'Adventure cats' are taking their pet humans into the great outdoors

Buddy looking all eagle-eyed during a hike in the woods at the Apollo Park in Brogue, Pennsylvania, the United States. —Photos: TNS

Dogs will fetch your hiking boots and do back-flips by the front door if you mention going “outside”. Ask a cat if it wants to go for a hike and it will pause, lick a paw, and maybe say meow. That means no or, at best, meh.

But not all cats. Not Buddy. His meow means, “Yes, that sounds wonderful. Go get my harness and GPS tracker and warm up the car.” Recently, Rachel Swartz, one of Buddy’s owners, was coaxing the cat along on a York County, South Carolina trail: “Psst, psst, psst! Hi, Buddy. Hi, Mr Puffy Tail.”