The three-year-old mix breed has become an online celebrity after his owner, Aina Stormo of Hedmark, recently posted a video of the long-haired feline acting like a sled dog and pulling her on her cross-country skis.

Social media marveled at the “amazing” and unusual pet, which seems to make your average kitty a couch potato.

California-based animal behaviorist Jill Goldman, on the other hand, was unfazed.

“If he has the physical attributes to be comfortable, such as a long coat, and has adjusted over time to be comfortable with the activity, it’s not surprising the owner can ski with her cat,” Goldman says.

In other words, despite what Internet memes like Grumpy Cat might suggest, domestic cats are very adaptable creatures—if they’re taught young, as Jesper was.

Stormo, who adopted Jesper as a kitten, quickly discovered it was easy to bring the youngster along on her family’s outdoor activities, such as cross-country skiing and horseback riding.

“We wanted to make it possible for us to live the same life we had before we got Jesper, and it’s more fun to bring Jesper with us!” Stormo told National Geographic in an email.

Acclimating the kitten to traveling and being outside was only the beginning—Stormo also applied the same training techniques she had previously used with dogs to Jesper.

For instance, when Jesper behaves the way Stormo wants, she uses positive reinforcement, such as a soothing voice or a snack. “I never punish him when he has bad behavior, instead, I just try to ignore it,” she says.

Making an Adventure Cat

So you want to turn your kitten into an adventure cat? Goldman thinks that’s fabulous.

“It’s enrichment, it’s exercise—so long as it’s done with the proper care,” for instance by not putting the cat in extreme weather and safely securing it, for instance with a harness and leash.

“The first step is to start exposing the cat to the outside in a safe manner. Bring it in a knapsack, so that the cat starts to become familiar with smells and sights” of the outdoors.

Goldman agrees with Stormo’s method of positive reinforcement using treats and avoiding punishment, because it “undermines the relationship.”

“They need to trust us, and if we cause them harm, they don’t trust us,” Goldman says.

Know When to Stop

Stormo says that she works with Jesper only for short amounts of time, and stops before he gets tired.

It’s not always easy, she adds: “If they don’t want to do it, then it doesn’t matter how much you try.”

In the same vein, Goldman says, if your kitten starts running from the knapsack, stop the training—he’s just not interested.

Even Jesper, who clearly enjoys his outdoor lifestyle, has his limits.

In the viral video, “you can tell when Jesper had had enough, he plunked itself down, and she had to carry him,” Goldman says.

“There’s no ambiguity,” she says, “with a cat.”

source: National Geographic

There are quite a lot of words beginning with the letter ‘a’ in the article. Can you match the words and the definitions?

Key: 

1. d

2. g.

3. a.

4. h.

5. b.

6. e.

7. c.

8. f

An Illinois yoga studio invited some shelter cats into their class recently, in a bid to help find the felines forever homes. The Homeward Bound Pet Shelter teamed up with Yoga at Connie’s studio to host the class. The shelter cat yoga class was a great success; June is also Adopt-a-Cat month, and the collaborative event raised more than $500 for Homeward Bound. The class also hoped to find homes for the friendly shelter cats.

Connie Pease, who runs Yoga at Connies and her friend Jeanette Skaluba are both cat lovers. Jeanette came up with event after a video of 12-year-old cat Oreo riding on her shoulder went viral. She explained that after seeing how popular cats were on the Internet, she hoped the event would spur on adoptions. Connie, says: “Jeannette Skabula and I have been practicing yoga together for five years at the studio which I own. Jeanette also volunteers at Homeward Bound, and she had the idea using yoga as a way to promote cat adoption. I thought it was great idea since we both love cats. We had only a week to prepare. Jeanette organized the volunteers and the cats. We had no idea this would go viral.”

Homeward Bound Pet Shelter in the city of Decatur, Illinois, posted the video to their YouTube channel in recognition of June being adopt-a-cat month. Connie, adds: “While we’re not sure all the cats would be so up for yoga on demand, they’re cats – we do know from experience they often times can’t resist a yoga mat and a Down Dog. In fact, we might be convinced they take more pleasure in interrupting yoga, than actually co-practicing with human companions. And, of course, as humans we can’t expect to get in the most meditative class we’ve ever had, but there’s something extra special about doing your animal poses right next to the fuzzy creatures who inspired them. In short, animals, and especially cats, are awesome.”

The video footage shows the shelter cats enjoying roaming around the gym whilst interacting with students practicing yoga. The video explains that cat owners are at 40 per cent lower risk of having a heart attack and that interacting with a cat can lower blood pressure.

source: Rex Features

Use the words from the table to complete the sentences.

1. Can you show me the ………? It’s time to cut the film.

2. The photo of my cat with the bunny ears went ……… in a day.

3. I bought a ……….., because I decided to be more active.

4. It’s raining cats and dogs. Can you find ……… till I get there to pick you up?

5. I was ………. in the neighbourhood all night, because I couldn’t sleep.

6. Max came to the retirement home as a ……… and he is a big help.

7. Garfield is the …….. equivalent of a grumpy bachelor who loves lasagna.

8. I tried to make Julia to come to the party, but she …….., so I came alone.

1-video footage, 2-viral, 3-yoga mat, 4-shelter, 5-roaming around, 6-volunteer, 7-feline, 8- resisted