When it comes to selecting a hiking companion, cats are typically pretty far down on the list. Unless, of course, your name is JJ Yosh.
JJ is an adventure filmmaker, travel vlogger, and social media influencer from Boulder, Colorado. He adopted a kitten named Simon from his neighbor over a year ago, and they’ve been inseparable ever since!
When he adopted Simon, JJ already had big plans. He immediately started training the cat to get Simon ready to become his sidekick through countless adventures. Luckily, Simon proved to be a quick study who loves the great outdoors just as much as his dad!
JJ began documenting their hiking trips on his popular Instagram, but it soon became apparent that Simon would need his very own page.
“Simon’s favorite places are his backyard hiking spots in Boulder, Colorado,” JJ said. “He loves exploring the nearby mountains where we have caves and rocks to climb.”
While hiking, Simon alternates between walking on a leash, riding in a backpack, or simply crouching on JJ’s shoulders as he walks. When they camp overnight, the two of them cuddle up in a shared sleeping bag.
There’s nothing Simon wouldn’t do to stay close to his favorite human!
Everywhere they go, JJ and Simon get plenty of attention from curious strangers.
“The reaction usually is amazement and surprise that I would be taking a cat into the back country, and that Simon would sit so gracefully on my shoulder like a parrot,” JJ said.
The cat dad hopes to encourage more people to train their pets to join them out in the world as well.
“On top of getting outside, I want people to realize cats can be just as adventurous as dogs if given the proper training,” he said.
As far as how he trains Simon, JJ’s best advice is to start them as young as possible and establish habits early on.
“Another tip is never to free feed your cat,” he said. “I feed Simon three times a day wet food. He learns the food comes from me, and before he gets his food I have him do 10 different tricks.”
This is one of the best bromances we’ve ever seen! Simon and JJ are giving us serious goals. Somehow we think our lazy house cats are a bit too set in their ways to try this, but you never know!
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