Think you’re hardcore?
Bongo the cat has you beat.
The Bengal, ragdoll cross is just seven months old, but has already ticked off a bunch of pursuits that are likely on your bucket list.
That includes kayaking, hiking, paddleboarding, and even horse-riding.
The kitty loves to go on all sorts of big adventures with his owner, Lucy Frankcom, whether that’s a trip up the Snowdonia mountains or a paddle in local lakes.
Lucy, a 22-year-old dentistry student from Llandudno, North Wales, said: ‘I started paddleboarding with Bongo when he was three months old in Snowdonia.
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‘As I was pumping the board up, he jumped straight on it, like he knew where we were about to go.
When we went into the water, he just sat down and relaxed, staring at all the birds, ducks, and the fish.
‘He absolutely loves putting his paws into the water, and just looking off into the distance.
‘I took him kayaking down the Manchester Canal, and even though the water was gross, he loved that too – from exploring the boat to sitting on the bow.
‘He also loves hiking and is well trained so sometimes I’ll let him off the lead and he will follow while also trying to explore everything around him.
‘Another favourite past time is climbing trees, although he often has a bit of a problem climbing down.’
From the moment Lucy adopted Bongo when he was eight weeks old, she set to work on getting him comfortable with wearing a harness so he could go out and about.
He mastered it super quickly, but Lucy was still stunned to see him diving right in to all sorts of unusual activities.
‘I took Bongo horse riding with me one day and he sat in a shoulder bag whilst I rode around,’ she said.
‘He seemed comfortable and so did the horse, so the next time we went to the stables, I put him on a horse with a saddle and he loved it.
‘Bongo and the horse are now best friends; they love hanging out with each other.
‘He’s completely in his element when he is outside, he hates to be cooped up, so I make sure to take him outside as much as possible.’
Bongo’s adventures have earned him quite the fanbase, both out in his local area and online, where Lucy shares the cat’s frolics at @big_bongo_theory.
Lucy said: ‘So many people come up and ask to take pictures of Bongo because it’s quite rare to see a cat on a lead, or paddleboarding!
‘He gets a lot of smiles when we are out and about.
‘My family and friends absolutely adore him.
‘I recently went on holiday and my parents loved looking after him for a week and they took him for lots of walks.
‘I’m hoping to do a sponsored paddleboard with him in August to raise money for an endometriosis charity, and it would be great to see other people bring their pets paddleboarding too.’
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