Our cat Samantha has something new and exciting going on in her life!
Not only is she getting outside on her new leash and harness from PetSafe* (affiliate link), something even more special happened while we were out there.
You might remember that Samantha spent a lot of time with the chickens when they were first with us and kept in the house. She has not “seen” them since they moved outside to their coop (Sam is mostly blind).
Eating grass (and subsequently puking it back up) seemed of more interest to her though!
I think she really enjoyed walking around in open areas without worrying about bumping into things too.
Of course, she headed straight for the road! I really like the bungee leash for giving her a gentle tug back. She was a little hesitant about having the harness put on, but once it’s on and she’s outside it doesn’t bother her at all.
Samantha has always been an indoor cat, but when we lived at our other house and she was younger, she liked to escape outside. She was pretty impossible to get back in until she was ready too!
Sam had her wellness vet visit last week, and everything was great! Her heart sounds good, and blood tests showed her thyroid is within reasonable limits. She’s also put on some weight, and our vet thinks she is at a good weight, even though she’s on the heavy side for her. Since she gave us a scare a couple of years ago with not eating and losing a lot of weight, we are happy about this too.
She still needs to go back for a blood pressure check, but considering how well she’s doing otherwise, we are not too concerned about that….we just need to be sure her meds are still working and don’t need an adjustment in dosage. I’ll be getting her outside for little walks as often as I can. I’m so glad to have finally found something she really enjoys other than sleeping and eating, and to be getting her some exercise too. 🙂
I’m so glad they were reunited! Soth likes to go outside and then puke up grass, too. I can’t imagine why that is so fun, but that is pretty much all he wants to do on the rare occasion he gets to come outside.
I used to have cat grass in the house, and finally had to stop….for obvious reasons. LOL
What a great time outside with sam. The chickens are great
The chickens have turned out to be so much more fun than I ever expected, and they keep the whole household entertained!
She looks very happy. I am glad she had a good report from the vet.
Every good vet report is a blessing when they get to be this age….as I’m sure you know. ♥
Look at you, Sam!! I was wondering if you’d keep tabs on your “babies!” We’re so glad your vet visit was a positive one.
ps – Mommy stuff … I saw in Friday’s post all the lilies you have in the yard … if you don’t already know, lilies are pretty toxic to cats.
I do know, but thank you very much for sharing that. She did head right for some lilies the second time I brought her out, so I had to scoop her right up! Now I carry her right past that garden and keep her away from the others.
I am totally impressed with Sam’s adventure! And were those chickens actually coming over to say hello? Sam really seemed to enjoy being outdoors good for her. Love Dolly
Yes, the chickens definitely came right over to see her! It was cute; even though she kind of ignored them. LOL
Jan-I don’t even know where to start-this is just THE Best News Ever, and happy tears were shed for Sam reuniting with the chicks!! Even if she wasn’t totally engaged,the fact that the chickens seemed to know her and weren’t scared was wonderful enough! What a marvelous idea to take Sam outside on a leash!! Have to talk more about this, but I just love it, so happy for Sam! Who’s the best pet Momz and Dadz ever?? You and Tom!!!
Aw, thank you, Auntie Lynn! ♥
Samantha looks very happy to be outside. Fresh air and mental stimulation are good things. Puking up grass, maybe not so much. 😉 I’ll have to check out that bungee leash for Raven.
She’s at least slowed down on the grass eating and puking now! The newness of that must have worn off already. She now seems to want to spend a little more time walking around, thank goodness. 🙂
You go Girl ! Good for the Mom for letting you have a bit of adventure ! You’re never too old !
I’m so happy I finally came up with something to entertain her!
That is totally wonderful and we are thrilled to see Samantha having such a good time. You go girl!!!
How pawsome that Samantha got to go outside and hang with the chickens. And even better that she got a good report from the vet.
I love that she can get outside. Is it a leash, or do you tie it out and give her a little freedom? My daughter has indoor cats that she takes out sometimes and I think this might work for her.
It is a leash, but I’m thinking about maybe trying something where I can just leave her out there. At one point today, she just wanted to lay in the driveway. I’d like to be able to leave her out there in my sight if she wants, so I may try just tying it to something. I really don’t think she’d go far anyway…she moves pretty slowly these days. 🙂
Nice pictures. Sorry Samantha is blind but at least she gets to outside every-now-and-then and hang with the chickens. She looks like a sweet cat.
What sweet pics! I bet that outing was the highlight of her day. That’s a great idea to use the bungee leash so she can have some freedom outside. I think the chickens looked more interested in her than she was in them! 🙂
You are right about that, but you would think a cat would be more interested in the birds, wouldn’t you? LOL
Oh that’s really cool that you’re taking Samantha outside on a leash – that way she gets to enjoy the outdoors, safely. One of my friends takes her cats outdoors on harnesses/leashes as well, and they love it. They even climb up on low branches of trees (with my friend supervising, of course).
I so pinned the picture of Samantha and the chickens to my “Cats with pawsome backdrops” board 😉
Thank you so much for pinning that! If she ever decides to climb a tree, I’ll be sure to share, but I doubt she’ll ever get that adventurous! 🙂
Sam that is just great… and I bet the chicken remeberred you as you visited them. I totally love the leash, the color is great and I bet it will not bother you to discover your garden ;o)
I’m so glad you noticed the color! I thought it really “popped” with her black fur. Every cat wants to make a fashion statement, right? 🙂
So glad to see Samantha outside and having a good time on her walk. I’ve been thinking of trying to get our Webster to do this. He is a “food yes, exercise no” kind of guy, so it’s hard to keep him from putting on weight!
Even just a few minutes a day could probably make a difference with a small cat, I would think!
Awww that is soooo great! Love seeing her so happy! Cody wants NOTHING to do with the outdoors! I tried twice! My Angel Bobo used to go out on a leash all of the time!
Oh, I love that you used to walk Bobo too! Sam and her late sister Katie were our first completely indoor cats…but they still always wanted to get out!
That is nice for her. We’ve had cats who want to be outside, but walking them only made their desire worse. I think with an older cat it works better. Bert is always taking off out the door and across the yard, but Mom trained Bailie and Madison the command “get the kitty”. They round him up, tackle him, and hold him until Mom gets there. At that point, he begs to get back in the house away from the crazy girls!
I think you are probably right about that. I had a leash for Sam years ago, but stopped using it and that might have been exactly why (I honestly can’t remember).
When Sam got outdoors, we used to try to get the dogs to round her up, but it usually had the opposite effect, and she ran away!