Meet Raider
October 1, 2021
My name is Alissa and I and am a cat mom, kitten foster, and work as a veterinarian assistant. But before my life revolved around cats I worked full time as a dancer and theme park performer. When the pandemic hit in 2020, I was furloughed and decided to start fostering as many kittens as possible to fill my time.
My adventure cat, Raider, was one of my fosters. Last fall I took in several singleton kittens and named them all after football teams. During their quarantine process I bonded with Raider in a way I never had with any of my other fosters.
A fun fact about Raider is that her favorite thing is to play with stuffed mice! She will sit and paw at the drawer we keep them in to tell us when she wants one. She likes to play fetch with the mice and drops them at our feet just like a dog would do.
Seeing other people take their cats outside made me want to take my cat outside. I could tell that she had confidence and curiosity that would do well with being on a harness.
Training went really smoothly for us, which I credit to all the research and preparation I put in before taking her outside. I spent about a month training her inside with a clicker and treats. I use small car rides as a way of getting her used to wearing a harness and being in her carrier. Once she was fully vaccinated and ready to go outside she took to it right away.
One day I would love to take her to see my family when I visit them. She is already a professional road tripper but has not flown on an airplane yet!
Our favorite adventure spot is just outside our home! She loves to climb all the trees and chase all the ants. It’s great because she is comfortable, yet there is so much to explore in our area. And we get to meet our neighbors!
My best advice would be to put time and effort into the training and preparation at home. It really paid off for us, and now that she is clicker trained she can do some cool tricks! (and I can keep her off the counters while I cook)
To keep up with Alissa, Raider, and all the other fosters, follow @realcatmomoforlando on Instagram!
