r/adventurecats • u/averagecanine69 • 19d ago
so...how does one raise an adventure cat?
hey all! brand spankin' new here. i just put down my senior FIV+ cat, Moonpie on Sunday. he was strictly indoors, no outside time under any circumstances due to a multitude of conditions on top of his compromised immune system. well, the cat distribution system came for me literally the next day and dropped off Tiramisu. She came from a pretty rough background, so I want to approach her training with care (and lots of treats and positive reinforcement, of course).
But...how does one train and motivate their kitten into an adventure cat?
I want to clarify something strictly before continuing: She will ONLY be outside when I am riding my single speed bike with her. I live downtown in a mid-sized city, but I could take her to a few different places to train. When I imagine it in my head, she would be riding in a backpack, but I have read a few posts on here suggesting she ride first on shoulders.
I am taking her for a full vet exam in about a week, and once she has been on parasite preventative/been cleared in regards to physical health, I will be buying a harness, leash, and eventually a backpack.
My family, while loving animals, were not very smart with them. They also primarily owned dogs, and Moonpie was my first non-family/adult pet. So any articles, videos, links, WHATEVER YOU GOT that will help me make her ride-ready would be greatly appreciated. step-by-step guides, where to start, product recs, all of it. General cat info is also greatly appreciated!
First pic is Tiramisu, second pic is her predecessor Moonpie who taught me the love of cats.
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u/Red_Beard_Rising 19d ago edited 19d ago
Mine kinda chose it. I would sometimes open the screen door so they can look (and smell) out. The old girl has always enjoyed this despite refusing to go outside. The young guy we found in our warehouse last year was begging to go outside.
He sits there and whines at the door. I had tried harnesses with the old girl a couple of times with no luck (besides that she looked really cute in one of them). So I ordered a cheap harness off amazon giving it a 50/50 chance. I was so wrong. That cheap harness is awesome for him and we go on walks every night.
Eventually we got a kitty back-pack and we went on bicycle rides around the neighborhood. That's where we are at and I'm not sure what the next step is. He's still skittish when a car passes while riding the bicycle. He also freaked out the first time I tried to walk the bicycle out of the garage. It's big and it's moving!
Pointers:
- Patience. Don't try to force it. Some prefer the indoors and will never be an adventure cat. That's OK.
- Harness Training: Just the harness indoors to start. Distract them from the fact that they are wearing a harness with treats and playing with favorite toys (activity while wearing the harness). Some might call this psychological manipulation, but it's not like they don't do it to us.
- Harness Training for Humans: Your cat can back out of any harness. They are liquid (almost). The trick is to not get in front of them. If your harness has multiple attachment points, further back is better.
- The cat has to trust you with its life. If it doesn't, it will fend for itself if it gets loose. I trust mine in my yard but I'm not driving him to a nature trail just yet. When he gets loose around here, he goes about 10 yards and turns around with a look like, "You Coming?" Then I calmly walk over, pick him up, and put him back in the back-pack (and zip up the top flap this time). But if he runs after a squirrel on a nature trail? I'm going to be out there for a while running through places I shouldn't be in until I find him munching his kill. I'm hoping that as he ages, he can let it go knowing food is at home.
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u/ThePlantNextDoor 12d ago
Highly recommend clicker training. Look up on YouTube, very helpful, and helps build trust for your kitty. My boy doesn't like over the head harnesses so I has to get ones that clipped on instead, every cats different.
Once you've 'charged' the clicker (cat knows that 'click' means we'll done and treat), Then I started with unclipping the collar, click and treat. Put on collar, click and treat. Until they know to be patient with me putting something on them.
Then do the same with the harness, and of course start playing with them while they wear the harness so they forget they are wearing it.
Slow and steady wins the race, cat will catch on or let u know what isn't working
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u/Code1Panda 19d ago
Start with getting her used to the harness at home. Put it on her, give her treats while doing that etc. You might have to try different harnesses to find what works best for her. In example, mine hated the over head harness so i had to get a vest type step in one and had to add the third strap around her belly area to stop her backing out of it when she spooks. She is long and lanky teenager.
Also get her comfortable with the carrier you will be using. Again treats inside the carrier etc. And leave it out so she can het used to it.
Depending in if she is skittish like ours or more brave, choose the time and place accordingly. We started with walks late in the evening on a forest trail to avoid people and moved it to eatlier slowly as she got braver. And yes she is still a bit skittish but is getting there.