The other week, whilst we were out on walkies mummy said to me “You’ve spent a few days just kind of faffing about in the gardens, not really doing much. Are you bored with always doing the same walkies?” I meowed to mummy that I was fine as long as I’m outside with her and we’re together, I know the gardens really well and they’re comfortably familiar. I didn’t think much more about it until a few days later.
It was time for walkies and instead of letting me run out the door like normal mummy clipped my lead on. This was odd I thought but oh well, mummy’s probably just being weird. Then as I ran out, off in the normal directing mummy told me that we were going ‘the other way’ today. What other way? I thought, I heard the door open and so I cautiously followed mummy through, I know this way I meowed, this way leads to where the scary metal machines go up and down. I don’t like this way as much as our normal way. Still mummy was off down the stairs so I carried on after her. It had been a long time since I’d been this way. I wasn’t so sure about things but as I started to explore I realised that there was a whole world of new smells out this way and as we wandered along, with mummy telling me what a good, clever girl I was I relaxed a bit and started to enjoy myself.
As I wandered along exploring and sniffing, I could hear in the distance the sound of the metal monsters roaring along, with each paw step they were getting that little bit closer. I wondered why mummy wanted to go near to them. Then mummy said “Jenny, I just need to make a stop whilst we’re out, I need to pick up a package.” Ahh ok then mummy but we need to take it slow because the metal monsters are quite close now and I don’t like them at all. I was a bit scared and meowed at mummy she gave me a big stroke and I felt much better. Then after a little bit further she scooped me up and gave me a big cuddle, I heard another door open and then a voice. “Hello Jenny” he said, “have you got some parcels today?” Then I felt his hands give me a little stroke on the head and he told me how soft I was and what a good girl I was being. I remembered I had been here once before, it’s normally a noisy place and smells very busy, lots of different smells all in one place and when I meow it kind of bounces around making lots of little meows and making me sound like a huuuge kitty. MEOW-ow-ow it went.
Then when mummy had finished, we went back outside but instead of going back the way we came we went a different way. “Whilst we’re here Jen why don’t we explore somewhere new?” Ok I though, I’m always up for an adventure and as long as mummy’s with me I’ll be fine. So off I went up, up, up the grass, it was very steep and there were lots of new smells to explore. I could hear people way down in the distance and every time a big metal clanking noise happened more people would then appear. I remembered the noise from when I have been outside before, mummy had told me it was something called a train. Anyway, it wasn’t coming near me so I wasn’t too bothered.
I could smell all the same types of smells as in the gardens and I could hear the same noises in the park but this was new and exciting, I followed each scent as as I started to explore, my scent joined in with theirs as did mummy’s as she wandered along behind me. I even found a new tree and climbed up it! After all it’s not every day that I get a whole new tree to climb.
After a while mummy said “Come on Jen, it’s been quite a little adventure shall we go back now?” Good idea mummy I meowed and off we went, when we got closer to the metal monsters mummy picked me up so I didn’t get scared, and then once we were a little way away from them she put me down and we both walked back to home. Then I thought mummy must have been tired with all this adventure but when we got to our big downstairs door instead of going up the stairs, mummy went a different way. I followed her and it’s a route I know but we normally only go this way coming in from walkies – what’s mummy doing? This is a bit confusing. Then as we walked along the corridor mummy, we came to a very familiar spot, this is normally where mummy clips on my lead before we got through the outside door, then I heard the familiar sound of the outside door opening and here we were back in my regular garden walkies place.
I ran straight out full speed, I know this area so well that I know where everything is and can run around properly without thinking I might bump into something. We had a fun, relaxing walkies after all the excitement of our adventure before.
What a fun time, it was good to have a new adventure, try somewhere new, challenge the senses and remind me that the metal monsters won’t harm me. But it was also good to then be somewhere familiar to calm down and relax in. Thank you mummy for giving me a new challenge, for making me use my senses to get around and letting me remember that some scary things won’t hurt me.
Then the other night we were out on walkies when I stopped and sniffed the air, meowmy knows my ‘there’s something coming’ look and she followed my stare and there he was, another pussy cat off in the distance. It turns out that Bibi who used to watch us from his window had managed to purrsuade his mummy and daddy to take him out on walkies like me. Bibi told me that he had shown his mummy and daddy me running around and climbing trees and that because saw me doing this they bought him his own harness and lead and had started to take him outside too. We said hello and Bibi followed me around the gardens whilst his daddy talked to mummy. Isn’t it just amazing that I’ve helped another kitty become an adventure cat and that he will now be able to get some much extra fun exploring the outdoors and experiencing nature.
Then mummy and I went off to watch the sunset, Mummy described it to me and said just how beautiful it was, she would have enjoyed watching it anyway but having me there with her perched on her shoulder (and occasionally climbing on her head for a better ‘view’) made it extra special. She also told me that that it was nowhere near as beautiful as me – ahhh love you too mummy.
Jenny’s Story 