"If I touch Henry’s leash, [Baloo] will start screaming at the door."

November 27, 2017 4:47 PM

This Cat And Dog Love Travelling Together, And Their Pictures Are Absolutely Epic (Bored Panda). Also on The Dodo. Also on Instagram.
posted by Johnny Wallflower (35 comments total)

Goals!! When my two older cats go, I want to try to get the youngest one into camping.
posted by AFABulous at 4:52 PM on November 27, 2017 [4 favorites]

I'm trying to harness-train my cat, as he is Desperate. To. Go. Out. Now. It's not going all that well, so I'll add this to the inspirational links.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:03 PM on November 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

Johnny Wallflower, thank you for some cheerful posts.
posted by glasseyes at 5:03 PM on November 27, 2017 [17 favorites]

I want to try to get the youngest one into camping.

Would that be Spooky? Let us know where to find your shredded corpse.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:03 PM on November 27, 2017 [7 favorites]

I'm not totally cool with these animals being (mostly) off-leash in such areas, but these are absolutely gorgeous photos of two beautiful friends, without a doubt.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:09 PM on November 27, 2017 [6 favorites]

This made me smile and I needed that. It's been a day.
posted by Fizz at 5:11 PM on November 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

every day's a fucking day, eh
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:13 PM on November 27, 2017 [7 favorites]

every day's a fucking day, eh

These days, yup.
posted by Fizz at 5:15 PM on November 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

Those two pets are absolutely soul mates in every possible way. How sublime.

Thank you for another excellent post, Johnny. My day is much better now.
posted by Hermione Granger at 5:18 PM on November 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

That may be the best series of animal photos I've ever seen. They certainly made my day, and maybe my year. Thanks, Johnny W!
posted by languagehat at 5:23 PM on November 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

Would that be Spooky? Let us know where to find your shredded corpse.

Come on, he looks excited to go camping!
posted by AFABulous at 5:30 PM on November 27, 2017 [6 favorites]

I DO NOT LIKE SEEING THAT DOGGO SO CLOSE TO THE EDGE OF A CLIFF

(otherwise, these are sweet - thanks JWF!)
posted by triggerfinger at 7:18 PM on November 27, 2017 [12 favorites]

The cat. He is a hat!

I've had several cats that would walk with me for quite a long time. I've often wondered if they would be hiking cats.
posted by BlueHorse at 7:18 PM on November 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

I'm not totally cool with these animals being (mostly) off-leash in such areas...
posted by turbid dahlia

Land use rules vary widely; off-leash dogs are permitted in huge swathes of US public land, including every one of the bazillions of miles I've hiked in the Great Smoky Mountains with this doofus.

Honestly though, I'm not sure I've ever seen a land use rule that applied to cats.
posted by workerant at 7:22 PM on November 27, 2017 [4 favorites]

I don't think I've seen any rule that applied to cats
posted by aubilenon at 7:47 PM on November 27, 2017 [47 favorites]

THEY REMIND ME OF HARRY AND MEGHAN BECAUSE TODAY IS TOTALLY ALL ABOUT THAT AND NOTHING ELSE
posted by numaner at 7:56 PM on November 27, 2017 [2 favorites]

I am so glad these people and these animals all found each other. That's just wonderful.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 8:39 PM on November 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

Uhhh - doggy - please stay away from the edge of that canyon. Thank you.
posted by helmutdog at 9:09 PM on November 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

That is an astonishingly beautiful cat.

One time I was backpacking in the Cascades ascending a steep trail to an alpine meadow campsite and coming down was a guy with an orange tabby sitting atop his pack. No leash or nothing and seemed content as could be. He told me she alternated between walking the trail with him and hitching a ride, that she’d always been a great hiking companion.

This is a previously undescribed species of cat that must be protected and bred for future generations.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:56 PM on November 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

I need catmitt earmuffs like Henry has!

Also if people want to post more pictures of their adorable dogs and cats and bunnies and turtles and chickens etc in the various wallflower/641 animal love-in posts, I've got a fistful of favorites I'm happy to spend.
posted by mochapickle at 9:57 PM on November 27, 2017 [5 favorites]

Cat: "Who run Purina Town?"
posted by pracowity at 10:56 PM on November 27, 2017 [3 favorites]

That cat looks so soft and fluffy, and I'm so angry I can't reach through the screen and pet that fuzzy little head.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 2:01 AM on November 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

On a slightly less epic scale, our cat likes to join in when I walk the puppy. It doesn't make training her to walk properly any easier, when we're constantly interrupted by the cat (deliberately) zooming by. Her only thought then seem to be "Kitty! I need to lick you and sniff your butt!"
posted by Harald74 at 2:05 AM on November 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh I so needed that! Thanks!
posted by Namlit at 2:19 AM on November 28, 2017

In case people are worried about the cat etc being off-leash, I strongly suspect that the leashes have been edited out of a lot of these pictures to make for better aesthetics. That's definitely the case with at least one other famous Instagram Travelling Cat. If you look, the cat is almost always wearing a harness whether or not the leash itself is visible.
posted by Acheman at 3:38 AM on November 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

I was mostly worried about the dog standing on the edge of a cliff without one.
posted by tavella at 5:07 AM on November 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oh my, these photos are just so good. It makes me so happy to see two (relatively) short lived animals that have such a close bond with one another and a life full of rich and varied experiences. Really nice way to start the day. Thanks!
posted by lazaruslong at 5:40 AM on November 28, 2017

I've edited leashes out of pictures of foster dogs. It's not too hard.

When I was in 5th grade, my family went from Minnesota to Santa Cruz for a year for my dad's sabbatical. We stayed in the house of another professor who was gone somewhere else, and luckily the house came with two cats, Jacques and Tara. Jacques liked to accompany us on our after-dinner walks, strolling along, occasionally romping off into neighbor's yard but always rejoining us as we headed back home. It was very charming and not a behavior I had ever seen from any of the cats we had at home.
posted by Squeak Attack at 6:39 AM on November 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

We had a neighbor at one point whose cat would follow along when he would walk his dog around the neighborhood. It trailed a little behind but kept with the group, and that cat would take no shit from anyone and did not give way -- it was on you to move to the side if you were passing.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:53 AM on November 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

[T]hat cat would take no shit from anyone and did not give way -- it was on you to move to the side if you were passing.

As it should be.
posted by bowmaniac at 7:05 AM on November 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm guessing the cliff picture is an optical illusion. I don't recognize the specific spot but in this sort of landscape it's not hard to find angles near the edge that make you look as if you're staring into the abyss when there's really another level and plenty of safe space below you.
posted by feloniousmonk at 9:11 AM on November 28, 2017

A dog standing at edge of a cliff is not like a toddler standing at edge of a cliff. Dogs have a much lower center of gravity, making them less likely to topple over, and probably a better survival instinct. Dogs are dumb in their own way but I've never seen an adult dog just fall from a standing or gingerly walking position whereas children fall over all the time. (I'm using "children" rather than adults because the mental capacity is more similar.)

Re: animals being off-leash, we already had that (prolonged) argument.
posted by AFABulous at 9:14 AM on November 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

These photos are gorgeous! Also, love how the dog has acquired a cat hat. Cat has a very "all is right with the world" expression and doggo looks proud to serve.
posted by kitten magic at 11:21 AM on November 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

Yes, my dog really, really loves water and swimming, but he never jumps into the water from a cliff or even a low wall. I think dogs know very well what they can handle.
Also, same dog is really a problem for me in dog parks, because he really wants to play with every dog, and will run all over the place. He'll come back eventually, but just this morning I got a wet sock and every minute he was racing around with a nice labrador in the freezing cold was a pest. If we are hiking (where it is legal for him to be off the leash), he never strays and he has no hunting instinct at all.
posted by mumimor at 11:26 AM on November 28, 2017

One more vote for, "Henry, stay away from the edge of the canyon!" But the pictures of him cruising through water in the slot canyon, and yawning in the sleeping bag with Baloo on the fold, and waking up to a glorious view from the tent opening with his best hiking bros -- priceless.
That's a good dog.
posted by TrishaU at 12:54 PM on November 28, 2017 [2 favorites]