Trucking across America, 2 humans & a cat – ToraTravels
Tora travels across the US with her 2 humans, in a truck! Hear how Tora was trained to travel in the truck and go catexploring and what it really is like to go trucking with a cat.
What we talk about
How Tora (the cat) came into her family
How Tora was harness trained
What it means to be a trucker cat
Why people have pets in the truck with them & the benefits
How to have a cat in a truck with you
How Tora was trained to travel in the truck
How David (Tora’s human) & Tora find pet friendly accommodation when their truck breaks down
A typical day for David and Tora on the road
How Tora is kept entertained during long drives
How calm Tora is in the truck
How Tora is kept away from the pedal
Essential skills for a trucker kitty
How Tora adjusted to catexploring in the city
Favourite cat friendly place
Tora at home
Zoomies in the truck
Catexploring in winter
Advice for new catexplorers
Most entertaining comment while catexploring
Catexplorers that inspire David & Tora
Must have products for Tora
Guest - Tora
Instagram - @toratravel
Podcast episodes mentioned
Vanning with your cat – Rich & Willow
Finding pet friendly accommodation
Most cat friendly restatrant
41 and Maine – Tifton, Georgia, USA
Instagram accounts mentioned
Sponsor
This podcast is bought to you by the Basepaws. Use CATEXPLORER for $15 off your very own CatKit to test your cat’s DNA.
Music
Music for this episode was composed and performed by Kory McIntyre.
Cover art
The photo used for the cover art for Season 3 of Catexplorer Podcast is of @renske_aken & was taken by Sylvia van Heek.
Transcript
David 0:00 : She's usually very calm, especially while I'm driving she, she'll play with those toys, but really she just wants to sit on someone's lap and stare out the window.
Hasara 0:21: Welcome to season four of the Catexplorer Podcast, the podcast for people who go exploring with their cats. I'm Hasara & I’m Daniel.
Daniel 0:29 : Today we're chatting to David, who travels around America with his kitty Tora in a truck. But before we jump in, we'd love it if you could take a screenshot of your phone, or a photo of what you're doing, and share it to Instagram stories. tag us at @catexplorer.community and our amazing guests at @toratravels, and share what you think today's episode. We're so excited to hear your thoughts
Hasara 0:54: As humans tend to have a family tree and we know about our family health history, but for most of us, we don't have those details about our kitties, I wanted to learn more about Lumos & Noxie. So we sent their DNA to Basepaws. It was so easy to do with the kit they sent us and it took me less than 15 seconds to do it myself. I can't wait to see what their DNA tells us. Are they actually predominantly domestic shorthair kitties? What does this mean about where their personalities came from? And the main reason we did the test? What diseases might they be predisposed to because of what's hidden in their DNA? And how can we prepare for these? You can learn more about your kitty with the Basepaws DNA cat kit. Basepaws have generously giving you $15 off your very own CatKit. Just use the code CATEXPLORER at checkout on basepaws.com. That's CATEXPLORER, one word on basepaws.com.
Daniel 1:53 : We've been really lucky to have had a variety of catexplorer on the podcast, and today we'll be diving into a new type of catexploring. The type that you do in a truck. Tora travels with her humans in a truck as they crisscross over America for work. And we're so excited to learn more about Tora being a trucker kitty and more. Welcome to the show, David.
Daniel 2:12 :Thank you guys for that.
Hasara 2:13: We'd love to hear about Tora, how does she come into your life?
David 2:17 : When we got Tora, we had just decided that we wanted to have the cat in the truck. So we were really looking forward to adopting. But being in a truck, no one really wanted to adopt out to us because of this lifestyle. So we actually spent about two months while we were traveling, just searching any state that we were in for different shelters and stuff like that, but no one would adopt out to us so we started expanding into breeders and things like that. And after about two months, we were coming back to Florida, and we got in contact with a lady that had Tora and we explained the situation to her. You know, we're truck drivers. We live in the truck. We've been turned down by a lot of people and she was really excited to give Tora to us. So we met up with her and took Tora home. So as soon as we got Tora, she was on a four hour car drive back home and that sort of started her life traveling.
Hasara 3:16 : I just love that. I have a silly question what breed is Tora?
David 3:21 :Tora is a Scottish Fold. But her ears never fold it down. So they call Scottish straights or Scottish short hairs.
Hasara 3:29 :I did wonder that because I did notice she doesn't have the folded ears so that makes sense? Yeah. So tell us a little bit about her personality.
David 3:37 : Tora is very calm compared to other cats, especially for a kitten. She prefers to just lay around and kind of be lazy. She doesn't really run around a lot and get excited when she plays with toys. She's very slow. Like if you've seen a cat very tired playing how they'll swat and they can't really catch the joy. That's Tora all the time. So she's very calm and very likes relaxed and like says sit around and watch stuff happen.
Daniel 4:04: Oh that's lovely. So, Tora is a trucker kitty, which we've established and before we jump too far down that road, we also want to touch on how you started her to be a catexplorer. So how did you introduce Torah to the harness? And how did you harness train her?
David 4:19 : With harness training, we actually had a couple days at home before we were in the truck with her. So we would just put the harness on her and let her sit around and kind of get the feel of being in it. So at first she would just sit there and she wouldn't move. And we'd leave it on for like 30 minutes to an hour and then we take it off and she'd go play and then we put it on her and she'd sit there and she wouldn't move and eventually she got to where she was walking around the house and being comfortable in it. And that's when we started with put the leash on her and of course, she was very resilient to taking up the leash so she would just sit there and freeze again. And then eventually she started moving so we started taking her on walks inside the house. And then by time she was walking inside the house. Then we moved into the truck, where we were introducing her to new experiences and going outside. So she got comfortable on the harness and leash while she was in an area that she was familiar with.
Hasara 5:14 :That's a really good idea, actually. Because then it reduces the chances of have been distracted or feeling stressed. So you guys did an awesome job there.
David 5:23: Thank you.
Hasara 5:23 : So we've spoken about Tora being a trucker kitty, I have my ideas and what a trucker kitty is, but do you mind telling us what your definition of a trucker cat is?
David 5:32 : Oh, well, we're just truck drivers by trade. So, you know, we're working every day in the truck. And Tora just rides along with us.
Daniel 5:41 : So three of you travel in the truck together. And it's something that's for us is unusual, but I hadn't thought about much about it. And I don't think I knew anyone else who did it until we sort of came across you guys. And then it sort of started popping up a bit more and we sort of saw this phenomena. Is it common and How did you come up with this idea of taking Tora with you guys?
David 6:03: I don't think it's too common for cats to be in trucks, you see more dogs. But it's kind of common to have pets out here because it's a very separated lifestyle. You're on your own. You don't really go home that often. So a lot of people want pets for companionship, and I am seeing a lot more cats recently. But it's mainly a dog thing. We weren't sure we knew we wanted a pet with us, but we weren't sure if we could do it in the truck. We want to share about taking her outside and doing all that because we knew she had to get exercise. We couldn't keep her in the truck all the time. And one of the first catexplorers that we saw was Gary from @greatgramsofgary, and through seeing him and following his posts. That's where we got the idea of, okay, we can really make this happen. We can take her outside and she can go outside and explore and get exercise. So that's where the idea that we could have her on the truck with us came from
Hasara 7:00 :That's awesome. Yeah, it's I've recently started to notice a lot of dogs doing it. But it's great that you've met a lot of other cats who are doing it. That's really cool. So I have to ask, like, do most of the trucking companies allow employees to have their pets in the truck? And is there like an approval process? Or are there some things that you need to do to make to tick any boxes,
David 7:21 :Most allow pets, but it's kind of the same restrictions that you would get staying at a hotel, it's primarily dogs, they have to be under a certain weight. And with trucking companies, there's usually a fee that you have to pay, like for my company specifically, you have to pay $500 and that's just make sure that they can maintain the equipment when you give it back to them that they can go through and clean everything and if there's any scratches, they can fix it,
Daniel 7:49 : How does Tora travel in the truck. Is there gear that you use or is there a special setup for her
David 7:54 : In the truck she free roams. So when we're driving, she's free to walk around the cab and do all that because there's a lot more space in here than you would think. We have bunk beds in the truck and the top bunk is where Tora's stuff is. She has her food and water bowl up there scratching post. So she has that whole area to herself
Hasara 8:15 : and that's so awesome she has a whole bunk to herself.
David 8:19 : Yes she does she loves it
Hasara 8:21 : that's so awesome. Did you have to create any like special nooks and crannies for her? Like when we spoke to for example, Rich and Willow or some of the other cats who go vanning or are in RVs they've had they've put up like little boxes or things like that. Is there anything like that that you've had to create?
David 8:36 : She has a cat condo on the top bunk and that's where she likes to spend her time.
Daniel 8:42 : So how do you deal with say, kitty litter and you know, those sort of challenges that you normally get if you're living at home?
David 8:48 : I think that's actually the most frequent question that we get is the kitty litter. So we have cabinets in the back of the truck, and in the bottom cabinet is where we keep the litter box You just take it out once or twice a day and there's no odor or anything like that. We've had mechanics get in the truck to work on stuff. And I know you have a cat, it doesn't smell in here at all. So just stay on top of cleaning it and it's not a problem.
Hasara 9:15 :And to be honest, that's what we should be doing at home anyway. stay on top of it. And then yeah, like, I think, yeah, that makes makes it makes a lot of sense.
Daniel 9:23 : Does it ever occur that you need to sleep outside the truck was any reason? And then what would you do in those situations? If it did occur?
David 9:30 : Yes. Sometimes there's mechanical issues. So the truck breaks down, it has to be in the shop and then we can't sleep in the truck.
We have to stay at hotels. So that can be difficult. I think that's the most challenging thing about trucking with a cat is finding hotels that will accommodate her.
And I actually have a story for that we broke down in Minnesota and a small town and we're trying to find hotel so I'm calling around everywhere, which is about four hotels because it's A small town. And everyone's telling me like, yeah, we're pet friendly, but only dogs. So I get to the last place, and like, Hey, are you guys pet friendly? And, of course, and I go to ask, do you allow cats, and he hung up on me. So I just assumed it's the last hotel. That's where we're going anyway. So we go and we get there, and we get checked in. And as soon as we get to the room, the phone rings, which is weird for a hotel, so I answered, and it's the front desk and he's like, Hey, I didn't realize it was a cat until after you paid. Just don't let my manager see. So we got really lucky in that situation. But usually, we end up in a bigger city where we can find hotels that will accommodate cats.
Hasara 10:43 : Wow, that would have been a sticky one.
In Australia, Airbnb is quite prolific in those little towns and they like we've had better luck at finding Airbnb that are pet friendly, cat friendly. And I have a bit of a spiel where I'll be like we have well behaved cats. They do this all the time. And we've got a scratching pole and kitty litter and we'll bring their own beds and that usually helps. Are Airbnb is usually pet friendly in the US as well?
David 11:12 : We actually haven't used Airbnb it's not something that I've even heard of until recently. So next time we have an issue like that will definitely turn to Airbnb and see what our options are.
Hasara 11:25 : Hmm, yeah, because it's interesting you say that because the thought had never occurred to me until recently to look into pet friendly hotels because I find it so much easier to find pet friendly Airbnb, and we're going down to Melbourne in a couple of months time and everyone's like, why didn't you just look at all the pet friendly hotels? It was like thought never even occurred to me.
David 11:47 : Yeah, I wish I would have known about Airbnb sooner but now hopefully it helps
Hasara 11:52 : now you know.
Daniel 11:53 :So aside from a mechanical breakdown day, can you paint a picture of what a typical day for Tora & yourself look like
David 12:00 : A typical day, we usually start out around four in the morning with a walk, just a short walk, like 510 minutes just to get out of the truck, we drive for probably six hours. And then that's when we take a 30 minute break, which is mandatory by law here. So we get out and during that 30 minutes, we usually spend that time walking again and just playing outside having fun. And then we'll get back in the truck drive for probably five more hours. And then we'll get out and walk again. And that's pretty much our days is driving and getting out and going to explorer.
Hasara 12:40 : How do you keep Torah entertained over those 6 or 5 hour drives?
David 12:44 : So she actually has string toys that we've tied around the truck and random places that way when I'm driving, they're swinging. So when we're driving she's playing with those are sleeping on the dashboard, which is one of her favorite things to do.
Daniel 12:58 : And that's pretty clever and a good way to use the momentum of the truck to your advantage.
David 13:03 : Yeah it was actually Destiny, the one that runs the Instagram account, that decided to do that. It's helped a lot with keeping Tora like preoccupied so she's not trying to jump on the steering wheel and stuff like that.
Hasara 13:17 :Let's do that in the car. Yeah, Noxie sometimes gets a bit bored let's try that.
Daniel 13:23 : What is Tora like as a truck up? Like, Is she pretty calm most of the time? When does she get agitated? And does she get bored easily?
David 13:31 : She's usually very calm, especially while I'm driving she, she'll play with those toys, but really, she just wants to sit on someone's lap and stare out the window. The only time she gets really excited is when I'm like making a delivery or picking something up. So like, I have other truck drivers around me and like the business that I'm at looking at me and Tora's trying to like climb on me and stuff like that. So that's when she gets excited, which we're working on but usually she's very calm.
Hasara 14:01 :Is that more of her she wants to see what you're doing or she wants to get in the middle of the action or
David 14:06 : I don't know what gets her going during those times. But I think a little bit of both wanting to be in the action and wanting to see what I'm doing as well.
Hasara 14:14 :That's just awesome. Like, you've spoken about how calm she is like in the truck? Did you have to do anything in terms of training had to understand how to be calm in the truck or how to travel in the truck or anything like that?
David 14:29 : Oh, not really. She just calm by nature. But one of the main things that we had a tech her was traveling in the truck, a big question that we get asked is keeping her out of the pedals. How does that go?
That's people's main concern is what if the cat gets under the pedal? So we have to explain that when we first got her in the truck, we put a rug under my feet by the pedals that we sprayed with a scent that she didn't like, like citrus and not sprayed it to where the whole truck was engulfed in citrus, but we took it outside and sprayed it lightly that way the scent was there faintly, and then kept it by the pedals. That way when she would come to that area, she would smell it and realize she didn't like it. So she would leave that area. So now I don't have the mat there and she just avoids the pedals all together.
Daniel 15:16 :Okay, that's a good point that you make. Are there any essential skills that you think would be good for trucker kitty to have,
David 15:23 : I think the most important thing would be being harness trained and walking on a leash, because they can't get the energy that they need, get the exercise that they need, rather, in the confined space of the tracks are getting them outside and walking and exercising and playing out there. I think it's the most important thing.
Hasara 15:42 :That's a really good point because um, it's like for us humans, if we stay seated for long periods of time, it's not great for us so they also need their exercise to and the bonus is that imagine having her around makes you guys have to walk around to get that break.
David 15:58 : Yes, that was a big benefit of getting hers. It's a very sedentary lifestyle. So having her makes us go, Okay, we have to get out of the truck and start walking now. So that's actually helped a lot.
Hasara 16:10 : That's really, really awesome. So, were you trucking before Tora came into your lives? Well, I assume you were has having had changed anything for you?
David 16:20 :Yes, we were driving for, I believe, three or four months before getting Tora. And it's changed a lot actually, it's helped with like, we were just talking about getting out of the truck and being active. But it's also helped with having a companion in the truck. Even though there's two of us, it's still nice to have someone to like, take care of and play with, you know, so it's been a big improvement.
Daniel 16:44 : I can only imagine how the dynamics have changed and how having Tora really just changes things up because you know, just like a person can take care of themselves but a cat will be looking to you for constant attention and we're looking to you for care. So definitely, definitely relate to that.
David 16:59 : Yeah. It's, it's been a big help and all aspects of this job because it does get very, very repetitive doing the same thing every day. Like, okay, I'm going to drive 500 miles today, and then I'm going to drive 500 miles tomorrow. So Tora really adds a lot of excitement to that.
Daniel 17:16 : So, you talked about traveling so much, and how as part of this job, you'll visit so many different places. And so what we've seen is that Tora looks like it's become very confident with catexploring in cities, and that you train it to become so confident.
David 17:29 : I wish I could take credit for that. But that's mainly just Tora. Like, if there's one person around, she's kind of freaked out like she's very apprehensive to approach one person on their own. But if we're in a city and there's a group of people, she loves it. She loves being around large groups of people. So when we first went out to the city, we wanted to treat it. Like it was just a normal thing. We didn't want to like baby her, or make her feel scared because we were nervous. Because how we can read their body language they can pick up when we're nervous as well. So we just wanted to go out there and like, Okay, this is normal. We're just doing our thing. So, we sat down at a table in the middle of downtown Houston, I believe it was Houston, Texas, and a sporting event just let out. So a lot of people were coming down the sidewalk, and we're just like, okay, be cool, be normal. And Tora, had a great time with it, meeting people and trying to walk up to everyone and since then, she's been great and cities.
Hasara 18:32 : Wow, that's just amazing. Like, did you have to, like give her any treats or, verbally praise her or anything during that experience?
David 18:41 : Yeah, we definitely made sure to give her treats and verbally praise her but she was more into meeting people and getting pets from everyone.
Hasara 18:51 : That's just awesome. I love that. And have you found a place that these you've traveled all around America. Have you found one particular location that's just been extremely cat friendly is that one that's been a favorite of yours.
David 19:05 : I would say the most cat friendly place that we've been to is a small restaurant, in Tifton Georgia called 41 and maine, and they've been really accommodating to her. Like, when we went there the first time, Destiny sat outside on the patio and view of like, all the employees while I went inside to get food. And as I'm sitting there ordering, they're all talking about Oh, there's a cat outside there's a cat, there's a cat. So they were kind of ignoring me to go like play with the cat and they all came out. And they played with the can pet her and they actually messaged us on Instagram later and they're like, you can bring the cat anytime and you know, 10% off and all this and they've been really great with having Tora back there multiple times. And it's just a really friendly place overall,
Daniel 19:52 : we just love to see how these sort of businesses welcome cats and treat us so well because we'd like to see more of that and yeah It's, it's really great when you do find those businesses
David 20:03 : definitely is great define those businesses.
Daniel 20:06 : So I just want to step back to what you said earlier about how you had Tora trained up at home first before you went out trucking, and that's where you sort of started the harness & leash training. So I imagined Tora sort of does get back home once in a while. How does she find going home compared to being the truck? What's her mood like and does she prefer one over the other?
David 20:25 : I believe because everything's changing so often around her, we're always in new places, that it's just a new place to see for because we're there every six to eight weeks. So it's not something that she's really used to. So she just goes there and plays around like she would in a hotel because we've spent more time in hotels than we have actually at home. So it's just somewhere for her to explore and once she figures out where she likes to spend her time and hide and what she can climb on, she goes back to being regular calm Tora
Hasara 21:01 : I just had a thought just occurred to me. So we have two kitties, Lumos & Noxie. And at certain times during the day and at night, they like to do the zommies, they're running around like crazy with extra energy. Does Tora do that in the truck?
David 21:14: Yes. When we go to sleep, that's when Tora starts or she's going to run around and jump on everything time. So usually right after the sun goes down is when Tora gets crazy. And she'll run and she'll jump from the ground to the top bunk and then back down, and all over the dash and on top of the seats, and she's just running everywhere. And recently, we changed our schedule to where we're driving at night. And she doesn't really know how to handle that. Because she wants to start running around and she's like, wait, you guys are still up. So she started to do that a little bit. But we've got her switch now where she's doing that during the day. So it worked out.
Hasara 21:54 : That's awesome. Do you find that you've had to make any like changes for her to be able to Have those zoomies so for example, we're looking at getting a cat wall because we were getting sick of the kitties just jumping on all our furniture and everything. So we wanted to give them something that they can jump on when they've got that extra energy. Is there anything that she like? It sounds like you've got the bunk beds and stuff. So is there anything else that you've had to set up for her to do that?
David 22:19 : It's mainly just the scratching posts and the cat condo on her bunk beds. We've been adding more stuff for her to climb on up there as she's been climbing on our stuff. So that's helped a lot with keeping her confined, just running along the bed.
Daniel 22:34 : Something that I just thought about this, the noise of the truck or the horn sounding ever bother her because I'd mentioned that quite loud and most kitties get freaked out by sound such as those or vacuum cleaners.
David 22:45 : She actually tends to gravitate towards the louder vehicles now. Like if there's a car coming by when we're outside, she's scared of the car. But if it's a truck, she'll try to go in the truck which is a problem. that we had in the beginning was her trying to get in random people's trucks when we were walking. She notices the loud trucks as her home pretty much now. As far as the horn, I don't think she's heard the horn yet, and is an air horn on a string. So you just pull it. So I'm waiting for the day that she pulls it herself and figures that one out.
Daniel 23:23 : I can just imagine that that string hanging there, what can I do with that
Hasara 23:27 : in the middle of the night while you're asleep?
David 23:31 : Definitely when it's going to happen if it does.
Daniel 23:35 : So, in the beginning, did you have to condition her to get used to the truck noise
David 23:39 :and not really we, when we got her to the time that we were in the truck was only three days. So she was still very young because we got her eight weeks old. So she adapted to it very quickly when it first started moving she didn't really know what to do, because she had sat in it for a couple hours and gotten used to it. So when we started driving. She was kind of freaked out by that, but she warmed up to it quickly.
Hasara 24:04 : So awesome. It's, um, I think there's gonna be a lot of people who are feeling a bit jealous because I know we sometimes struggle with our cats in the car. So it's awesome that she just adjusted so well.
David 24:13 : I was very surprised by that. When we first got her. It was a four mile drive back home, and we started it in a cat carrier and she would not stop crying. So we were like, okay, maybe we try opening it and letting her out and seeing what she does. And she got out and she laid on the dash and it was raining. So she watched the rain for a little bit. And then she went to sleep, and she's been calm in cars and trucks ever since. So we got really lucky with her on that.
Hasara 24:42 : That's so awesome. I just love that and I just had a thought I wonder if be she's used to those noises of the trucks and the loud noise. Maybe that's why she's so good in busy areas and crowds
David 24:52 : that actually hadn't even occurred to me. That's probably correct.
Hasara 24:56 : How does she find like quiet areas.
David 24:59 : She was Quiet areas as long as it's just us, like, if we're on a trail, and someone else comes along, she's kind of scared of the other person. But back to her and cities if there's more people on the trail, like it's a very busy trail. She's comfortable with that. She likes that. But she likes quiet areas and going outside to play and open like rest areas and stuff as opposed to truck stops.
Her personality is quite unusual compared to others. Like I mean, she loves loud noises. And then she loves crowds as opposed to, you know, the quiet and the sort of solitude of not too many people so she's probably as well suited to this tracking life.
Yes, we got very lucky with her personality.
Daniel 25:43 : So we mentioned before a little bit about how you found this great place that you could go back and back again and again with businesses. And what's your criteria, if any that you look for in terms of cat friendly businesses,
David 25:57 : usually when we start our day will look ahead about 500 miles to the area that will be shutting down. And so from there, we'll find out what's walking distance from us. And from the truck stop. And we'll go in and find who has patios because nowhere is going to let us sit inside with again. So from there, we'll just call everyone and make sure that they're pet friendly.
Hasara 26:20 : That's awesome. So what do you do in winter?
David 26:22 : Tora actually loves the winter. When we first got her. It was January so it was still snowing and we went from our first trip with her was from Florida. So it was 85 degrees Fahrenheit there. And we drove straight up to Minnesota where it was 12 degrees Fahrenheit. So it was snowing and very cold. And we were like, you know, can we walk her here? Is this going to be okay? So we took her outside and we're just like, okay, we're going to hold her and see how she does and she loved it. She was so excited to be outside so we ended up getting her little sweater so she could wear. And we let her outside to play in the snow. And that's when she's most excited. She's running around and playing. And if she's in the snow, she does not stop. she absolutely loves the winter.
Hasara 27:11: I can just imagine, like the happiness and the joy that she has, when you're in the snow. That would be so adorable. How about like with restaurants because it would be really cold to sit on the patio in winter. How do you find restaurants during that time?
David 27:26 : We actually don't have much experience with finding restaurants in the winter yet. We had a very limited time in the snow and then we came back down south. So we don't have much experience in that. But I'm looking forward to it this year.
Hasara 27:41 : Yeah, that's understandable. I think more and more people are doing it during winter like this. Like breweries seem to be the place to be with cats in the middle of winter because you're allowed to take them inside but I'm not sure how their food system works. And I'm guessing you can't drink while you're driving.
Hasara 28:00 : So we're coming towards the end of our podcast. And we've got a few questions that we ask everyone.
So what is one piece of advice that you'd give to new catexplorers
David 28:09 : To new cat explorers? I would say just take it up the cats pace. It's very easy to see cats on Instagram or anywhere online, where they're doing really well and to look at them and go, Oh, my cat's not doing well. He's just sitting here in the grass. He won't move. But everybody's been in that position. It was the same with us when we first started and I'm sure it was the same with you guys and your two cats. So just be patient and take it slow and try not to compare yourself to other cats online because we've all been in that position where it wasn't going so smoothly and it still happens sometimes to most of us. So just go slow and work with it at your own pace.
Daniel 28:49 : You know, that really make a lot of sense considering your earlier story about how you trained Tora with the harness & leash. Like it wasn't a case of put the harness on & Tora loved it. You got the typical reaction. Plop, you know, what is this? Get this thing off me. So people forget that when they see the Instagram stories and the glossy stuff on online, but that's the beginning and the origin story which everyone has basically,
David 29:16 : definitely.
Hasara 29:17 : And I like your point about even for those catexplorers who've been doing it for a while they still have those days. So for example, this week I took Noxie for a walk, she decided to sit in a bush for 30 minutes so I had to sit on the ground waiting for her because I got tired. And then an ant came and bit me in the butt. We still have those days that just kind of is like, Oh, it's not really going for us today. But I didn't post about that on Instagram because I didn't get a pretty photo. So
Daniel 29:46 : it's not all glamorous. Yeah, it's not glamorous at all. What's the most entertaining comment you've had when you've been out and about with Tora?
David 29:54 : the most entertaining comment, we were on our way home so we were going into Florida and the one thing that always seems to happen in trucking is no matter how long you're away from home, when you start to go back is when you have a problem. So of course, we had a problem and we blew a tire. So we had a mechanic come out. And as he's fixing the tire, he gives me the bills and Tora poked her head out, and he looks at her and for anyone that hasn't seen Tora has a flat face, and he looks at the cat, and he goes, What's wrong with that cat? It looks like it ran into a wall. And I didn't really know how to respond to that. So I just kind of laughed and I signed the bills and we went our separate ways. But that's stuck with me since then was what's wrong with that cat? It looks like it ran into a wall.
Hasara 30:39 : She doesn't look like she ran into a wall, she's beautiful.
David 30:43 : Thank you.
Hasara 30:45 : I wonder if he just like suddenly had the shock of Oh, there's a cat there...I have to say something. What's the first thing that came into my head?
David 30:55 : I don't know how his thought process went with that one, but it was a good comment. So I appreciate it,
Daniel 31:01 : Which catexplorers inspire you?
David 31:03 :So I actually have three for that one.
First would be @greatgramsofgary, because as I mentioned earlier, he was the inspiration for getting Tora outside. And that really helped a lot. So without him, I don't think we would even have thought it was possible to have Tora be a catexplorer.
Second would be @catnamedcalvin, Calvin's been a big inspiration as far as tricks, because he knows a lot of tricks he can do tons of things. So we really look up to Calvin when it comes to training Tora, which is something that we're working on now with high five and jumping when we tell her to jump and not just jumping all around the truck. So Calvin's big, been a big inspiration in that area, and we actually got a chance to meet Calvin and Texas and that was a great time.
And then third would be @ashby_the_aristocat. Ashby is someone that we look up to, because they put the good and the bad out there, like we were talking about earlier where you just see the good side of everything on Instagram. Ashby will actually say, Okay, here's our successes from today. And here's where things kind of went wrong. So we look to them for that. And Ashby is also a good one to look up to, because they didn't start catexploring until he was four years old. So you can really look to them to see that it's not just kittens, you don't just have to have a kitten. And then you can be a catexplorer. It can be older cats as well. And that's great.
Daniel 32:35 : I love these examples that you've provided because they reinforce your point in a way trying to say that the inspiration is out there like all these different Instagram profiles and all these different cats out there are doing amazing things and like yourself, showing that you can take a cat trucking, like you can take a cat and teach a tricks you can take it stand up paddleboarding, the world is you know possibilities are endless, though it's an open wide world that they can go and explore. And I love that point that you make about it.
David 33:05 : Thank you.
Hasara 33:05 : And I think I'm really sorry if this is wrong, but I believe Gary's actually missing a hip or he's got like a hip injury as well. So some of the stuff that he does it pretty incredible.
David 33:16 : Yes, that's correct. That's amazing to see the stuff that Gary does, and he's out there taking pictures with helicopters and going kayaking and on mountains. So he's a huge inspiration.
Hasara 33:26 : Yeah, definitely. So what product service or program has been a game changer for Tora?
David 33:32 :The biggest thing that we could recommend any catexplorer is getting a backpack for your cat, because it serves as a safe place for them and something that's going to help us out a lot walking the cats because we're out on trails and they get tired. What do you do then? So it's a great thing to have the backpack to carry them around on trails when they don't feel like walking because I'm sure you guys have had the same experience where sometimes they'll go for miles and Sometimes it's about 10 feet, and they want to hide the bush. But also, when you're in the cities and stuff like that, where they don't feel very comfortable, they'll always have that safe space to go back.
Daniel 34:11 : Now, we definitely agree with that. And we've had that as our experience as well, where Lumos, he's a bit lazy, so he will not walk very far, I can only imagine the pain that I would have to endure if I had to carry him for the whole trail, because it was probably like, a couple of feet, you know, a couple of meters. And then we're talking about a several several mile trail or several kilometer trail, I'd be in so much pain. So that is definitely helpful, especially in cities as well. We're like, which is normal for most cats, they get scared by the noise and the people so they need a safe place to go. And the backpack definitely does that for them.
David 34:50 : Yeah, of course. It's been a huge help to us and anyone else that we've seen with one. It's a great thing.
Daniel 34:57 : So David, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a blast. Where can we find you and Tora online?
David 35:03 : We're on Instagram at @toratravels.
Hasara 35:08 Awesome. So what we'll do is we'll put those links and any other links from today's episode in the show notes which will be available at catexplorer.co/podcast.
Thank you so much for listening today.
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