ADVENTURE CATS

CATS ADVENTURE

WORDS

PHOTOS

ART

JENNA KRETSCHMAN

JUDY MORROW

ERICA KOLANOWSKI AGATHA MOREIRA

As local middle school science teacher Alanna Piccillo backpacked through a canyon in Moab, Utah, her fearless felines followed, strapped into harnesses and meowing contently while strutting through the dirt, tails high. Unwilling to accept a simple life of window birdwatching and dozing on the couch, Lewis and Clark, a pair of 2-year-old littermates, are adventure cats, trained as Piccillo’s outdoor recreation companions.

Piccillo decided to adopt a kitten in 2018 after gaining inspiration from the thousands of Instagram accounts dedicated to cats and their outdoor excursions.

“I got on Instagram and I started seeing these cats that people hike and go camping with, and I kind of became obsessed with adventure cats,” Piccillo said. In preparation, she dove into resources published by AdventureCats.org, an organization dedicated to teaching cat parents how to turn their typical house cats into outdoor explorers.

In the summer of 2018, Piccillo showed up to a Roice-Hurst Humane Society cat adoption event to pick out a hiking buddy. She noticed Lewis first, a fluffy seal point, but quickly realized she couldn’t just pick one. She also adopted his brother, Clark, a handsome long-haired tabby.

“As soon as they got comfortable in the house, I bought two little harnesses for them on Amazon that didn’t even fit them yet," Piccillo said. "And I would take them to Riverbend Park on a leash. I bought a clicker [for clicker training] and a target wand [for them to follow], and just started running

around with them and feeding them treats, and they just fell into it. The enrichment for them, especially as active kittens, was just great.” Clicker training is a training method in which good behavior is rewarded with a treat and a loud click sound.

Once the cats felt confident in their harnesses, they began exploring the great outdoors through hiking, camping and even paddleboarding. From the Grand Mesa to Fruita to Moab, Lewis and Clark lived up to their names. They accompanied their mom at a music festival in Paonia, as well as at middle school football games at Canyon View Park.

“I took Lewis to my friend’s house, because she lives on the river in Palisade, and I just put him in the cat backpack on the paddleboard and just paddled around a little bit," Piccillo said. "He was just smelling the air. He didn’t come out of the backpack, which I don’t really blame him, but he was enjoying the breeze on his face. He didn’t make a sound and was half asleep.”

When hiking, Lewis and Clark get plenty of attention on the trail, both positive and negative. The pair seldom receive snide remarks from dog owners, but the majority of passersby are impressed and happily surprised to meet the boys.

When they were kittens, before finding their current sense of independence and rebellion, they often hiked off-leash, which made for some nerve-racking moments.

“We went camping in Moab," Piccillo said. "It was like our second or third time camping with them, and there’s just sand everywhere. They were loving it. It took a long time to get there. We had a dog with us, and there were four people, and the cats were great. They didn’t go off-trail very much. We took a break to water the dog, and the cats wanted water and treats, too. We got into this canyon, and Lewis just took off to a cliff and jumped over a sandstone crevice. I almost died. He just parked it on a little ledge right next to a cliff. But all I had to do was click the clicker, and both cats came right to me. That was probably one of the most endearing hikes and one of the longest hikes we’ve done. They did such a good job.”

Adventure cats are a growing niche of companion animals. But why cats?

“I’m not a dog person, so adventure cats seemed to fit with my lifestyle. They keep you active,” Piccillo said. “You see dogs hiking all the time. But when you’re with a cat on a trail and they’re actually following you, and they’re turning around to wait for you to catch up, it’s so heartwarming. I can’t even handle it. I mean, my heart explodes. It’s so stinking cute.”

“I’d never camped with cats before, so when they snuggle up inside your sleeping bag, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ They’re lovebugs, and I love to see their goofy little faces,” Piccillo said.

Naturally, felines have an instinct to hunt and roam. But cats who are allowed to roam freely outdoors unsupervised may face dangers of cars, disease, predators and malicious humans. To keep their pets safe, many cat owners opt to keep their kitties inside, but a lifetime confined to a house with a perch by the window may not provide sufficient mental stimulation or physical exercise for some cats. Thus, adventure cats were born.

Plus, adventure cats are remarkably Instagram-mable. After adopting Lewis and Clark, Piccillo quickly began documenting their adventures on their very own Instagram account, @lewis_clark_explorecats.

“My biggest advice would be to follow the ‘Adventure Cats’ book [by Laura Moss], because it really does help. Make sure that they are clicker training, and don’t really let them free roam. Going outside should be something that is led by you and not by them,” Piccillo said. “It’s been so gratifying having these two in the house and just outside with me. They’re just really good cats.” ▪