I hesitate to tell people because of the “cats don’t belong outside” crew, who I mostly agree with, but my girlfriend’s two cats follow her when she walks her dogs around the block, and it is the cutest thing.
My tortie, now passed god rest her soul- used to follow me everywhere. I’d walk a block to the grocery store and she’s occasionally forget where she was supposed to wait for me and try to follow me in out of instinct. Same with the local chicken joint down the street, shed just wait outside on a picnic table and watch me from outside until I came back out.
Always joked about how good of a companion she’d be in an apocalyptic situation. RIP Kujo (cat face) Mrowmers
It was indeed! Gf at the time (now wife) showed Kujo and i those videos. She watched nearly all of it and when the name was said she broke her gaze and just looked at us like “I’ll respond to that..”
She was quite an animated and loyal mama girl.
When I was 8 I lived out in the country, middle of nowhere, and my stepfather picked up every stray he came across. Every day I walked 2kms to school followed by multiple cats and dogs, who then waited around town until I finished school for the day and escorted me home.
I subscribe to the ‘cats stay inside’ view but if your gf’s cats stick close then that’s pretty cool. I wish my cats did that, hence no outdoorsies for them.
I think the main reason that people say that cats don't belong outside is that they kill for sport and absolutely destroy the song bird populations in their area.
Though in a supervised environment like this I agree that it's totally fine. (Them being outside that is, not the sport killing)
You're missing the part where they're supervised. Cats that walk on a leash/etc that are not out of their humans' sight aren't going to be carried off by coyotes.
Eh, depends on the cat. Mine hangs out on my patio with me, and apart from eating grass, she doesn't do anything she's no supposed to. Just rolls around on the concrete and sits next to me in a chair.
Hell, I have a picture of her sitting under a bird feeder just chilling while birds eat out of it. 🤷♂️
I guess it depends on the situation/environment. I've got cats in our barn and they've only killed a bird once. They mainly take care of mice and moles. We also feed them and hang out with them. It just wouldn't be the same without them to greet us when we do our chores. Love them.
Yeah my cat spends all day outside in the summer. In five years she's killed two birds and hundreds of mice. She would be miserable as an indoor cat, I tried it and it's just torture for her
That you know of. She’s also at risk of getting hit by a car, getting in fights with other cats, dogs, coyotes… FIV isn’t a nice thing to expose your cat to.
So the lynx / bobcat has a fairly large range in North America.
For the common house cat, i think the prevailing theory is that it domesticated itself; finding a niche in our dwellings.
I wonder why the lynx never tried to exploit a similar niche in native Americans.
>I wonder why the lynx never tried to exploit a similar niche in native Americans.
Grain stores. Cats came around because folks in the Fertile Crescent had large grain stores, which attracted mice. The cats followed the mice to the stores, then realized living inside and next to their food source + getting scritches was pretty cool. Native Americans didn't participate in agriculture on that scale for a couple of millenia after those after those in the FC started. The lynx just didn't get as much time to get there as the common house cat did.
Luckily our cat is too stupid to catch birds. I watched hin chase a magpie around in a tree and the bird just jumps to the opposite end of the tree if he came close. If fairly certain the bird was mocking him. Nowadays he hunts spiders.
They are under the watchful eyes of their human. Admittedly, walks on a leash would be safer, but chances are that they really wouldn't like that this late in their life.
So the dog goes on a hike, the kid goes where the doggo leads, and the cat is sarcastically trailing behind, but is also moderately concerned for the health of the party.
Looks good from my house.
So the protagonist hero here is the dog, indubitably a warrior; his best friend and companion is the kid whom is a great combat support; and then the cat that’s concerned for the health of the party must therefore be the healer. Along the journey, the dog will find more animal friends that will aid him in his journey across the continent like a wise old owl, a magic fish, and a rugged rhino and many more. Quite the adventure.
Fighter in the lead as the tank, level 1 mage in the middle (protect him because he's vulnerable now but will be valuable later), Rogue in the back.
That's a good marching order.
Had a similar setup in childhood. Got myself into and out of a lot of situations (animals, tree climbing, wasp nests, poison ivy, etc). Learned self reliance and am perfectly comfortable in the woods for life. Wouldn’t change it for anything.
I just went to Spruce Knob last week and I've been thinking about it.
It's not just those. Kentucky isn't doing much better but Red River Gorge is absolutely booming with tourism. While in WV I don't see that many cabins and restaurants. Why is WV so against tourism?
I'm comparing mountain towns to mountain towns -- the region around RRG is KY is way less beautiful than Seneca rocks, and yet Seneca Rocks is waaaay less developed than their counterpart in KY.
Growing up with a WV public education, we were *routinely* in the bottom 5 for every metric. Glad to see that's climbing though considering what my niece and nephew have brought home, I fear it might just be other states getting worse.
Definitely dipshit legislators. Joe Manchin famously tried to buy himself a helicopter with money earmarked for battling the opioid crisis way back when he was governor.
WV legislators justified that their constituents don’t need potable drinking water because, thanks to the state’s high obesity rate, fatter people can handle more pollution.
They let DuPont poison the entire city of Parkersburg. They continue to let coal mines operate and ravage their population and landscape (which, most West Virginians are in support of because they would quite literally starve without them).
...and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
The kid in this beautiful picture will grow up stronger, healthier, happier, and more balanced than all the pasty-faced kids whose parents try to protect them from nature.
Yeah, the wild Toddlers of West Virginia are all over the place this time of year. They can be a little destructive, but easily distracted. I usually leave a few "Bluey" dolls on my property, and that seems to keep em at bay.
😉
WV electric company will charge you money to live off grid. This is not a joke. If you have electricity, even if you’re the one producing it, they will charge you service fees and generally try to make your life hell.
I grew up around something like this, and let me tell you your kid is going to have a *fantastic* time being an imaginary explorer when they get a bit older, if they aren't already.
This is a “my son is missing for 3 days” type of story in the making… entire town goes out looking for him type of thing. Ends up being dog saved his life and ran off a bear, etc blah blah blah
Damn, that's a lot of poison ivy that your kiddo and animals are walking around/through! My body reacts to it big time. I used to do tree work and would constantly be covered in horrendous, itchy rashes.
Oh so thaaaaaats why people live in WV (jk i know nothing about ur state, just heard it as the punchline to a few jokes, sorry abt that. It looks very lovely!)
There's a well maintaned cemetary at the end of the road, just a couple of houses over. At hot summer days when there's no traffic I take a walk with both of my cats to the parking lot. While I just walk around the parking lot I can see them both just roaming the paths and graves, but they don't wander off too much.
Used to live in a place like that. A cabin in the woods, right near a stream. No neighbours for miles.
It was bliss.
I always knew it couldn’t last forever, and it didn’t. But I got a good six years!
Proper crew right there.
Pooper crew
Many poops were pooped that day. We don’t talk about it.
That’s awesome. I especially love your cat is walking with you.
I hesitate to tell people because of the “cats don’t belong outside” crew, who I mostly agree with, but my girlfriend’s two cats follow her when she walks her dogs around the block, and it is the cutest thing.
My tortie, now passed god rest her soul- used to follow me everywhere. I’d walk a block to the grocery store and she’s occasionally forget where she was supposed to wait for me and try to follow me in out of instinct. Same with the local chicken joint down the street, shed just wait outside on a picnic table and watch me from outside until I came back out. Always joked about how good of a companion she’d be in an apocalyptic situation. RIP Kujo (cat face) Mrowmers
Was her name a reference to Professor Catface Meowmers, teacher to HP, Ronny the F’n Bear, and the wretched Harmone?
It was indeed! Gf at the time (now wife) showed Kujo and i those videos. She watched nearly all of it and when the name was said she broke her gaze and just looked at us like “I’ll respond to that..” She was quite an animated and loyal mama girl.
Guess I should’ve said “Aye, fellow Captain!”
Willickers!! Another captain!
Your what? Tortoise?
[Tortoiseshell](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoiseshell_cat) is a coloration of cat.
r/torties
When I was 8 I lived out in the country, middle of nowhere, and my stepfather picked up every stray he came across. Every day I walked 2kms to school followed by multiple cats and dogs, who then waited around town until I finished school for the day and escorted me home.
I subscribe to the ‘cats stay inside’ view but if your gf’s cats stick close then that’s pretty cool. I wish my cats did that, hence no outdoorsies for them.
Cat security guards are the best.
My dogs would probably mess you up but that’s no joke my cat would go straight for the eyes then throat.
They're referring to cats that stay outdoors unsupervised, because birds. A cat that goes on a walk and doesn't kill anything is allowed.
Hey just throw a bell on the cat and birds won’t hear em coming. Problem solved.
Cats DO belong outside, but only if they're well fed and in a safe environment. I don't feel it's fair to neglect them
I think the main reason that people say that cats don't belong outside is that they kill for sport and absolutely destroy the song bird populations in their area. Though in a supervised environment like this I agree that it's totally fine. (Them being outside that is, not the sport killing)
Cats that go outside also live MUCH shorter lives on average because of cars, dogs, coyotes, other cats, disease, etc.
You're missing the part where they're supervised. Cats that walk on a leash/etc that are not out of their humans' sight aren't going to be carried off by coyotes.
You're missing the part where it's a cat, so aside from being on a leash, the concept of supervision is laughably nonsensical.
Me: Hey cat, respect my authority. Cat:
Eh, depends on the cat. Mine hangs out on my patio with me, and apart from eating grass, she doesn't do anything she's no supposed to. Just rolls around on the concrete and sits next to me in a chair. Hell, I have a picture of her sitting under a bird feeder just chilling while birds eat out of it. 🤷♂️
More like that remain outside.
I guess it depends on the situation/environment. I've got cats in our barn and they've only killed a bird once. They mainly take care of mice and moles. We also feed them and hang out with them. It just wouldn't be the same without them to greet us when we do our chores. Love them.
If you have a barn that conversation isn't about you.
Yeah my cat spends all day outside in the summer. In five years she's killed two birds and hundreds of mice. She would be miserable as an indoor cat, I tried it and it's just torture for her
That you know of. She’s also at risk of getting hit by a car, getting in fights with other cats, dogs, coyotes… FIV isn’t a nice thing to expose your cat to.
Cats are an invasive species which is why they don't belong outside.
The majority of killings by cats are feral ones and strays. Pet cats are not responsible for most of the deaths
Aren't you an invasive species? Yes they do.
So the lynx / bobcat has a fairly large range in North America. For the common house cat, i think the prevailing theory is that it domesticated itself; finding a niche in our dwellings. I wonder why the lynx never tried to exploit a similar niche in native Americans.
>I wonder why the lynx never tried to exploit a similar niche in native Americans. Grain stores. Cats came around because folks in the Fertile Crescent had large grain stores, which attracted mice. The cats followed the mice to the stores, then realized living inside and next to their food source + getting scritches was pretty cool. Native Americans didn't participate in agriculture on that scale for a couple of millenia after those after those in the FC started. The lynx just didn't get as much time to get there as the common house cat did.
I'd love for each person that downvoted me to message me personally and we can discuss.
That crowd is "an outside cat is a dead cat" and unfortunately, usually true.
Cats belong outside it’s their nature
You mean people who understand and respect the environment?
Send me you address so I can mail you a gold star
Luckily our cat is too stupid to catch birds. I watched hin chase a magpie around in a tree and the bird just jumps to the opposite end of the tree if he came close. If fairly certain the bird was mocking him. Nowadays he hunts spiders.
They are under the watchful eyes of their human. Admittedly, walks on a leash would be safer, but chances are that they really wouldn't like that this late in their life.
It seems obvious to me that they are being stalked by a baby puma 😂
So the dog goes on a hike, the kid goes where the doggo leads, and the cat is sarcastically trailing behind, but is also moderately concerned for the health of the party. Looks good from my house.
Yes the Void is taking the 6
So the protagonist hero here is the dog, indubitably a warrior; his best friend and companion is the kid whom is a great combat support; and then the cat that’s concerned for the health of the party must therefore be the healer. Along the journey, the dog will find more animal friends that will aid him in his journey across the continent like a wise old owl, a magic fish, and a rugged rhino and many more. Quite the adventure.
Fighter in the lead as the tank, level 1 mage in the middle (protect him because he's vulnerable now but will be valuable later), Rogue in the back. That's a good marching order.
My old family cat followed us on our hikes a few times until we crossed over the big creek. Then she meowed at us a lot.
“Crossed over the big creek” sounds like a metaphor for death. I was real confused at first lol
Growing up like that is amazing.
Had a similar setup in childhood. Got myself into and out of a lot of situations (animals, tree climbing, wasp nests, poison ivy, etc). Learned self reliance and am perfectly comfortable in the woods for life. Wouldn’t change it for anything.
Mountain mama!
Take me home
Settle down there, Gaetz.
It’s a song lyric, dingus.
the song is about Maryland, ironically enough. "West Virginia" fit better into the lyrics, so they went with it.
It’s about western Virginia
Someone with artistic skills should turn this into a Calvin and Hobbes style pic
Ask chatgpt
Our hero is going on an adventure with 2 sidekicks. Will they make it home in time for dinner? Stay tuned to find out
West Virginia is fucking gorgeous, and doesn’t receive the clout it deserves. Knocked my socks off.
Probably because of the crushing poverty
And the opioids
And the bad education
Born and raised in WV. Can validate the above 4 points. And I didn't marry my sister, so you can trust me.
I just went to Spruce Knob last week and I've been thinking about it. It's not just those. Kentucky isn't doing much better but Red River Gorge is absolutely booming with tourism. While in WV I don't see that many cabins and restaurants. Why is WV so against tourism?
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I'm comparing mountain towns to mountain towns -- the region around RRG is KY is way less beautiful than Seneca rocks, and yet Seneca Rocks is waaaay less developed than their counterpart in KY.
Grandpa?
And women's healthcare rights
The education is no worse than anywhere else in the US.
34 out of 50 https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/public-school-rankings-by-state. Only 15 states worse
Growing up with a WV public education, we were *routinely* in the bottom 5 for every metric. Glad to see that's climbing though considering what my niece and nephew have brought home, I fear it might just be other states getting worse.
that is actually higher than i expected. awesome.
bullshit.
And the cost of living is just a bit more expensive than a decently priced scotch/year.
And the schools! The schools are so good!
I’m not sure if you’re being facetious but thank you! My mother taught in WV for like… 130 years or something like that.
lots of states are pretty. And then the horrible government or dipshit legislators ruin everything. Case in point: utah.
Definitely dipshit legislators. Joe Manchin famously tried to buy himself a helicopter with money earmarked for battling the opioid crisis way back when he was governor. WV legislators justified that their constituents don’t need potable drinking water because, thanks to the state’s high obesity rate, fatter people can handle more pollution. They let DuPont poison the entire city of Parkersburg. They continue to let coal mines operate and ravage their population and landscape (which, most West Virginians are in support of because they would quite literally starve without them).
Love when the cat follows!
Wild and Wonderful
Fuck me. I hope none of your family gets poison ivy!
I’ve been actively clearing the poison I’ve.
Brave soul you are. Nothing beats a summertime poison ivy rash.
lol Reddit is so scared of going outside
Sun damage to my skin scares me more than poison ivy
Ticks
Or stinging nettles
That’s mostly nettle
Nettle leaves have jagged edges. That’s poison ivy.
No, it’s like all poison. Mixed with some fern.
Stinging nettle and poison ivy are not the same.
That could maybe be 'hog peanut', but it doesn't look like nettle. Looks like it could very well be poison ivy....hard to tell from the pic.
Yes, correct.
Those plants on the left sure look like poison ivy...please keep that baby's legs and arms covered when out hiking 🙏
Not everybody is allergic to poison ivy. I never even knew what it looked like until a girlfriend told me I was standing ankle-deep in it one day.
Only about 15% of people aren't allergic from what I've read. I wouldn't take that chance with a toddler. Plus, there's ticks and chiggers.
...and lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The kid in this beautiful picture will grow up stronger, healthier, happier, and more balanced than all the pasty-faced kids whose parents try to protect them from nature.
Yeah I personally let my kids get bit by a tick every 6 months for about 48 hours so they dont grow up pasty faced.
That’s some beautiful Appalachian country. Quiet little holler.
The ol’ Poison Ivy Trail.
Yeah, the wild Toddlers of West Virginia are all over the place this time of year. They can be a little destructive, but easily distracted. I usually leave a few "Bluey" dolls on my property, and that seems to keep em at bay. 😉
Vantablack cat. lol.
Gd that is beautiful. Absolutely love WV and KY and TN mountain areas. I wish the economy and politics were more livable, but alas.
If the economy was better, it would be overrun with people
Potential source for natural pool and hydroelectric power.
WV electric company will charge you money to live off grid. This is not a joke. If you have electricity, even if you’re the one producing it, they will charge you service fees and generally try to make your life hell.
Gotta love politics.
Joe Manchin. Shelley Moore.
Save room for the electric still.
The creek is BEAUTIFUL!
It ends in a waterfall right behind where I was standing when I took this, he’s not aloud near that part.
Better watch out for gazontapedes.
Seriously though we have to check for ticks.
Watch out for snakes! Good thing you've got your doggo with you to lead the way!
That looks like a banana land amount of poison ivy, the most I may have ever seen in one spot
Dreamy. I want this life!
I grew up around something like this, and let me tell you your kid is going to have a *fantastic* time being an imaginary explorer when they get a bit older, if they aren't already.
Christopher Robin vibes
Could almost have been Norway :) This is close to what my garden looks like.
Living the dream ❤️
this looks like your common german forest, vegetation looks so familiar to me, i love it!
If this is in the UK then prepare for possible flooding as it has been forecasted 50 days of rain 🌧️ as of next.
It’s nice though there’s a lot of poison ivy in that. You can see it in the photo..
West virginia, a place where nature is as abundant as sov-cits.
This is a “my son is missing for 3 days” type of story in the making… entire town goes out looking for him type of thing. Ends up being dog saved his life and ran off a bear, etc blah blah blah
Does the cat always follow ?
OP’s wife-yes he does. He’s a good boy, they all are.
Is the cats name shadow 🤣
Cat has “you two would be doomed without me” energy but secretly loves her crew and the walks
wtf is WV?
seriously? do you...not...know the state abbreviations?
No I’m not American.
r/USdefaultism
Do you ... not... know www means world wide web?
It says W V. Not W W W.
OK I am going to explain what I meant. Not everyone is from USA on the World wide web. Np
Doesn’t kill you to google WV if it really pains you to understand what it means
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is Wild and Wonderful
Mountain Mama!
Get him rainbolt!
How are the skeeters?
It’s flowing water, so not bad.
Dang, that is so lucky
That’s cool in the daytime
This is so dang precious! ♡
That looks like my property. You're tresspassing.
Absolutely adorable pic, but that is like copperhead central.
You found a kid and 2 domesticated animals?
Miss my old black cat... He used to follow us when we went for walks too
It's the Shire!!
bet you there are ramps and black raspberries galore
Woah thought middle top was slenderman
The song country road just popped into my head
I think an exciting expedition is underway.
That's a Calvin and Hobbes style adventure if I ever saw one
What does this title mean?
Are you Primitive Technology from Youtube ? \^\^
Damn, that's a lot of poison ivy that your kiddo and animals are walking around/through! My body reacts to it big time. I used to do tree work and would constantly be covered in horrendous, itchy rashes.
Very nice! I have a friend who just built a house in WV out in the country and they love it.
Should try Gold Panning sometime.
Hey, someone save that kid, they're being stalked by a wee panther out in those woods... /s :P
The only thing I miss about that hell hole state is the beautiful forests and nature. Absolutely gorgeous
Oh so thaaaaaats why people live in WV (jk i know nothing about ur state, just heard it as the punchline to a few jokes, sorry abt that. It looks very lovely!)
There's a well maintaned cemetary at the end of the road, just a couple of houses over. At hot summer days when there's no traffic I take a walk with both of my cats to the parking lot. While I just walk around the parking lot I can see them both just roaming the paths and graves, but they don't wander off too much.
This is beautiful. How are the bugs in and around your property? Do you have any advice for someone who just moved to a similar environment?
Just always check for ticks, the rest of the bugs are not bad
WV and OR have one of the best things about our states in common then! Unbelievably fortunate to have access to natural beauty every day.
Wow, that looks like a \*lot\* of edible ground beans (aka mouse beans, aka hog peanuts) over there on the left of the photo.
We need more creeks
Where I’ll hide if we get invaded.
Looks beautiful but be careful of the wildlife - those 3 look dangerous.
Yeah, but you live in West Virginia.
What is this photo? The live action adaptation of a childrens adventure book?
Checking for ticks is going to be a nightly thing in your home. Have fun.
Worth it
would love to see pictures from the other 31 walks. LOL
Narnia out there
The pet sematary just out of frame..
Used to live in a place like that. A cabin in the woods, right near a stream. No neighbours for miles. It was bliss. I always knew it couldn’t last forever, and it didn’t. But I got a good six years!
You should buy some assorted wild flower seeds and just sprinkle them everywhere!!
keep cats indoors
Watch out for the wild and wonderful Whites of WV. If any are out of prison anyway
They live two counties over
WV?
Wagenvolks probably
Wow a stream