Cat’s Life: Tiger the Adventure Cat
Canoe trips, bike rides and trail walks — Tiger the Adventure Cat certainly lives up to her name.
“She truly is an adventure cat,” says owner Lindsey Jo Scott. “She loves to do things that traditionally I’ve never had a cat love to do.”
Before Scott adopted Tiger in 2016, she and her husband, Brad, were interested in finding a cat who would go camping with them. They were thrilled to discover Tiger’s adventurous spirit and began harness and leash training her right away. Within six weeks of adopting her, Tiger was out on walks, first in their yard, and then on trails in the Akron area. Whenever Tiger got tired or scared, Scott scooped her up and carried her in a screened-in carrier. But overall, her stamina is good, and she loves hiking.
“She just looks so regal, in the woods with her harness and her leash on,” Scott adds.
Scott started snapping pictures of Tiger’s adventures and posting them on her Instagram account, Tiger the Adventure Cat, in 2017, which serves as a “passion project” and a bright spot in her day.
Since then, Tiger has visited mountains and beaches, and has led them on trails in Maine, New York and North Carolina.
“I think there’s something so magical about the pace at which we walk when she’s hiking. We kind of just follow her lead,” Scott says. “It’s so cool and so fun to be able to do that with her and, in a small way, experience the world the way she’s experiencing it.”
On a camping trip in Pennsylvania last year, Tiger went canoeing for the first time. “We just spent several hours on the water, and she was just chilling in her life jacket on my lap, sort of walking around the canoe,” Scott says. “It was such a wonderful, fun moment.”
Since then, Tiger has also gone kayaking. She again wore her life vest and spent time looking at birds that flew overhead. Although Tiger likes the water, her favorite activity is joining Scott on bike rides. She sits in a screened-in carrier that attaches to Scott’s bike.
Adventuring with Tiger helps Scott connect with her in a way that has made her feel like the two are truly family members — even soulmates, Scott says.
“We get each other,” Scott says. “I feel so lucky that I get to have her in my life right now, and we get to support each other and have so much fun together, too.”