A Cat Who Enjoys Being Outside Meets A Lost Kitten And Teach Her Everything

Atlas, a cat from Hawaii, was meowing and wailing at the door of his house on a wet night in January. Sam Christie, the cat’s owner, assumed there was a stray animal around, as Atlas did whenever he detected another cat.

Christie told The Dodo, “It was really wet, and the roads were a little bit flooded.” “I thought I heard a cat meowing outside, so I put on my shoes and grabbed a flashlight, crossed the street, and began searching.”

Atlas had been correct all along. Christie discovered a small, sopping wet cat that was just around 7 weeks old in a field of dense, tall grass.

Christie stated, “I reached for her and she simply let me take her up and she never growled or anything.” “She appeared to be overjoyed to be with someone else. So I simply took her back across the street to my place and started cleaning her up.”

Christie was originally wary about having a kitten around, even if Atlas had warned her about it.

“I simply took her in the home and held her up to Atlas, and he was like, ‘What the hell is that?’” says the author. Christie remarked.

But it didn’t take Atlas long to get up to the kitten, whom he called Nell, and adopt her as his own.

After all, Atlas had been homeless himself, so he could understand Nell’s position. According to Christie, Atlas’s former owner donated him, along with Atlas’s sibling and mother, to the Hawaii Island Humane Society when he was just 3 weeks old.

Christie, a manager at the Hawaii Wildlife Center, came to the shelter seeking for a certain type of cat – one she could harness and take on excursions with. Atlas appeared to be a good match for the role.

Christie stated, “I wanted an adventurous cat who could go out securely on a leash and enjoy the outdoors with me while not contributing to the huge issue of free ranging cats killing billions of animals each year.” “I chose [Atlas] because of his courageous and outspoken nature,” says the author.

And Christie was right about Atlas: he took to the collar and leash right away, and he enjoyed exploring the outside world.

Christie stated, “He was a natural… and excited to experience the outdoors.” “He gets all hyped up and wants to go when he’s wearing the harness. It’s a fantastic opportunity for him.”

Christie said, “On his leash outings, he gets to safely explore the beauty of Hawaii and the outdoors.” “He gets to stroll on the beach and climb trees,” says the narrator.

Christie takes Atlas to nearby parks at least twice or three times a week for outdoor fun. Christie had no intention of bringing Nell along. Nell, on the other hand, had different plans.

Christie explained, “The cat was simply extremely happy and wouldn’t stop meowing, so she appeared like she really wanted to come with us.” “I discovered a harness that was tiny enough for her to try on, so I brought her along.”

Christie put Nell in a special bag at first, thinking she’d be more at ease and secure there. Nell, on the other hand, was not having it.

Christie explained, “She would only remain in [the pack] for about a minute before wanting to be on the ground following after Atlas, so I decided I’d give her a shot.” “We were at a lovely, peaceful park with few people about, so he just rushed ahead and walked down the trail, and she just started trailing behind him.”

Atlas may have been in charge, but he was always keeping an eye on Nell.

“He’d whirl around to make sure she was all right… and come back to see how she’s doing,” Christie added. “She just felt incredibly secure as long as he was there, and she would just follow him to the ends of the world. She became agitated if she couldn’t see him.”

Nell would wiggle out of Christie’s arms whenever she tried to pick her up.

Christie explained, “She didn’t want to be with me; she wanted to be with him.” “After that, she was quite confident, and she loved going out as well.”

Atlas and Nell like wrestling with each other and snuggling up for a nap, in addition to embarking on adventures together.

According to Christie, Atlas is also responsible for teaching Nell some unusual habits.

“Nell will take socks in her mouth and treat them as if they were prey that she had murdered, or she will steal food off the counter, and those are all behaviors she learnt from Atlas,” Christie explained.

Atlas was upset when Christie’s friend Rachel Sprague adopted Nell in February.

“For the first couple of days after she went, he just kind of slept a lot, and he paid a lot more attention to the other two cats I had, and he wanted to snuggle up with them,” Christie explained. “I basically took him to the park a lot to keep him occupied.”

Nell currently lives on the Hawaiian island of Lanai with Sprague’s other cat, Kona, whom she adopted from the Lanai Cat Sanctuary, a shelter in Hawaii that houses over 500 cats.

Christie explained, “He’s working on getting another stray into the house, so he’s got a new project.”

Christie revealed, “He’s working on getting another stray into the house, so he’s got a new project.”

And who knows what could happen? Maybe this new cat will wish to join Atlas on his excursions.