozy!)  She had her Sit by the second try, then we moved on to Shake, Stand Up High, Lie Down, Circles around, and Climb Up on my arm.  She also had been working on Boop for a few days, so she picked that up super well –  and even was able to walk across the couch from a Sit to Boop my finger.  So much fun!

Catness was up next, and we ran through the same series of tricks.  She’s much less food motivated, but a real people pleaser.  As soon as she understands anything that is wanted, she’s happy to give it a try.  (It was so easy to take pictures of her, once she knew what I wanted, unlike stubborn Miso lol!)  Also, I’d been able to grab two of ShiShi and Haku’s favorite kinds of treats at a local pet store, including the epic freeze-dried rabbit bits, so Catness just flew through her tiny training session.

How do I know that these guys loved their training time?  Catness kept her ears perked forward and interested the whole time and ran over to give me whisker kisses a short time later after we’d finished.  Miso actually began purring the second time we ran through her tricks so that I could get these pictures.  I’m really hoping that my friend (and her kids) keep up the training now that they know how to do it – I can’t wait to see what those kittens can do by the next time that I visit!

1 - Kittens are completely irresistible - I could become a crazy cat lady with a million cats if I don’t watch out!

2 - It is never too early to train kittens.  It was so very fast and easy to teach those simple tricks, and they obviously had a bunch of fun working with me to do them.

3 - Cats are incredibly intelligent, sensitive beings, and kittens are no different.  Catness and Miso both amazed me with their adventurous spirits, loving personalities, and willingness to jump into our trick learning.  They both had lots of fun, and climbed all over me begging for more when I returned the next day.

FSometimes I wonder what, exactly, I was thinking about when I plan up a new adventure for the kitties.  Ya’ll may suspect right now that I can be a tad bit impulsive when some brilliant idea comes to me.  And that’s definitely how it was when I decided that Haku and ShiShi were getting so comfortable with our woods-style adventures that we could try out some new, watery terrain. 

In my defense, I am friends with a generous handful of people who’s cats seem to be just fine with open water – or even *gasp!* enjoy it.  Unfortunately, it turned out that Haku and ShiShi simply didn’t Feel the Love quite like those water-baby kitties do…

The whole misadventure started out so innocently – I’d visited the area many times before, and absolutely loved it.  I'd even eyeballed spots that I thought the kitties would enjoy most, like the semi-private tiny shell beach that looks over the water, and ancient oaks that make some of the best climbing trees I’ve ever seen.  If other kitties frolic along the water, surely mine would too – especially in a spot as perfect as this… (Or, so my fevered brain thought…)  

I was so convinced the Haku and ShiShi would love this brand-new adventure spot that I even talked a whole pile of our (somewhat huge!) family into coming on this misadventure of a cat outing.  After all, the family that adventures together stays together, right?  Or, at least the extra family members reassure worried kitties when trying out something new.  So, five of us plus kitties made the journey to Disaster Island.

But… The parking lot at the park was packed when we arrived, and we could see a ton of people walking around, many with their dogs.  But, we’d made the journey to get there and hated to turn around without giving things a chance.  So, kitties safely in their backpacks, we ventured forth under the flowered arches to try to find find a quiet spot and a little fun. 

All appeared well at first despite the business – both ShiShi and Haku were alternating making curious circles inside their packs and pressing noses to the mesh at the front to see everything.  Thinking to avoid the mass of evening dog walkers, we walked straight to the tiny beach-like area and set the packs down on the shells so that they were facing out at the boats anchored out in the water.  We opened the packs and...

My brave ‘adventure’ cats promptly backed as fast as they could away from the water and found hiding spots in the tall grass between the waterfront and the park.  Then they proceeded to watch with enormous eyes as dog after person after dog paraded by on the sidewalk that was a mere 10 feet away.  We probably stayed on that little ‘beach’ for less than three minutes before popping the kitties back into their packs and moving on, hoping to find a happier note.

So, on it was to the climbing trees.  Normally ShiShi adores climbing around on any tree that she can get her claws into, and usually Haku isn’t seriously opposed to some tree fun either.  But, the park was so unexpectedly busy that most of the places that I’d eyeballed as fun spots for the cats to play already had someone lounging underneath.  We picked as best we could, but were still unfortunately close to that busy, busy sidewalk.

After a few moments in her pack (and some treats!), tree girl ShiShi ventured out to check things out.  She was obviously excited to be poking around the roots of the giant tree and would have been to do some upward exploration if we had let her. But…

Haku seemed better at first after he had a few treats, and he even popped out for a very quick explore of the tree.  But, then we were cursed by that durned sidewalk and a huge dog, and he ran for his pack.  When he began panting, and didn’t stop with petting and more treats, it was obviously past time to get him out of there.  ShiShi wasn’t too pleased, but it was back into the pack, this time with the front mesh rolled up so that she could see everything better, and off we went.  Fortunately, Haku calmed as soon as I had his pack on and he could see that I was walking back toward the parking lot.

We walked around the marina side of the park on our way out - and we even saw a real boat cat out for its walk sporting a very nice harness and leash.  (All things considered, we didn’t even contemplate a meet-and-greet!)  ShiShi rode the whole way back with both her head and half of her body hanging out the front of the pack, and I would have dearly loved to give her more time to explore.  But it just wasn’t to be.  Home we went, and I pulled out a virtual TON of treats for Haku (ShiShi was happy to reap the benefits!) after we got the harnesses off.

As difficult and embarrassing as most of this water adventure was, I wanted to share it because I learned some valuable things about venturing out with the kitties, and they may be helpful to someone else who is also new to adventuring further from home.

My end goal is to have two happy cats who stay fit and healthy through our adventures, and who are flexible enough to travel with me in the years to come.  As with any training, when something doesn’t work out, it’s time to break it into smaller pieces so that it can be successful.  For now, we’re having tons of short adventures closer to home, while I wait for the summer heat to wear off.  Backyard adventures rock!

‘Your cat does tricks?  No way!’

I’ve probably heard that hundreds of times now, nearly every time I mention that one of ShiShi and Haku’s favorite things to do is to play Tricks-Fur-Treats.  It seems that people are used to dogs doing tricks, but somehow there’s an extra bit of charm when it’s a Cat who’s shaking paws or handing out whisker kisses.

It’s so rare to see cat tricks in action - maybe that's why it always seems so fun?  Even on YouTube, it takes some work to find cats doing much in the way of tricks.  Of course, training kitties does take lots of patience when getting started (and a great sense of humor too!) but it’s totally possible.  ShiShi and Haku know many more tricks than my dogs were ever able to learn, and they’ve learned them with far less effort on my part. 

The other part of that charm (at least for me) is that when one of my cats does a trick, I always know for sure that she or he really wanted to do it.  No way, no how is any self-respecting cat going to be pestered, or even treated, into doing something that they didn’t choose.  My cats certainly wouldn’t!  In fact, they’d be more likely to look at their hopeful trainer (me) with complete disdain, then saunter away with tail waving a taunting flag in the air.