When we got Beanie, we realised she wasn't quite like other cats. Sphynxes are known to act a bit like dogs (they are known as puppy cats!) which means that they like to follow you around, they are total sooks for physical affection and want to be on or near you at all times, they are friendly to other animals, they are happy with baths, and they don't have any hesitation about walking with a collar and lead.
As Beanie's so relaxed about everything and we live in a little flat without a garden, we thought it would be nice for her (and us!) to get outdoors. We got her a little harness and lead (I thought she'd need loads of time to get used to it, but no, she was instantly fine), and started off with little walks in the car park behind our flat. These went well, so we ventured a little further afield! Before we knew it, Beanie was happily coming along to parks, and we've started taking her on bigger trips too.
We didn't have any trouble getting her used to her harness or lead, she adjusted straight away. If you are walking a cat you have to accept that they'll go at their own pace, and that isn't always the direction you want to go in! We've found that if she's on a woodland path Beanie's quite good at following the trail, but when we take her out in the city, we usually carry her until we get to a park or a cat-friendly space where she can just explore as she likes. It's important we don't force her to do anything, and keep the experience positive for her.
As Sphynx don't have a proper fur coat (they do have a peachy fuzz which is incredibly soft), they can easily get cold, so we only take Beanie out on warm days, and will put on her jumper or tshirt if she needs it. We always take water and some treats - she's never tried to wriggle out of her harness or get away from us, but you never know, so we have Dreamies to reward her for being good and as an emergency bribe in case it's needed.
Exploring heather |
We've got a little cat backpack (this one!) which makes us officially cool guys, but it's really great. We let her get used to it in the house first (she loves sitting in things, so she took to it really quickly), and it's a convenient way to carry her whether we're on our way to somewhere, or if she's got a bit tired of walking. If we're just chilling out in a park or stopping for a rest she'll often use her cat backpack as a little den too, and takes herself to sit in it for some shade or if she wants to just look at things.
Other animals LOVE Beanie, and luckily she's very relaxed about meeting people and animals, probably because she's been used to this since she was a kitten. She used to be quite curious about dogs, but now we think the excitement has worn off, and she's less bothered about them, but very patient and calm when they come to say hello. Obviously we're hyper cautious when dogs approach, but normally dogs are on the lead and their owners are polite and make sure their dog is being careful.
A rare no-harness moment when we were in the Highlands last year |
People love to say hello to Beanie too, but even if they don't come over, people will NOTICE - so prepare to get a lot of attention if you have a cat out on a lead! At first I was a bit nervous about feeling embarrassed about being such a massive weirdo (let's not sugarcoat it, walking a cat is pretty unexpected) but other than getting a few strange looks, most people are just really pleasantly surprised to see her and have lots of questions! People tend to assume she's a tiny dog at first, and often it's the first time they've ever met a Sphynx - Beanie's super sociable, so she's happy getting lots of pats from strangers.
Beanie's an energetic, super inquisitive cat, so it's so nice to feel like we're giving her a more interesting life, and it's so nice for us to get to take her places! A few weeks ago we hired a car and drove up to Killiecrankie and she was just such a good girl in the car, on the walk, everywhere. It is like having a little dog, except on rainy days you don't have to worry about leaving the house. We're hoping to try going camping with Beanie soon (we are just fully obsessed with her, so why not), so we shall see if we can take our adventure cat to the next level!