Sunday, September 6, 2015

Cat Hiking Is A Real Thing. A Real, Wonderful Thing That You Can Experience

Every day at Best Friends animal sanctuary in southern Utah, cats are fitted up with a harness and leash and taken for an amble through the spectacular scenery.
"The reality is a lot of these cats are going to spend the rest of their lives here," says Michelle Warfle, a former aerospace engineer who is now the cat manager at Best Friends Animal Society. "So we need to enrich their life as much as possible. And getting them outside is just fun for them."
Best Friends' Utah sanctuary has around 1,700 animals in total -- dogs, horses, pigs, birds and rabbits among them, in addition to the 550-600 cats under Warfle's care.
As with dogs, taking cats out hiking helps them burn off extra energy. It helps keep them from getting bored and also gives them the opportunity for one-on-one time with their favorite humans, who may be full-time staff or even sanctuary volunteers.
Some of the cats love to go out walking and will spend an hour on the move. Warfle's own "personal cat," as she puts it, enjoys hiking up to about two miles at a time.
"And then we have others, they'll go a little bit, find a sunny spot and lay down," she says. "It really all depends on the cat."

Continue reading: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/03/cat-hiking_n_6093380.html


Related article: Meet Honey Bee, the Blind Hiking Cat

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