Catexploring with Backpacking Kitty – Simon and JJ Yosh

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Simon is a super adventurous kitty. He goes backpacking, hiking, white water rafting, biking and more with his cat dad JJ. Hear how Simon was trained, the amazing things he does and so much more.

What we talk about

How Simon came into JJ’s life [2.17]

About Simon [5.28]

The types of catexploring Simon & JJ do [7.01]

Why Simon goes catexploring [7.08]

How Simon was trained to be a catexplorer [9.39]

How Simon does water sports [11.52]

Whitewater rafting with Simon & Simon’s safety [13.16]

Camping with Simon and the set up JJ & Simon have [15.39]

Food Simon eats at home and while catexploring [18.17]

How JJ keeps Simon hydrated [23.03]

How JJ helps Simon be comfortable with new catexploring experiences [25.38]

How Simon goes catexploring off leash and what JJ thinks about before letting Simon off leash [27.00]

How JJ balances Simon while snowboarding and biking with him [30.00]

How JJ & Simon are careful about animals of prey [32.00]

How JJ helps Simon get comfortable in new places [35.20]

How JJ manages guilt when travelling without Simon [36.30]

Petsitters [39.00]

A scary catexploring experience and how JJ managed it [40.21]

Advice for new catexplorers [45.24]

Most entertaining comments someone has said about Simon [49.20]

Catexplorers that inspire JJ & Simon [50.29]

Product, service or program that has been a game changer for Simon [51.51]

Where to find JJ & Simon online [53.28]

How to leave a review

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Guest – JJ Yosh & Simon the backpacking kitty

Instagram - @backpackingkitty, @jjyosh

Facebook – Simon the Backpacking Kitty, JJ Yosh

TikTok - @backpackingkitty

Twitter - @backpackingkitty, @jjyosh

Catexplorer that inspires JJ & Simon

Suki Cat- @sukiicat

Podcast Sponsor – Wee Kitty Eco Plant Litter by Rufus & Coco

The NEW Wee Kitty Eco Plant by Rufus & Coco is made from sustainable and naturally absorbent wheat and soy fibers. It's the natural litter for cats who care and the humans who love them. Reduce your carbon pawprint and make the switch - Head to https://www.weekittylitter.com to find a store near and for your chance to win a year's supply of kitty litter!

Music

Music for this episode was composed and performed by Kory McIntyre.

Cover art

The photo used for the cover art for Season 5 of Catexplorer Podcast is of @thegibsonchronicles

Transcript

Please note - this an automatic transcript, and as such may not be very accurate.

JJ 0:00

Initially, you know, he might be a little timid when it comes to certain activities, especially in activities involved in water. But over time he gets used to it, he gets desensitized and it becomes less and less something to be afraid of. So I think for Simon in terms of training him to go in the water and and do water sports, it's just been repetition. Hasara Lay 0:29 Join us as we chat to amazing cat explorers and experts, learn from them, listen to their war stories, celebrate their wins, and laugh at the funny moments that have been a part of the journey. Welcome to season five of the cat explorer podcast. I'm Hasara and I'm Daniel. We've got some really exciting episodes coming up this season including this one, stop Off with backpack and Katie Simon, so you know the drill. We would love it if you could take a screenshot of your phone share to Instagram Stories tag us at cat explorer community and our amazing guest Simon at backpacking Kitty, and we'd love to hear what you think of this episode and your main takeaways. This episode is brought to you by the new weekly eco plant litter the new weekly eco plant by Rufus and kircher is made from sustainable and naturally absorbent wheat and soy fibers. It's the National linna for cats who care and the humans who love them. reduce your carbon footprint and make the switch head to www week ed.com. To find a store near you and for your chance to win a year supply of kitty litter. Daniel Lay 1:49 We're not gonna lie we let our job of excitement when we heard today's guest was confirmed for our interview. JJ and Simon are definitely adventurous cat explores JJ and his backpacking kitty Simon go hiking kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, and so much more. On top of that, JJ takes some amazing videos and photos of their adventures that we just love seeing on social media. We're so excited to chat to JJ today. Welcome to the podcast. JJ. JJ 2:15 Thanks for having me. So we'd love to hear about Simon, how did he come into your life? Simon came into my life by an accident. I was recently going through a couple other trial cats beforehand, which were given to me and taken away from me at the time. Long story, but when I first got Simon, it was pretty much by a fluke, my landlord at the time, had some rescue kittens that he said I either take one or they're going to be put to sleep. And I did not want that I did not want to cat at that point. And so by I felt I felt that I was in a position where I had to take a cat or a be put to sleep so I I am reluctantly picked Simon and when I first got him he was an absolute disaster. I actually named him Diablo because he was just one of the worst cats I'd ever been around didn't want me near him. He just constant me out. And that's kind of how it was for the first couple days. And I wasn't really sure if he was going to become a loving cat. I just had never experienced such a disastrous cat before so I didn't really know how to handle him. Luckily though, within a couple of days, he mellowed out and he became the affectionate cat that We all know of today as Simon, that's awesome. Did you do anything? Or did he do anything that helped him mellow out in that way? I'm not exactly sure how he was raised before I received him. He was only a couple weeks old. So I'm not sure why he was so scared and, and why he was so nervous around me. But I just, you know, did what I normally do when I'm around cats. I just showed him a lot of love and attention and within a couple days, he came around and when he came around and was a lot at once, because he just would not stop rubbing his face on on my face and he just wanted just to just jump jump on me and, you know, he wanted so much attention. So it was kind of a Have a sudden and surprising sort of change and he eventually mellowed out from that excitement. And to this day, I'm still kind of curious why he was so scared at first. I really don't know. Cuz I never talked to the previous people who had rescued or who had seen these cats these rescue kittens, so I have no idea. Daniel Lay 5:28 So you've told us that Simon is now such a lovable cat. And I could also add that he's a black cat. What else is there that you could tell us about Simon? JJ 5:36 Simon's very vocal. He very, he's very good at communication. You always know he's around. He is extremely social. A lot of characteristics that Simon has or a lot of ways unusual for a cat and I think that's what makes him stand out. Especially when I have people over When our friends over there always very curious about Simon because he's not like any cat they've ever met before. He's He's almost doglike. And a lot of my friends too. Maybe are not that keen on cats. Find Simon to be quite lovable. And that's almost always I don't even know if it's if I ever even encounter the opposite. But the response that I get with Simon with people is they just they instantly just love him because he he is very human like and and I think also with him always wearing his clothes. It strengthens that even more so. That does make sense. I love that he's also helping change perceptions of what people think of cats as well fees. I think we all know there's a stereotype for cat so it's really lovely to know that he's helping change those Hasara Lay 7:00 perceptions. And in the intro, we mentioned some of the types of cat exploring you guys do. Do you mind telling us what kinds of cat exploring you there? JJ 7:08 When I first got Simon within the first I always just say first couple days, we started to go outside and go hiking. And Simon obviously loves outdoors and the reason why he's not an outdoor cat, meaning letting him freely go outside is because we live in the mountains and there are a lot of predators around that can make a meal of Simon would there be a fox or a coyote or a mountain lion or even an eagle? So I make sure to keep a close eye on Simon and if he does go outside, then you know I go outside with him under supervision. So that's kind of how we started going outside and on our hikes. It was his It was our way to experience the outdoors since he can't just be outside all the time. And I got him a leash and a harness, which eventually the harness became his, his everyday attire and it's and now he's kind of infamous for his, his harness look. And we would go on various hikes just around the Rocky Mountains where I live. And I think that taking Simon out on our activities has been kind of unusual for a lot of people to see cuz Colorado is a very popular place for dogs. So a lot of people have dogs and they take the dogs on adventures and on outings, but it's not every day that you see a cat on these outings. So Simon's definitely turned many heads as we are hiking up a mountain. And in recent recent months and years, we we've taken our adventures to the next level. So beyond just hiking and backpacking, Simon's now sailing and he's kayak and he's paddleboard and he's mountain biking. He's even skiing snowboarding. So there's really no adventure off limits for Simon. Anybody does it all. Daniel Lay 9:39 So then let's take it back to the beginning where he first started and you mentioned you got him a leash and a harness. What was the thought process as to why you decided to train Simon in that way to go cat exploring and how did you train him? JJ 9:52 It was the whole process was quite intuitive. I Unknown Speaker 9:58 wanted to a dog. JJ 10:01 But I don't like dogs. So I wanted See, originally I wanted a big cat. And that's why I didn't want to adopt Simon because I already had a cat in mind that I was going to adopt Sydney and a cat. And so I when I got Simon I, I had already had in my mind that I was going to take them on adventures and, and hike with him and walk him and that and I shouldn't say walk him because he's walking me but that was my that was my original intention. And I wasn't trying to let's say create a trend or anything like that. It was really just, I want to take my pet on, on adventures with me. And it happens to be a cat. And that's what I wanted. Unknown Speaker 11:05 Right did. Hasara Lay 11:07 That's awesome. Savannah cat would be a lot bigger than Simon. I'm not sure whether they'd be able to fit on your shoulder. JJ 11:13 Yeah, I, you know, I didn't think it through to that point that I, you know, I was going to have a cat on my shoulders. I don't know if I've ever really envisioned that a, that just kind of naturally happens. And yeah, I'll be now looking back at it. Having a semantic hat wouldn't be the most practical shoulder parrot, you know, so, but I'm sure that people who do have Savannah cats have another method or do something else that we will find out ways so but I love that Simon kind of just came into your life and forced it on you. Hasara Lay 11:52 So, one of the big things to me is the amazing water sports you do and nowadays Simon's quiet apartment Unknown Speaker 11:59 And on the water, but how did you introduce him to being in and on the water JJ 12:04 in the beginning with all the things that we that I that Simon and I have done it's it's been about kind of taking small dips small steps initially you know he might be a little timid when it comes to certain activities especially in activities involved in water. But over time he gets used to it he gets desensitized and it becomes less and less something to be afraid of. So I think for Simon in terms of training him to go in the water and and do water sports, it's just been repetition. And just in the past year, you know, we went whitewater rafting four separate occasions. He was that we were actually doing whitewater rafting overnight even. Unknown Speaker 13:06 So, he's been just exposed to it a lot now, and that has greatly helped him to become comfortable with it. Hasara Lay 13:16 That's pretty awesome. I actually wanted to ask you about the whitewater rafting piece. I was watching a video and you guys are going through the Okay, I'm sorry. I don't know the right terminology. The water, the waves, the water. There we go. The rapids. Yes, that's what and it was actually splashing on you and things like that. How do you and like Simon was just pretty relaxed when you showed is how do you like do you have him laced on you while you are in the raft and you're going through those rapids or is there any safety precautions that you take in terms of safety precautions, it JJ 13:50 I definitely take safety into high consideration when we're rafting. There's love different levels of rafting. We're doing and usually usually the the the rafting the rapids are quite mild so he can freely move about the raft without any problem. It's It's, you know so it's almost like a stable boat floating in the water and some of the rafts are really really big so he can kind of find different places to to just get comfortable and said when their raft when the rapids are a little bit more wild. I had him on my shoulder and I'll have I'll have my his leash in my hand, kind of holding him down or not holding him down, but I'm protecting him just in case. And if they'll wrap the rapids are really really wild. He would be in my lap. I wouldn't be necessarily expected to paddle so the times that though the rapids were more wild, my focus was on Simon. And it wasn't I wasn't trying to, to both paddle and and protect him. Daniel Lay 15:18 And the thing to remember as you mentioned was that it's it takes more steps first to build up to those points and that it's been repetition so it's not like the first day you throw you've gone into the deep end and try those sort of things. It's been you know, building that up and trying and and slowly, slowly just expanding your horizon in terms of what you're capable of. JJ 15:35 Yeah, nobody deserves that when it goes it when it comes to anything. Daniel Lay 15:39 What I want to talk about next is camping. It's a little less I suppose thrilling when compared to rapids but still pretty cool to see that you and Simon do go camping. What kind of setup Do you have when you go camping with Simon? JJ 15:52 When at first when camping with Simon, this setup was I actually brought a litter box With us, and I wasn't, I wasn't sure if he was going to go to the bathroom inside the tent, and I didn't want to find out. I actually brought a litter box with me. And, and the one of the first times I took him camping we actually were backpacking. So we actually carried all the stuff. You know, I carried it all my back several miles and I think it was a I think was an Outback maybe eight miles. And that was the first time and actually it's even even more ridiculous because not only did I bring a litter box, but I actually brought a Nalgene bottle full of litter. So again, like I would have been heavy, back. So this is all the way all the way weights on your back, you know, as you're carrying it. So that was the first time and then, you know, I, I bring his his food with me and it's it's not really that much of a different setup than if I was to go by myself or without Simon. And then now, fast forwarding to the future I've gotten a little bit more savvy with just gear and things to bring for him. And he actually now has his own artist where he can carry his own food. So, you know, I'm kind of like, well, might as well make him hike and some of the food too, is that if I'm backpacking in a lot of times, he doesn't want to hike the whole way. So then he's on my shoulders, so even if he is carrying his own food now he's carrying his own food on his back which now he's on my back Daniel Lay 18:05 too much Unknown Speaker 18:08 it's just a little bit known as backpack and kitty by the way too, because when we go backpacking he rides on my shoulders. Yeah, that makes sense. Hasara Lay 18:17 That's awesome. I love that you have him carry he's actually added curiosity what kind of food do you take with for him because I know that you're you're quite well known for having some awesome recipes that you cook for humans while you're exploring and out and about, but with him, what kind of fade Do you take for him? JJ 18:38 The type of food that I bring for Simon is primarily what food and that's what I and how he eats at home is probably a little different than when we're backpacking. Or backpacking, I have little what food containers that are praying for him and, and they're typically liking kind of perfect portion sizes. So if I open it up serving the food, it's like one serving per container that makes it easy terms of clean up and mess. A question I get a lot is why don't I feed him dry food and i i strongly discourage people from feeding their cats dry food a lot of cat owners do they free, free feed them they just kind of let them leave the food out there and you got to look at food as food is a very significant thing and our in our own lives. It is what keeps us alive and fueled. And you have to think about though your own food that you eat every day and if many of us don't even cook, so aren't connection to food is so, so remote that it's really hard for us to have an understanding of what it is that we're eating and putting in our bodies. And so for the same sort of thing, food is very important for cats. And you really want to strengthen that connection that the source of food is coming from you. And that is a very strong tool to train a cat if you ever do want to train a cat. And so feeding your cat wet food, first of all gives them more hydration, since a lot of times cats can be finicky when it comes to drinking water. And so that helps to keep your cat more hydrated. And then I find that what food is just way healthier and way better than dry food because dry foods typically process wet food, you can even make it yourself. And so and so I find Yeah, and so many reasons what food to be better and then feeding your cat Hasara Lay 21:13 and separate little portions throughout the day is, is very helpful. And I think that's why Simon has very much gotten more attached to me because I feed him every single meal so he knows that the only way he's gonna get his food is is through me. Yeah, I agree. And it's very interesting you bring that up the free feeding versus the defined meals because I'm not gonna lie. When we first got our cats they were free feeding, eating dry food, and things like that. And then I went to try and train them. So just do some clicker training, some face pumps and things and I found it really difficult. And we worked with Julie from cat school and realized that it was because we were free feeding them and now we have the defined meals and that they their behaviors improved. So JJ 22:00 Much more as well. And that's not something that I ever really expected to happen from changing their food and feeding schedule. But it really does help. Yeah, I agree. It helps tremendously, especially with weight control. A lot of the cats that I come across that are overweight, are typically overweight because they're being fed dry food and they're being free fed. Simon is always at a really nice weight though. I should say. He's almost always at a nice way as long as I'm watching him. Typically, when I there have been times when I have gone out of town and I come back and my house sitter has has overfed him, because he is obsessed with food so he can easily convince you to keep feeding him. So they give in, I don't give in but you know how ciders given. So yeah, yeah, he's got them up. Hasara Lay 23:00 around his poor for sure. You touched on something that actually Am I really wanted to chat about was also keeping our cats hydrated as well. How do you keep Simon hydrated while you're out and about because I know from our personal experience, our noxee she does not drink well. She's out and about I actually have started putting treats in water to try and get him to drink it. Do you do anything in particular to make Simon drink while you're outside? JJ 23:26 When we're outside drinking is definitely an issue. He is a black cat First off, so he's absorbing a lot more of that son, and he overheats quite easily. And Unknown Speaker 23:45 he does not like to drink water when we're outside. It's really hard to get him to drink water. And so that's again another reason why the wet food is kind of essential, especially when we're outdoors because that's really Unknown Speaker 24:00 The only way that he's gonna get his Unknown Speaker 24:04 his hydration a lot of times I like your idea though with putting little treats and water I've never actually tried that I so that's something I could try to get him to drink some more water when we're outside but yeah, typically it's it's quite a struggle and, and that's why what I'll do usually is all dip my finger into water and then just, you know swish it in his mouth to make sure that he can Unknown Speaker 24:33 drink it because he just won't do it otherwise, it is quite a challenge to try and get them to drink water. That's one of our big struggles when we do go out on adventures. Hasara Lay 24:42 Yeah, I was actually going to say so we're currently recording this in February and we've just had a ridiculously hot summer here in Australia. So one thing to be I've been really worried about our cats not being hydrated even at home. So one thing I've actually been doing is putting water in like hiding water. Unknown Speaker 25:00 Water in their wet food as well and just mixing it up. And that's actually works really well to try and keep them drinking water because I've been finding that sometimes they just want to drink water even at home as well. So maybe that's something like there's a way that you can hide it in there. JJ 25:14 He has no he doesn't have a problem drinking water at home. He drinks a lot actually. Okay, yeah, so luckily, but Unknown Speaker 25:26 the time that he needs to drink water is outside Unknown Speaker 25:31 the ship because he's just gone and done a hike and you know, he's gone on some of these crazy and exciting adventures. Yeah. Daniel Lay 25:38 Now on the topic of comfort, we were talking about the wide variety of interest activities that Simon gets up to. And you mentioned a bit about his safety in terms of the leash and holding the raft and so forth. What do you do to make him comfortable with anything? JJ 25:53 I mean, for the most part assignments, a pretty comfortable cat outside and if he is the Stress And anyway, I typically let him use the backpack as a shield like he'll usually if it's really windy for instance, I'll open the backpack on the ground and then he'll go in the backpack. So he kind of he likes to use the backpack is like a shelter. It's like his backpack carrier, or putting like a blanket over him or, like if it's really sunny, putting just a sheet over him will Hasara Lay 26:37 make him feel instantly safe. That's a really interesting one especially to protect him from the sun. That's a good idea. Like we should do that actually. We've got white cat sir they get really sunburned so really easily so she actually would be a really good idea we should try that and I was watching a few of your videos and I noticed that sometimes Simon actually goes cat exploring off leash and Police cat exploring something that a lot of members in our community are trialing or they're thinking about, is that something that you trained Simon to do? Or did you train him in particular skills like recall training to do that? And how did you train him to do that? If he did any of those things? JJ 27:16 I didn't do any formal training to get Simon off the leash and stay with in sight of me. I this is a question I get a lot of do I worry that he's gonna go run off Unknown Speaker 27:31 there, you know, I think the only time that that's a major concern is if it's nighttime. And and if he would run off and that's actually why I designed a harness for him that has blinking lights on it so that if he was to do that, I could see him. Unknown Speaker 27:51 But usually when we're outside, he's really good about staying right in my eyesight and if he does, Unknown Speaker 28:00 squad of my eyesight I'll immediately Unknown Speaker 28:05 bring him back to where I am. So Unknown Speaker 28:10 yeah, generally I there there's sometimes he might see a butterfly or lizard that he runs out under and Unknown Speaker 28:18 but usually he stays pretty close. Hasara Lay 28:21 That's actually quite cute that he gets distracted like that. Unknown Speaker 28:26 Do you be for example, if I was to take my cat off leash, I'd probably have a list of things that I'd think about before I did it. So in terms of what kind of area were in and things like that, is that something that you think about? Is there a list of things that you think about before you take your cap? JJ 28:41 He takes I'm enough like, typically where I take Simon is quite remote, and there's not a lot of people or harmful obstacles in the way like highways Or so when I do let him off leash, it's pretty tame. It's not like I'm letting him off the leash in a parking lot and having him run around. And we live up in the mountains. And we don't have really any neighbors. So there's really he just has a lot of kind of space to move around freely without necessarily obstacles. But if there were, if I was to take them to a heavily populated Unknown Speaker 29:39 park or something, I'm I probably less likely to take them off leash, like if there's dogs around. But usually, usually it's all those things are avoided. Hasara Lay 29:53 That makes sense. I think one of the big things takeaway from that is that it really does depend on where you are and there are things That you think about before you let him off leash. And another thing that I saw I was watching the video and to give a bit of background I'm really bad with skiing I you'll probably laugh if you ever saw a video of me skiing and I saw you snowboarding with Simon I just thought that was absolutely incredible. How did you train him to do that is Was there anything in particular he did and also how you keep your balance JJ 30:29 in terms of training him to go skiing or snowboarding or anything or even mountain biking and the training has come over time with him balancing on my my back and my shoulders. We have done this so many times just him on my shoulders that you eventually you just know the you know exactly how he's moving on your shoulders and you also Just have this, this trust that he's not gonna he's not going to just let go, he's a really good about hanging on. And it just becomes something where it's almost part of your body, and you kind of just know how to move in a way that's going to be aligned with his movement. And that's just something over time that you, you kind of understand and you know, so when I'm climbing with him, I know he's not gonna just jump off like I know he's not going to, you know, just fall or anything like that because it's just you just know like, you can feel his claws and you know how, how strong of a hold he has. So I don't recommend you know, people that just go and do these things with their cat if they've never balanced with their cap before, but it's just it's a skill that you build over time. Incredible. Daniel Lay 32:00 That the two of you have that you've been able to read each other and understand that balance. I want to circle back to something which you mentioned earlier, which was regarding animals of prey. So in that sense, you've also got a connection in terms of keeping him safe and sensing within predators it about how do you do that when you are in these beautiful, beautiful places in the middle of nowhere, JJ 32:21 when we're out in the middle of nowhere, there are definitely risks that cannot, you know, when you take them out and hike, and you're definitely now putting yourself out there to get attacked by a potential predator. And I and for that reason, I typically don't like to go up on a hike where there's nobody at certain times in the day, like sunset sunrise, just because I I do worry that you know, a mountain lion could sneak up on I think that's really the only thing that I would worry about as a male mine. Anything else? I don't see as necessarily a threat because, you know, you're not going to get attacked by a coyote or a fox or maybe a bear I guess. But bears aren't. Bears aren't, you know, they're not going to try to eat you. So I think mountain lion would be the only thing that I would maybe be concerned of, if he's on my shoulder. If he's just wandering around the yard. You know, you maybe maybe there's a fox that's kind of creeping up on him or I think a coyote but maybe a fox and that's, that's why I make sure that he's always within my eyesight. So for those specific reasons, so yeah, I you know, I definitely aware of these potential risks and not as Why always make sure That when he's outside, I'm outside there with him and he's not out there without my supervision. But there have been times where he's gotten outside Unknown Speaker 34:10 accidentally and it can be kind of worrisome, especially when you're looking for him. Hasara Lay 34:16 Do you find that it's difficult to find him in those moments? Or does he have his favorite place to go? JJ 34:21 I mean, I have a lot of land for him to explore. So there when he if if he could get lost, there's a lot of he could get very lost, let's just say, but thankfully, he always stays within close proximity of the house and he doesn't go off into the deep into the land. So that's great. Hasara Lay 34:48 Because I can always find him bism we find without to some just yet, last yesterday, I think it was when Daniel got home. noxee went out the door, which we weren't expecting her to do, and then she kind of had that moment. Unknown Speaker 35:00 I'm outside, what do I do now? I don't know how he came back in. So some cats I like that as well because they realize they're not supposed to be going out. JJ 35:09 Simon is not that way. If he can be outside, he'll be outside and, and he doesn't feel bad about it. Let's take you. I love that you and Simon traveled to so many beautiful places and I imagine that you're constantly going to a new place. Do you have a routine or anything you do to help Simon a climatized to those new locations or hotels or tents or RVs or anything that you're traveling in? I don't think there's any sort of special sort of comforting process that I take Simon through when we're going to new places. He's so used to traveling and he's so used to going to unfamiliar places that that has become his familiar So, you know, even just in the places that I've lived in the last couple years since I've had Simon we've lived in three different places. And so he's he's just used to adapting and I am constantly on an on an on a weekly basis, I'm constantly taking him over to friends houses and around town and, and all sorts of different locations. So Unknown Speaker 36:26 that's just his norm and he's, he's very used to that. Daniel Lay 36:30 So then on the topic of travel, many of the members feel like that, you know, there's a lot of guilt when they travel without the cats and we know that you do a lot of traveling with that your cat as well and we do some travel and even for us, we feel that sense of guilt. Do you ever feel that guilt and if you do, how do you manage it? JJ 36:48 I do feel guilty when I travel. But I always make sure that he has a house sitter and and i don't leave Simon alone for more than a couple hours. So So I, you know, like, I think eight hours is the max amount of time he's left alone. And that's that's usually a very long time like I, I'd say typically he's only left for maybe two or three hours at a time. So I'm pretty good about making sure he always is, is occupied. I have a team here that helps me out to watch over him if I'm not around and keep keep him company and entertained. And that's why he is such a social cat. And that's also another reason. He's so used to attention. And because of that, he's not like other cats in the sense that you can leave him alone. He's so used to the attention that when you do leave them alone for even more than a couple hours are you going if I go outside, and I'm in I'm just you know, within, Unknown Speaker 38:04 he could be on the balcony on my house and I could be just outside, and I can hear him meowing because he doesn't want to be left in the house by himself, you know, and he wants to come outside too. So he does not like to be left alone, not even for a moment. Hasara Lay 38:22 Gosh, I'm Simon and lumos a boy have a lot in common lumos does that too. I can actually hear him through the window when I'm on that on the street. If he's left at home by himself without noxee I think I'm one thing he brought up is the fact that you have pet sitters and houses like that would really help as well. So I think these a lot of people do feel really guilty. And I think that's probably a great way is to make sure that your cat has that interaction is to have those house citizen pet sitters. Is there a way that you found a pet sitter that was able to look after Simon because in Australia, pet sitting is still relatively new, and I'm not going to lie. It's something that we haven't tried ourselves. So we're always curious. JJ 39:00 To see how other people found their pets in the people that I have watched my watch Simon are my friends. I don't have random strangers watching Simon Simon's very valuable to me. Obviously, he's priceless. So I cannot take any chances. And I know there's there's services out there, which I can't recommend any, because I've never utilize them. I don't know if I ever will just because I'm very, you know, I look at Simon as my kid. And when I just have like some random person watching my kid. No. So, you know, I'm very protective over him. And anyone that I allow watch him, I have to know really, really well. I think that's really lovely. And I also think it's very lovely that your friends do that too. Like that's really nice of them. Yeah. That's very, very nice, for sure. And yeah, I've been lucky when it comes to having someone there to watch them and it typically always works. So thankfully, but I don't I don't travel that much without him. I try to keep them that at a minimal I try to take him as much as possible with me. he's a he's a lucky cat. Yeah. So speaking of lucky cat, he does some amazing activities, and he always looks like a pro. He actually makes me look bad. Daniel Lay 40:21 So, in the actual moment, though, we know that sometimes, you know, when you're kind of exploring, it actually is quite challenging. And it's, you know, it can feel like a little bit of a disaster. Sometimes it's not all goes to plan. But in hindsight, we laugh and we learn from those experiences. Have you ever had a situation where things have gone bad? And what was it and what did you learn from it? JJ 40:41 Yeah, different situations can always happen. And one of the things one of the situations that comes to mind that was quite horrific, was a couple summers ago. And it was we're on a hike shooting For a project, and we were in Kansas, in the middle of the US on a hot humid day, and on the middle of the hike, Simon was really overheated. I mean, the humidity was just so so hot and and I basically turned my head for a second he was off leash was grabbing myself to pack up. And he was gone and, and I and then where he wore was was a field of just low shrub, shrubs in all directions. So the, just the possibility of finding him was at that moment quite slim. And I remember the feeling was a feeling of just sheer panic and as every second went by my panic grew because I was just assuming the worst that then I wouldn't find him that he would overheat and die out here and and I didn't know how to find them because it was there's just so much shrubs everywhere and so yeah that lasted for almost an hour wow and I didn't have service and oh gosh it was such a such an awful experience and so it turns out that how I did end up finding him was I got on my hands and knees and and started crawling around the the shrubs around me and just by Luck. He was right. Next, he was actually really close to where I was. But I was running up and down the hillside looking for him on the trail and when I It wasn't until I started crawling, right where I had lost him that I discovered he was, you know, getting some shade under a shrub. And so that's probably one of the most close call situations I've ever had with him in any adventure. Otherwise, it's been pretty smooth clouds. Wow, that's so quite a scary when I can't imagine that feeling that you had in that hour or so before you found him but it's such a good idea to get down on your arms and legs and cool to be that's exactly what he would have done and that would have made it a lot easier. I had to you know, pretend to be him to know how he ivany that's basically what I was doing. I was literally like kind of recreating the crime scene and figuring out, you know, based on his tracks like, you know, where would he have gone? So I have to ask, have you ever thought of getting a tracker for him? I've definitely thought about getting a tracker for for Simon. The ones that I have seen so far have been quite not great. They're usually Bluetooth trackers. And that's not going to be helpful for me at all. Because typically, Bluetooth is only only works up to a certain range. And yeah, I haven't found those to be helpful at all. So the we were actually like looking to develop one like a, like a GPS tracker. But I still haven't found a good one yet. And that's definitely something that would be so essential if if we ever get ourselves in a situation again, in the wilderness where I can find them. Definitely, I think I'm, I seen a few Bluetooth ones in the quiet beak, like on the neck. And Unknown Speaker 45:17 the ones that I've seen anyway. And I think there's a few others out there as well, but yet be really cool. If you could develop one that would be amazing. Daniel Lay 45:24 So, JJ, we're coming up towards the end of the podcast. And before we finish up, we always ask our guests the final four questions. The first one being, what is one piece of advice you'd give to new cat explorers? JJ 45:36 As I mentioned earlier in the podcasts, a really important step for any feline owner that wants to train their cat is you can you have to feed your cat in meals and portions you cannot feed? Free feed your cat and that is that is such an important thing because you really need to develop that connection and that bond with your cat and if you if you just keep food out there and they can eat anytime they want, what ends up happening is you lose a sort of you won't you in a lot of ways you can lose connection with your own cat and I know it's kind of like my fish feeder on my aquarium. The more things that are automatic in your house, the more that you can forget about them and you don't want to forget about your cat you know you don't want it to be so on autopilot that you just start to forget about feeding him and feeding her and so I think it's so important to always feed your cat and and make your and even make your eat and if you can make your meals for your cat. I was Simon I I make a lot of his nails. He likes to have smoked salmon and mornings. I'll give them Aki tonight at night. He likes shrimp calamari. I mean, he he really loves seafood. So I so a lot of times when I mean I shouldn't say a lot of times all the time when I'm eating he eats with me because he thinks is my food is food. So I usually give him a little portion of my food every time I'm eating, and I try to eat a diet that a cat could eat as well. Um, so my diets mainly seafood because of Simon. Um, so yeah, food is is the first is definitely the first step when it comes to becoming a cat Explorer. Because once you have a connection with your cat, you can get your cat to do quite amazing things. And, you know, a lot of people think, Oh, I'm going to get a cat because they're low maintenance and I can just kind of set it and forget it. that's a that's a really bad stereotype. And I feel like that that leads to many cats being abused, because neglect is a form of abuse. And, you know, maybe some cat owners don't think of neglect as abuse, but it really is, you know, your cat requires not only food and shelter, but love and attention. So, you know, you really want to make sure you're giving your cat a lot of attention. And, you know, dogs might be notorious for more maintenance, but these, I do find that cats need just as much attention as dogs zoo. So you know, if you're gonna if you're going to get a cat, you know, be prepared to Unknown Speaker 48:48 to have the time to give love and attention to a cat. And if you don't have the time to give to your cat, then you shouldn't have a cat. You should have a pet period. Hasara Lay 48:57 It's really interesting you say that. I'm a good few friends who've got some newborn babies, as in human babies, and they they've spent time with us and Lemelson oxy and they say looking after lumos and oxy sometimes it's like looking after their babies, like the amount of effort that we put into trying to enrich their lives and keep them happy as well. So they're definitely not low maintenance. Yeah. Unknown Speaker 49:20 So what's been the most entertaining comments someone has said to you, while you've been added about with Simon, JJ 49:25 in terms of like entertaining comments that I get was Simon, I think mainly it's just head Turners, you know, they look twice and they've and then look is that a cat on your shoulder? And that's usually catching them by guard. And or catching them off guard usually is when they have to turn their head and see that there is something on my shoulder but they're not quite sure what it is. And I would say like the typical comment is Just how did you get your cat to stay on your shoulder and Unknown Speaker 50:07 and usually there always will be like, oh you know my cat Muffy would never do that like they would my cat would scratch me to death before she ever let me take her out so it's usually people comparing their own cats to Simon. And an odd because maybe their cat would do that is usually what Daniel Lay 50:29 we're speaking of other cats which can expose inspire you. JJ 50:34 I'm trying to figure out a way to answer that without without saying we have any favorites out there. Keeping kind of a neutral stance. I would say when it comes to other cat explores, it would be cats that are in our field in terms of like what they're doing and and how they're making making this a career. So, you know, I know very little about a lot of these cats but I'm as I'm just gonna throw out there, maybe sukie cat Unknown Speaker 51:12 is one of our favorites in terms of like who, who we kind of aspire to be just in terms of photography and, and adventures but I think for the most part Simon and I are we're kind of pioneering our own sort of niche in the cat world. And you know, we're going about it at our own unique angle. And I think that's kind of important with any sort of cat explore is just find your area of expertise and what you excel at and just go for it. I agree and I think that's with anything in life as well as find what you're good at and keep going with it as well. Hasara Lay 51:51 So what product service or program has been a game changer for Simon, JJ 51:55 I think for Simon products that have been so super helpful are ones that make our own lives more. Just convenient and, like in that that can be with automatic litter boxes that can be helpful and higher quality types of food every every once in a while we'll come across like a new type of what food that we really like. But we do try to change up our drive through our wet food quite a bit and keep the diet always fresh and alive. And then I would just say just all his, his costumes and clothing that's always we're always testing out new clothes and, and new fashions and that's, that definitely keeps things entertaining and spicy. So yeah, and and we're also developing our own products right now too. So I think combination of all of those just Unknown Speaker 53:00 Try out and test new things all the time. Daniel Lay 53:04 JJ, thank you so much for joining us today. We've, we've had so much fun chatting to you. And it's been a little mini milestone where we had three chemical engineers on the podcast. Yes, the best time ever. Hasara Lay 53:15 Not that JJ and I work in chemical engineering anymore. JJ 53:20 What shows up in other areas of our lives I'm sure. Hasara Lay 53:24 Yeah, definitely. Definitely. So where can we find you and Simon online. JJ 53:28 You can find my cat and I on Instagram at my Instagram, which is JJ Yoshi and Simon's backpack and kitty and that goes for Tick Tock and YouTube and Twitter and Facebook as well. So JJ Yost, for me and Simon backpack and kitty. Awesome. I did spend quite a bit of time on Tick Tock going through Simon's videos. Hasara Lay 53:54 So what we'll do is we'll put those links and any other links we've spoken about today in the show notes which will be available Daniel Lay 54:00 At cat explora.co forward slash podcast. You can also get to that by pressing the episode description on your podcast app. Thank you so much for listening today. Did you know that leaving a review for the character of podcast help continue this podcast reviews help us find sponsors and they help fund this podcast. So it means the world to us if you could leave a review wherever you're listening, and we'll read it out on a future episode. Thank you so much for being a part of the cat explorer community. That's it for today. We'll catch you next time. In the meantime, enjoy giving you a key to the world.