Posted on 08/30/2015 12:36:39 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A Renton house cat seems to think he's a dog, and his exploits on local hiking trails is earning him celebrity status online.
Move over birds and hikers; there's a new cat in town, and he walks the backcountry trails like any hiking dog would -- like he was born to hike.
"We think he might be part dog," said Anna Wilson.
His name is Paddington. His parents, Bryan and Anna Wilson, got him at the Seattle Humane Society as a kitten last summer, where they instantly detected his courageous spirit and their connection.
"Kittens can be cute and cuddly and just stay there, but not him, he really wanted to explore the world," said Bryan Wilson.
This indoor cat seemed to yearn for the outdoors.
He went from the backyard to the local park to Cougar Mountain last summer and has been hiking regularly ever since.
"I thought it was like the coolest thing in the world, really," said Bryan.
He's done dozens of hikes, and averages about a mile of hiking. His longest hike was two and a half miles. When he gets hungry, he eats, said Bryan, who has a backpack for "Paddington's stuff."
And when this furry friend-to-the-trail gets tired, he rides his daddy's shoulders.
His proud parents have been documenting his adventures on Paddington's own Instagram and Facebook pages, which include videos of him swimming, boating and playing with dogs.
"He kind of has a local celebrity status," said Anna.
He's a bit of diva too, always ready to pose. His first pose was minutes into the Cougar Mountain Trail, when he raced up to the top of a seven-foot boulder and looked like King of the Mountain, holding court for about five minutes.
"He's so proud up high," said his mom.
Then he took off up the trail and struck a pose on a fallen mossy log for a nice long stretch. Later he climbed up onto a fallen tree and walked the trunk-plank onto the high end of the trunk, which was suspended 10 feet up above the trail. There he played a quick game of peek-a-boo with Bryan, who hid behind another nearby tree.
For Paddington, every day is "Caturday." Hikers can't believe his hiking prowess and can't keep away.
"Boy, sure is friendly. Wow, he's ready to go," laughs Ron, a fellow hiker that Paddington encountered on the Cougar Mountain.
Dan said he has a cat just like Paddington, but his Tuxedo cat is a "porch cat" and would be freaked out to ride in the car, let alone hike the back country.
Paddington knows what he wants and it's obvious that he gets it. The Wilsons think they picked him, but something tells us Paddy picked the Wilsons.
"He's the perfect cat for us, we're so lucky, that we picked him," said Anna.
Ping
Two wheels a turnin'
One heart that's yearnin'
Big motor burnin' the road . . .
I had a coworker who lost a Yorkie that way. You could still hear the Yorkie yelping as it flew off with it.
Yawn...I have an orange ‘barn cat’ who walks thru the woods with my wife and I when the opportunity strikes...I’ve had Siamese that will hike with us...not unusual. ‘Part dog’, my ***.
Good point, and well worth mentioning.
Referring to the cats owners as “mom” and “dad” is a bit creepy.
I have a cat that had been indoors all its life, when I lived in the mountain forests for a year I let her have some free reign, she took to it like a fish to water. There’s nothing at all unusual about a cat who likes to prowl around.
ack... “free rein” that is.
If Bruce Jenner can identify as a woman why can’t a cat identity as a dog?
What kind of trail mix does the cat prefer...tuna or chicken?
"He went from the backyard to the local park to Cougar Mountain last summer and has been hiking regularly ever since."
Cougar? Mountain?
What could possibly go wrong?
I found out from neighbors she's had two litters of kittens before we moved in. Hawks and owls picked off every single one of them. She has no real desire to be an outside cat at all anymore. I can't say I blame her?
We love having the predators around. Not one rat, mouse, mole, in the area. In the evening the owls dart thru our yard like a big brown bullet.
There’s really nothing new here. Our woods often have several feral cats. I feel sorry for them because they do not winter very well. They wind up with ears and tails frozen off. Not a good looking sight. By spring time they are gone, probably too weak or can’t find food and wind up a coyote snack.
I was thinking cougar dinner.
My vet does this, too. I think it might be something cutesy that young, female vets tend to say, as I’ve never encountered this before from male or older vets. Sometimes the assistants even call the pets babies. It creeps me out, too. I don’t respond to it, and over time my vet stopped saying it to me. Maybe I got a black mark on my record, haha.
Looks like my Radar.
Certainly better than “Parental Unit 1” and “Parental Unit 2” which you would expect in Seattle.
Saw a guy walking his cat, on a leash, while in Gulfport on Spring Break.
Cat didn’t mind it at all, and I never once saw it pulling against the leash. Owner was smart enough not to let him go into the reeds near the water, either.
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