cats and bikes
Ossama Kashlan
I know that this question may sound really wierd, but I need to know. I was
wondering if it were possible, and humane, to transport a cat on a bicycle. I
was wondering if anyone has accomplished this successfully, and if so, could
share their wisdom with me. Thanks
Ossama
Mike Prybell
try rapping it in the spokes, by the front hub =) like a sew up tire
--
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Mike
mikepry...@worldnet.att.net
"A trail is a terrible thing to waste....... Hammer On."
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Ossama Kashlan <okas...@mail.sas.upenn.edu> wrote in article
<5jephn$5...@netnews.upenn.edu>...
Thomas H. Kunich
In article <5jga08$g...@freenet-news.carleton.ca>,
Eleanor MacMaster <bo...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA> wrote:
>
>Finally, to avoid injury to him (and to myself) I inserted his
>body through the sleeve of the sweatshirt I had brought along with
>me and then wound the other sleeve around him like a Mummy and tied
>the whole contraption to the handlebars (with him in the basket).
>This successfully immobiled him, but he was outraged that I woud
>do such a thing and yowled as only a Siamese can for the rest of
>the trip.
>PPS There must be better ways to do this.
I liked the idea of putting him in a cat carrier and putting it on th
back rack.
Hugh Macaulay
Ossama Kashlan (okas...@mail.sas.upenn.edu) writes:
> I know that this question may sound really wierd, but I need to know. I was
> wondering if it were possible, and humane, to transport a cat on a bicycle. I
> was wondering if anyone has accomplished this successfully, and if so, could
> share their wisdom with me. Thanks
>
Not in the least weird.
While in university, and for reasons unconnected with cycling, I began
carrying my kitten in the front of my jacket, marsupial style, as I went
for evening walks. As she grew older (and bigger) she simply expected to
travel in this way. Finally, I tried riding with her. She was a bit
freaked, but evidently decided to go with the old security of the belly
ride and seemed to ignore her natural aversion to being transported
quickly.
I stopped this practice (riding with her) after she delivered kittens at
age 1.5 years. But I'm sure she'd have gone along for an offered ride.
The bottom line with cats is to start them early; make bikes (or anything
else strange, for that matter) a part of their lives as early as possible.
If you wait too long, you run into the old "herding cats" problem; their
agenda will triumph over yours. If someone has gotten an adult cat
anywhere near a moving bike, I'd love to hear about it--from anyone, that
is, not in a hospital bed suffering from shredded limbs, face, and
runaway-cat syndrome.
--
********
Hugh Macaulay
Ottawa, Canada
Eleanor MacMaster
Yes. I have transported a cat on my bike -- whether successfully
or not is another question. It was a male Siamese, and I thought
he might enjoy spending an afternoon outdoors at my parents
cottage which was about 7 miles from our home. I put him in the
basket which was on the front of my old Raleigh and off P
I pedalled. He very soon decided that the basket was too boring,
or something, and tried to wander down the top tube. I stopped
and admonished him and tried to make him remain the basket. No dice.
Finally, to avoid injury to him (and to myself) I inserted his
body through the sleeve of the sweatshirt I had brought along with
me and then wound the other sleeve around him like a Mummy and tied
the whole contraption to the handlebars (with him in the basket).
This successfully immobiled him, but he was outraged that I woud
do such a thing and yowled as only a Siamese can for the rest of
the trip.
P.S. He did, however, have a fine trip chasing snakes and other
small critters around when we arrived at the cottage.
Ken Kifer
Ossama Kashlan wrote:
>
> I know that this question may sound really wierd, but I need to know. I was
> wondering if it were possible, and humane, to transport a cat on a bicycle. I
> was wondering if anyone has accomplished this successfully, and if so, could
> share their wisdom with me. Thanks
>
I carried two cats on a trips that lasted two weeks, one cat for two
half days, and one for a short distance.
Some cats enjoy traveling in a car and look out the window, others will
travel happily if they don't have to look, and others will be miserable;
the same is true on a bicycle.
If your bike will hold a wire basket carrier, buy two and use the second
one (after removing the attachments to fasten down over the other. Put
a towel inside for the cat to ride on, and cover everything with another
towel. The cat will probably nap while you're riding and play while
you're resting. Be sure to stop often to give the cat water and to let
it pee or mess.
If you make your own carrier, be sure the cat has a comfortable place to
lay, plenty of ventilation, and shade. Covering our cats was necessary
as they were terrified of the cars and speed until they were covered.
Be sure the cat can't get out, or you will have a dead cat! They will
jump out when it is least safe. However, stop and let the cat out when
it complains.
Our cats quickly learned to love the bike trip. If a dog approached,
they would run for the tent; if the tent wasn't up, they would run for
the bike.
My one cat would run out to meet my bike for his "ride." I had brought
him home on the bike as a kitten, and he loved to sleep on my bikebag
(not comfortable, but having good memories).
NPR reported on a rider who crossed the US with a cat. I'm sure he was
not the first.
One problem, that you may not have thought of, is weight. We started
with two cats, totaling 3 pounds, and after two weeks, they weighed 17
pounds!
If you have any particular questions, feel free to email me.
Wu-chun Feng
okas...@mail.sas.upenn.edu (Ossama Kashlan) writes:
>I know that this question may sound really wierd, but I need to know. I was
>wondering if it were possible, and humane, to transport a cat on a bicycle. I
>was wondering if anyone has accomplished this successfully, and if so, could
>share their wisdom with me. Thanks
>
Our cat enjoys the outdoors so much that she demands to be taken out
for a walk or ride daily. When we take her for a ride, we put her in
a "milk crate" basket mounted on a rear rack. (Since we've had some
problems with her jumping out when we stop, e.g., stop sign, we've had
to attach her to the basket via her leash and walking harness, which
she needs to have on when we take her for a walk during a bike pit stop
anyway.)
When there's something interesting to look at or listen to, she puts
her paws up on the side of the crate & is very attentive. When there's
nothing really going on, she lays down in the basket.
WF
==
Prof. Wu-chun Feng, http://pertsserver.cs.uiuc.edu/~feng, fe...@cs.uiuc.edu
Vosaic Corporation ___ __o Univ. of Illinois, Computer Science
Urbana, IL 61801 ____ _'\<,_ Urbana, IL 61801
http://www.vosaic.com (*)/ (*) http://www.cs.uiuc.edu
Donald Haring
Ossama Kashlan (okas...@mail.sas.upenn.edu) wrote:
: I know that this question may sound really wierd, but I need to know.
: wondering if it were possible, and humane, to transport a cat on a bicycle.
: was wondering if anyone has accomplished this successfully, and if so,
: share their wisdom with me. Thanks
: Ossama
==
I have not attempted this, but my gues that the only way to transport a
cat on a bicycle would be to use a rear rack and and an animal crate.
Animal crates are not cruel by any means and are actually a safe and
valuable training tool -- particularly with dogs.
My puli loves her crate, afterall, it's her own private "house."
Anyway, this is my best guess for transporting a cat. I'm not sure how
much the cat would like it, though. I would say most would not, but
personality and temperment would have a lot to do with that.
I supposed you could use a child trailer -- I've seen dogs ride like
this. I would only guess that a cat would jump right out, though, unless
it was fully enclosed.
Be creative. There are lots of ways to carry a cat. <groan>
Don't spent a lot of money before you figure out whether the cat will
hate it (or you).
Enjoy.
Adios,
D0N
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Don Haring Jr st915fd7 @dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu
AKA: Radon designer, cartoonist, filmmaker, Jedi-in-training
"Now we know! ... and knowing is half the battle!"
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Lawrence Silkaitis
In <4187cd$e030.2fd@XAVIER> st91...@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu (Donald
Haring) writes:
>
>Ossama Kashlan (okas...@mail.sas.upenn.edu) wrote:
>: I know that this question may sound really wierd, but I need to
know.
>: wondering if it were possible, and humane, to transport a cat on a
bicycle.
>: was wondering if anyone has accomplished this successfully, and if
so,
>: share their wisdom with me. Thanks
>
>: Ossama
>==
>
Ther is is this man in the DC area, Maryland I think, that has a cat
that rides on his motorcycle. The cat has a little helmet and just
graps on the gas tank (which has been covered with carpet).
Larry
Brian J. Elsts
I see him in Georgetown all of the time. He charges people to buy
postcards of the cat, and won't allow people to take pictures.
I tried to post this earlier, but it didn't seem to work.
It probably won't work this time either.
BJE
Elizabeth A. Evans
Brian J. Elsts (els...@no.spam.federal.unisys.com) wrote:
> Lawrence Silkaitis wrote:
> >
> > In <4187cd$e030.2fd@XAVIER> st91...@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu (Donald
> > Haring) writes:
> > >
> > Ther is is this man in the DC area, Maryland I think, that has a cat
> > that rides on his motorcycle. The cat has a little helmet and just
> > graps on the gas tank (which has been covered with carpet).
> > Larry
> I see him in Georgetown all of the time. He charges people to buy
> postcards of the cat, and won't allow people to take pictures.
Argh! Wow! The things the memory does. The first time I read this, I
thought, "how cute." But now I remember *seeing* that cat! Back in
about 1988 probably. Is that possible? *And* I think I have a photo of
it! I'll have to look in my photo albums to see. As I recall, the cat
was one of those especially furry, flat-faced cats--a Himalayan maybe.
It looked like it *belonged* on a motorcycle. :-) (Not to stereotype
motocyclists; some of my best friends are bikers... er, motocyclists.)
-- Libby Evans
ev...@unc.edu
http://www.cpc.unc.edu/~evans/homepage.html
Life goal: to bike in all 50 states. Done: AL, DE, FL, GA, IA, MD, ME,
MS, NC, NH, NM,
NY, SC, PA, S. CA (kind of),
TX, VA, VT, WA, WV
1997 goal: No new states.
1998 goal: Out west. UT? AZ? CO?
Corey Hilliard
18" Specialized with LX cranks, cartidge BB and headset, Mavic SUP 217 w/
Ultegra 8 sp hubs, drop bars w/ index shifting. Fantastic for city
commuting or off-road ride. Removable fenders included. Bicycle will not
fit in U-Haul. Must sell $400 obo. Call (215) 545-1754
Corey Hilliard