Where I live there are two ways to go walkies, there’s the way that leads straight out into the gardens and there the other way that leads out to paving and planters with flowers in them. Normally we go out into the gardens as there’s grass and trees and it’s much quieter there so I can run around and chase things. When it’s winter time mummy always takes me out the paving side as there’s lights in this side and none in the gardens so mummy can’t see where she’s going. I don’t know why she needs to be able to see as I manage fine but I guess it wouldn’t be very good if mummy fell over whilst walking or even worse lost me somewhere. The garden side, however doesn’t get the sun in the evenings like the paving side and so mummy sometimes takes me out the other side so we can get the sun in the evenings making walkies nice and warm. There are more people on the paving side though and sometimes cars and vans which I don’t like but when I’m with mummy I know I’ll be safe.
The paving side is still fun and it makes a change to go on a different route from time to time. This time though we didn’t just go along the paving side and back down again. We went right up to the very end, you can hear the sound of the water from there, mummy likes listening to it, she says it’s relaxing and makes her think that we’re not in a big city. We went along next to the water sound for a little bit and I could hear a noise I haven’t heard before, it was a strange crunching sound. To me it sounded like people footsteps but as if they were walking on giant cat litter, which even I know can’t be true, it was an odd noise so I took some time to sit and listen to it before I went any closer. Once I had settled a bit and mummy had given me a couple of reassuring strokes and words of encouragement she said she was going to open the gate. I’m not sure what a gate is but if it’s like a door then it means it opens to all things good and adventures. So with some nervousness I stepped off the pathway onto the giant cat litter and I was off on a new adventure, exploring places no cat has ever gone before. I know this because I can’t smell any other cats, I can smell people and dogs and wild animals but no cats.
It was difficult to follow mummy’s footsteps as they sounded different on the crunchy cat litter but I could feel where she was by the gentle pressure on the harness and smell her in front of me. She also talked to me all the time so I knew she was there and could follow along with her. The crunchy cat litter felt strange on my paws, it felt like little tiny pebbles and not really like cat litter at all, I got no urge at all to dig in it so I carried on following mummy. After a few steps I found a bush so I stopped to have a good smell, then a few steps further on I suddenly stepped on something familiar, I was on grass! I could feel the soft, springy, fresh, familiar, coolness on my paws. With mummy there with me I started exploring and venturing further and further, quicker and quicker. There were so many smells to follow, sounds to listen to and new things to explore, where do I start? Where do I go first?
There were noises, there were people and there were animals around but I could tell they weren’t close, besides mummy was there to keep me safe. I was free to explore but just in case I had my senses on high alert and heightened so that I would be able to tell if anything was coming that might hurt me or mummy. I stopped to take a minute to listen and check everything out, take in all the sounds and smells around me. From everything that I can sense I can build up an image in my mind of where I am and what’s around me.
In amongst everything I can hear a familiar sound, the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze, that means there’s trees around. If there’s trees around then that means I can go climbing, one of my most favourite things to do. Ok then mummy off we go, I’m off to find a tree, not just any tree but a good climbing tree. There’s something nice about our normal walkies and climbing my favourite familiar trees, I know where all the branches are, where the best rest spot is and the best spot for bird watching. But, new trees are fun too, they are challenging and exciting, I get to push myself and learn something new, exploring is fun and interesting, sometimes scary but always exciting. I get to really use my senses to work out where I’m going, where the next branch is, where to put my paws so I don’t fall, I climb slowly and steadily, muscles working hard as I climb higher and higher. Most of the trees I climb on my regular walkies have big trunks before you get to any branches so I can run straight up them with big powerful leaps. This is a new tree so slow and steady is the way to go, making sure I find out where all the branches are and where the best paw hold is. The tree I chose to climb had lots of branches really low down, right to the ground so I really had to think about my climbing, trying to negotiate each branch before moving onto the next one whilst also trying not to get my lead caught. I heard mummy saying “trust you Jenny to pick the tree with the most branches to want to climb”. She was working hard too trying to move the lead round the branches so I didn’t get all caught up. We were both working together like a well oiled team.
Every so often I would have a pause to have a smell and listen to see what was going on around me and decide on my next move. The world sounds very different from in a tree. If there are lots of leaves it muffles the other sounds and so I can pretend that there is no-one else around other than me and mummy. I can hear the birds singing and tweeting, I can feel the cool wind in my fur, life is good. Then I hear woof, woof, woof and I’m snapped back into reality again but I’m glad I’m up the tree away from the noisy doggy 🐶. Mummy talked to me and explained that the dog wasn’t very close and was on a lead like me so there was nothing for me to worry about. She spoke to the doggy owners and they were amazed to see a cat on the lead up a tree in the park but mummy is used to all the odd looks she gets when taking me walkies. On our regular walkies most people are now used to seeing us and say hello (mostly to me) but here in the park people who saw us were amazed. Mummy said they would look at us and then look again as if they didn’t believe what they saw the first time! When mummy talked to them and said I was blind they were even more amazed, especially as I was climbing the trees. One man said – my cat is normal and it doesn’t do that I think it must be broken. Mummy asked him, have you ever shown you cat a tree? Good point he said I haven’t, mummy said maybe you could and you might be surprised at what you can can do! Hopefully that kitty might just get a chance to go for walkies like I do now the man can see what is possible.
The wind was starting to pick up and get all blustery and swirly so we decided it was time to head home. As you already know the swirly wind disrupts my senses and I can’t hear what is going on or what danger might be coming. It’s ok when we are somewhere I’m used to as I can rely on scent and the map in my head to know where I’m going but I’m not familiar with the park so having my hearing disrupted is a bit scary and there’s not as strong a scent for me to follow back home so we decided to head home and have our dinner.
After such a big adventure I was starving when we got home so I had my dinner, helped mummy with her bath time (with a quick game of damp hands of course) then off to bed, I was exhausted so it didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep 💤 dreaming of exploring the world like the true adventure cat that I am.
Jenny’s Story 