Meet Noodle

Hi I’m Noodle! I am a friendly tuxedo kitty that loves to go on outdoor adventures. My owners are Jen and Alex, the creators of The Hiking Cat blog! Jen is a veterinary student and Alex is a landscape architect.

They found me at the local shelter when they were there to drop off some donations. It was a cheesy love at first sight kind of moment. I even cried for them to stay at my cage whenever they walked away. So of course, they fell for my plan and I got my new home!

I was actually the last one in my litter to get adopted. My siblings and I were found at 1 week old in very bad shape. We were infested with fleas, had parasites and upper respiratory tract infections, and were very underweight. But the foster mom did a great job nursing us back to health and getting us adoption ready! My name was originally Boots, but my humans wanted to change that. They went through so many names, but my cat mom liked the pasta themed ones (spaghetti, tortellini, ravioli, rotini, etc.) so that is how they settled on Noodle!

I was adopted in November, right before Thanksgiving. I was settling in nicely, but after just 5 days, had to take a 10-hour car drive to be with their families for the holiday. My humans were worried I would be very stressed out, but I showed them! I loved the car and cuddled with them most of the drive. Once at the new place, I was super curious and checking everything out. That was when they knew I would be a perfect adventure cat. I wanted to explore and see the world!

My first few trips outside were a little scary and only lasted a few minutes. I got my first backpack, but it was a little flimsy and I got motion sick in it. Not fun! So, my humans bought a sturdier one for me and I love that one. No more sickness and much more room for me! Now you cannot stop me when I’m outside! I will walk for miles, just trotting along next to you. I think it is so fun to say hi to new people too and will try to be extra cute to get some attention from them. Most people think its very cool that I love to be out on the trails, but we do get some funky looks from time to time. But I know that I love it and want to keep going on adventures, so I will not let that stop me!

I keep hearing my humans talk about these things called kayaks. Ever heard of them? Yeah, me neither. But apparently, they want to get some and take me with. So, I will keep you guys updated on how that goes and share what tips I learn later.

In Michigan, there are so many great places to hike. I have hiked many trails, local and traveling around the state. I have yet to go to the Upper Peninsula, but that is definitely on the list! My top three favorite cat friendly trips so far have been:

1. Saugatuck Dunes State Park – which has lots of hiking trails and a beach on Lake Michigan
2. Rose Lake State Wildlife Nature Reservoir – which has acres of beautiful trails to hike
3. Windmill Island in Holland – which during tulip season is so pretty!

I think being an adventure cat is so fun and a great way to stay healthy! It keeps me in great shape and is also a great mind stimulator that gets me very exhausted the rest of the day. When I come back from an adventure, I usually nap in my carrier up until bedtime, then I am ready to attack the human’s feet and play again. If you are a bit scared of the outdoors at first, that is okay. I was too, but now I cannot imagine not getting to tag along on hikes! I would love to see more cats out on my hikes, so give it a go. Tell your humans to look at some of the articles on this blog to help you become an adventure cat. And they can also reach out to my humans if they have any questions about getting started or overcoming any fears. My humans will do their best to help!

If you want to keep up with my adventures on Instagram, you can follow me at @the_pastapets!