Best Adventure Cat
Travelling with cats is gaining more and more popularity. Today we feature one of the most seasoned travel cats we have come across in our international community of cats. The name of this main character is Bao Zi, which means steamed bun in Chinese.Â
Bao Zi is a six-year-old rescue cat that is half Maine Coon. She was adopted by Hélène and Alice from Boston, USA when she was about nine months old. Hélène and Alice have been together for ten years and married for seven years. They live as digital nomads so their ‘home’ base is their Toyota 4Runner SUV called Big Bertha.
So far, Bao Zi has experienced many adventures in the USA and abroad which can’t be covered in one blog. Therefore, we will tell her story in three separate blogs. In Part I of her cat story, we will introduce her, and in Part II we will dive further into her travel adventures. Finally, in Part III we go with her on a trip to three foreign countries which not many people visit easily: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Remote Working while Traveling
The cat pawrents of Bao Zi, Hélène and Alice absolutely love the freedom and spontaneity of travelling. When not abroad, they move almost every week throughout the USA and only decide on their next destination about five days in advance. They spend most of their time deep in nature which they have found relaxing and energizing.Â
They started this lifestyle back in COVID-19 when their jobs both went remote. Before, they had lived in the city and always felt like something was missing from their life. Despite this feeling of unease, they couldn’t pinpoint what was causing it. During COVID-19, they took longer and longer trips and realized that they had never been happier than being out in nature with a frequently changing home.Â
Bao ZiÂ
Of course, when on a trip, Bao Zi always accompanies Hélène and Alice. According to her cat pawrents, Bao Zi acts rather doglike in the sense that she is super curious, adventurous and very attached to them. Most cats are attached to a place rather than a person. Bao Zi used to be like this too until they started living as nomads in December 2020. When Hélène and Alice made the switch to living inside their truck and AirBnBs, Bao Zi started associating them as home and they realized that as long as she was with them, she was happy and calm, regardless of her surroundings.
More than 5 Countries and 45 States
Bao Zi and her pawrents have been to more than 5 countries, 45 states, and 22 national parks together. Her favourites have been Utah, where Bao Zi loves the desert, especially the slot canyons, but she also has fond memories of the long kayak trips in Arkansas.Â
Abroad, they experienced France as a super pet-friendly country, where she is welcome in cafés, stores, and even museums. There are sometimes certain restaurants and hotels which don’t allow cats, so Hélène and Alice just call ahead to check.
Favorite Travel Gear
To keep Bao Zi safe during travelling, she wears anescape-proof, H-shaped harness. Next to it, she walks with a geolocation tag from Jiobit, so her pawrents can always see where she is using an app. Travelling also comes with bringing cat bags with inner leashes that are attached to her harness.
Hélène and Alice also carry a travel litterbox. They have it just in case, as they never had to use it. This is because one special trait of Bao Zi is, that she can go to the bathroom on a leash like a dog, she prefers to do that over the litterbox. When they arrive at their destination, Hélène and Alice always quickly search for some dirt for her to dig in.
Best Parts of Traveling
Bao Zi’s pawrents believe that the best part about travelling is experiencing travelling the world through Bao Zi’s eyes. Since Hélène and Alice always want to keep a close eye on Bao Zi to keep her safe, they have to be super focused on their surroundings when hiking. In turn, this makes the pawrents notice things they wouldn’t realise otherwise, which is fantastic!
The other amazing part is how cool it feels to be part of a little travelling family. Even though Bao Zi and her pawrents travel all the time, when they are together as a little family of three, it feels like home for them wherever they are.Â
You can follow Bao Zi on her Instagram account. Stay tuned for Part II and Part III of her travel stories!