Wow!   After months of thinking about it, I finally purchased a Pet Gear stroller to try out with ShiShi and Haku, and every last one of us is in love.   Between the ease of use and obvious comfort of the cats, I'm over the moon with the improved quality of our day-to-day adventuring. 

​At nearly 3 weeks post-purchase, we are getting outside for a quick walk around our neighborhood most mornings or evenings, and ShiShi loves the thing so much that she actually sits in it where it's stored on the lanai for hours at a time, meowing to anyone who comes by that it's time for another stroll.  I'm shooting myself for not solving a a whole handful of persnickety cat adventuring problems eons ago.  If only I'd bit the Cat Stroller Bullet sooner...
​
This post contains affililate links.  I get commissions for purchases made through the links in this post, which helps to support the blog. 

​1.  Because it was easy to see that ShiShi and Haku were comfortable with the stroller from the start, I really sped up their introduction.   For a cat who was unused to being outdoors on a leash, I'd definitely slow down the process with treats and lots of time to get used to it.  There a great examples of this process in my article How to Train Stubborn Cats to Wear  a Harness.  

2.  Keeping the stroller, at least for now, where both cats have access to it even when we aren't strolling has been a big plus.  It has become a happy, safe place where both of them hop in just to hang out in style whenever they are on the lanai.  And it is cute beyond anything to see one of my teens pushing ShiShi around the lanai yet again, just because she meowed so sweetly for it.

3.  There are several styles of Pet Gear Strollers.  I am thrilled with the flexibility of the Pet Gear Special Edition version.  It is easily able to roll over the grass on my lawn without getting stuck, and the shock absorbers keep the kitties from bouncing around on sidewalk cracks.  Although popping the kitties into our zip-in Pet Gear stroller really is a breeze, now that I know how much the they love strolling I definitely want to get the updated version with no-zip entrance clips, and probably will splurge for the jogging stroller wheels too when I get the chance.  

4.  I know that I said this before - but I really wish that I'd got one of these Cat Strollers sooner.   I eyeballed them at my local pet store for the last year, but just wasn't sure if a stroller would appeal to ShiShi and Haku or not.  I'm sure that they aren't for everyone, but they are changing our 'adventuring' life in a very positive way.  Less trauma + more frequency = happier cats.

Haku here ~  So much has happened in the time since I last chatted with you that I hardly know where to begin... Meowma got some crazy idea in her head that ShiShi was unhappy being chased to other purrfectly pleasant parts of our house (by me), and started to change our bedroom all around to make her more comfortable in there.  Unbelievable results have come about thanks to that craziness, too!

Back in the day, our charming bedroom had one lovely cat tree, which I ate all of my meals on and was quite capable of defending properly.  Now my cat tree has moved to the dining room, and there's no more eating in my very own bedroom! Even though ShiShi still eats in there! Then meowma and pawpa built a very interesting cat wall in our bedroom instead,  and made some perches mounted on the big glass door as well.  Now, normally I would be telling you that I was in favor of all these pawsome new places to hang out, but read on to learn the tragic horror of it all...

I actually had to give up on keeping all this prime real estate to myself!  There's just so much of it that I can't keep that vast number of perches claimed all by my lonesome furry self.  Or, purrhaps more accurately, there are now so many perching and napping spots in our bedroom that I simply can't keep up with chasing ShiShi out of each and every one of them.   She's taken to claiming and napping in them constantly.  And, as a quite unexpected result, that formerly-timid sisfur of mine has undergone a complete change in her furry attitude toward me! 

Who knew that all she needed was a little boost in safety and confidence? ShiShi seems determined now to make up fur lost time and has actually started playing with me.  And she's actually turned the tables and chased ME a few times!  Sacrilege!  Has she no sense of the proper order of things?  I'm the older sibling, so I'm the one who's supposed to do the chasing...  On the other hand, there is a lot less screeching involved with our new chase games (ShiShi can be such a crying meowma's gurl sometimes!) so I guess that's a benefit.  You won't catch ME hiding under the armoire and screeching fur help (I prefer running to the dining room table, thank you very much!)

On the other paw, it was actually quite enjoyable this last weekend when ShiShi decided to play-fight with my sleepy self.  Not to chase me.  Not to steal my spot.  Just to play fur fun!  Who knew that a little paw batting could actually be rather gentle and relaxing?  There I was, busy trying to claim one of the bedroom perches, when she came sauntering up and invited me to play.  Can't remember the last time that we tried doing something quite like that.  Maybe never.  We hang out together all the time, but playing?  Huh!

A very strange not-benefit is that ShiShi still, after almost a month, thinks that she should come check out MY food when we are fed, and ignores her own at first!  What is that all about, I ask you?!  I, of course, tuck right into my breakfast or dinner with my usual growling gusto, and just do my best to ignore her fur the minute or so that I am gulping down my food.  Good thing that meowma and pawpa have taken to carrying Miss Picky to her own food.  Although, realistically I'd be happy if they carried ME to her food instead.  I'm fairly certain that she gets fed more than me...

All in all, I can't say that I am necessarily unhappy with all these new changes that first meowma, and now ShiShi, have been making.  It certainly does take some getting used to, though!  I've heard tell of kitties who clean each other just to be sweet (not to establish dominance), and even cuddle together when they are sleeping!  Will this be us eventually?  Who could say...  Even a week ago I wouldn't have said that my sisfur would ever be comfortable enough to try playing with me fur fun!  So far - I like it!

This past weekend, as part of my long-term quest to give ShiSh an extra boost in confidence, I decided to take her on an adventure of her own.  Our incredibly hot summer finally has been cooling off, and the nasty air quality from the Red Tide algae bloom on our Gulf has also been subsiding.  The hunt was on for a place we could go that woould be relatively dog-safe, not to long a drive, but far enough away from the Gulf to avoid the remaining bad air. 

I really wasn't sure what we were going to encounter, but finally  decided on Urfer Park as an experiment.  Since it's only about 10 minutes from our home, I figured that we could always turn around and head straight back home if it didn't work out.

ShiShi was obviously ready and raring to go -  she came running when she heard me pulling out her harness, and waited impatiently by the front door the minute that her harness was on.  She was NOT happy to get tricked into her backpack, though, and the ten minute drive to the park was spent with my wondering if she was going to be too nervous without Haku to actually have fun (she was obviously unhappy with the drive), but the minute that we were onto rougher part of the Urfer Park walking trail she was out of the pack and exploring.

The trail itself was a real joy!  In the past I've been very happy with our experiences with both cats at Phillippi Estate Park (other than the hungry mosquitoes), but was not so thrilled with our one attempt to take them around saltwater at City Island.  But - I easily would call this our best cat hike ever.  I honestly can't wait to go back with a little more human help, and Haku, because I think we will all have a fabulous time. 

The trail is just wide enough to feel the human adventurers to be comfortable walking side by side, but path-like enough that ShiShi mostly felt the desire to keep walking ahead to see what would be next.   Of course, there was lots of stopping to sniff, and at one point ShiShi found an awesome little tree to climb and scout the trail ahead, but we also made unexpectedly fast time.  Unlike Haku (who is willing to plant his furry bum and sniff for eons in the same spot), ShiShi was generally willing to move along after a quick sniff or poke in the bushes.  We only met a few other walkers, and they were (of course!) charmed to see the 'little lynx' moseying along.

On the last bit of hike, a near miracle happened - ShiShi actually wore out enough that she was happy to be carried the rest of the way.  We walk around endlessly like that all the time indoors, but she has always wanted down instantly in the past when we are outside.  I didn't try to put her in the backpack since I hated to ruin an otherwise wonderful walk with more challenging training, but I'm definitely seeing how it could be advantageous to wear her pack upside down so that she could perch on it, as I have seen some other cat-hiking families do.  Either that, or invent some kind of comfortable shoulder perch - my arm tired quickly with her ten pound weight!

I do think that Haku was a bit jealous when we got back home.  He sniffed her all over and was more than ready to be taken out on an extensive backyard adventure the next day.  It was a long hot summer with very little outdoor time, but after both Urfer Park and the great backyard adventures we have had recently,  I'm becoming hopeful that with enough training I'll have real hiking adventure cats yet! 

1.   I was worried about how ShiShi would do going on a longer adventure without Haku.  At first things seemed to be rough in the car, but once on the trail she did great.  If anything, she was super happy to be able to move along at a faster pace than Haku is usually willing to go at.

2.   I don't think that ShiShi is ready for adventures where she is going to meet people constantly.  She was fine on the quiet, woodsy trail in the back areas of Urfer, but the busier paved walkways near the playground and parking lot were definitely not much fun for her.  If we go there again on a weekend, we'll stay away from the busier areas for now.

3.   Even though it has been months since we had a bigger adventure (not our yard or close-by neighborhood), ShiShi was instantly comfortable with walking and exploring her way down the path.   Though not incredibly long by many peoples' hiking standards, she was super excited to explore the entire 1/2 mile of trail, although she was also tiring out a little near the end.  I almost felt like the break since our last big explore at the beginning of the summer helped her to be more ready for this new experience, rather than making her forget how to walk on her leash or have fun exploring,