I can’t believe that another week just came and passed by. It was a very busy one so I didn’t have as much time as I hoped for to get out with Chumka. However, I was able to bring him along when running some errands so he had some more car exposure. This is part 2 (week 2) of me slowly “training” my cat to be more confident outdoors and the adventure cat he was before the winter came. Check out part 1 here
Getting used to the car
Like I mentioned in the last post – Chumka did not like being in the car. He would have meltdowns about 5-10 minutes from the time he got in. I wondered if maybe the car smelled differently (as I had my friend’s dogs in it once), so I cleaned it and put one of the blankets from the house in it. I was hoping that the blanket’s scent would make him feel safe and calm. Whether it worked or not, it’s hard to tell.
The funny thing is that Chumka still has his “kitten voice” so it can be difficult to tell if he’s crying or just chatting. And he can be quite a chatty cat these days.
But just yesterday, as we were walking around the yard he stopped by the car and waited! I didn’t think it “meant” anything but I opened the door and he jumped right in! He actually sat in the driver’s seat looking at me! So I decided to take him on a ride – and it went really well!
Now I don’t think that he’s fully used to the car – but I believe that we are pretty close 🙂
First “big” adventure
Over the weekend we wanted to go to a place that would be fairly quiet so Chumka wouldn’t get overstimulated. There is a place nearby that is open all year round but the parking lots are not maintained off season – which meant way less crowds. This park also doesn’t allow dogs – a bonus point when you look for places to go to with your cat. However, there was a family there with an off-leash dog. 😒
So I let Chumka into our kitty pack and walked to a quiet spot, far enough for me to notice if the dog was coming our way. It didn’t mean that our cat was stress-free though. He can see/ hear them from far away and then stays alert to the animals. Thankfully the family left soon after and Chumka was able to relax and enjoy the nature.
Our goals for next week
Check out Training my cat to be an adventure cat PART 3 here
As much as I would love to plan something for this week – I got sick. So until I feel better, we stay home and “explore” the yard. It seems that Chumka is quite content with it, as we are starting to have more and more birds here. I also make sure to use different types of enrichments throughout the day for Chumka – puzzle, meaty edible bones and different types of toys. He seems pretty happy to have me around so I can’t complain from the extra cuddles 🙂
Also here is a really cute picture of Chumka I took when getting ready to leave. I was making sure I had everything needed for our little outing to the park and I placed his backpack on the floor. Literally couple seconds later I hear a little thud so I went to check on it. And this is what I found – it sure melted my heart see him like this 🙂
If you want to see more funny/ cute pictures, make sure to follow us on Instagram – there is usually very wholesome content on my stories 🙂
I hope you enjoyed this post, please give some love to your pets from me ❤️
