Nin is retiring (for cat lovers)

[cbcbd]

This is true but just think, he can ride down on the BOMBADIER

A cat in a cat...

I wonder if Nin also has one of these stickers:

 

[HuiYeng]

What happens if the summit cat gets sick? How fast can you access a vet up there? Who is the actual "owner" of the summit cat?

Maybe the Mt. Washington Observatory shouldn't get a new cat. Are they looking out for the welfare of the animal, or just looking for an opportunity to sell more posters?

I'm not doubting that everyone up there has loved Nin, Jasper, Inga, etc... but just trying to look at the big picture...

Open for debate

Looking at the big picture, I think it is great to rescue a cat from a shelter, give it a nice big home and love from many people, share food on Thanksgiving dinner table, sun bathing on hot rock... Give it a chance to enjoy life outside of a cage or with a roomful of cats.

http://www.mountwashington.org/photos/galleries/index.php?g=8

The first time I met Nin was on my first hike up Mt Washington. I was unfit and unprepared for the weather. By the time I got to the summit building almost separated from the group due to poor visibility, I was beat mentally and physically. Then I saw this big cat strolling around the cafeteria, like a good host he stopped by to check on me. That totally lifted my spirit.

Happy retirement, Nin. And thank you to the good family who adopted him. Thanks!

 

[Toe Cozy]

As far as a cat's impact on the wildlife population up here, he is indoors 99% of the time, so, only the mouse population is threatened
KDT

Darn, I was really hoping someone might make a typo on this thread and mention the cat threatening the "moose" population!

7summits:
Thanks for posting the link to those other summit cat photos. I never knew there was a tradition of a cat on Mt. Washington.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

7summits: Thanks for posting the link to those other summit cat photos. I never knew there was a tradition of a cat on Mt. Washington.

.....and, at one time, cats were a tradition in the Huts also, such as Braumeister III at Zealand in 1968, a cat that apparently really enjoyed hiking. On one occasion, Brau III joined some H2H hikers all the way to Madison (took three days, presumably with overnights at Mizpah and Lakes), at which point the croo at Madison asked us via radio what they should do about our cat, to which we replied "send her back with a group heading heading west." Three days later, Brau III showed up, back at Zealand, before her next trip west to Greenleaf.

 

[wardsgirl]

Congratulations to Nin on his retirement! and how about that Becky cat? 24 years?! She makes my 19 year old, Gwyllion, look like a youngster!

 

[Waumbek]

I once met a cat thru hiker (NoBo) up on the ridge between Garfield and Galehead. At least that's what the human companions said. He joined them as a kitten somewhere in Georgia. I had no reason to disbelieve (nor any way to confirm). I wonder if he ever made it all the way to KATahdin?

 

[HuiYeng]

.....and, at one time, cats were a tradition in the Huts also, such as Braumeister III at Zealand in 1968, a cat that apparently really enjoyed hiking. On one occasion, Brau III joined some H2H hikers all the way to Madison (took three days, presumably with overnights at Mizpah and Lakes), at which point the croo at Madison asked us via radio what they should do about our cat, to which we replied "send her back with a group heading heading west." Three days later, Brau III showed up, back at Zealand, before her next trip west to Greenleaf.

Wow, what a great story, thanks for sharing. But of course, I'm gonna need some proof to validate the story.

Seriously, that's a very cool story.

 

[skibones]

Thanks 7summits for sharing the pictures.
Why do you think Nin lost so many teeth.Do you think guests were feeding him sweets? Chewing on frozen mice?? Anyone have an idea?

 

[Dugan]

Like humans, cat teeth vary. Some cats just have bad teeth. I have a neutered male, 10, who has had to have several pulled over the years. He's been fed a diet of high quality dry kibbles and never any sweets all his life. Another cat, same diet, lived to 18 with beautiful teeth, never even any tartar build up.

 

[Motabobo]

.....and, at one time, cats were a tradition in the Huts also, such as Braumeister III at Zealand in 1968, a cat that apparently really enjoyed hiking. On one occasion, Brau III joined some H2H hikers all the way to Madison (took three days, presumably with overnights at Mizpah and Lakes), at which point the croo at Madison asked us via radio what they should do about our cat, to which we replied "send her back with a group heading heading west." Three days later, Brau III showed up, back at Zealand, before her next trip west to Greenleaf.

I always wanted to do a hike with a cat So it's possible huh

 

[WhiteMTHike]

Nothing to add but the guys in my avatar wanted their faces in this thread. They wish Nin well in his retirement.

 

[erugs]

Years ago I had a very special cat named Kelly who enjoyed hiking with me in the woods around my house. We'd go out for hours, sometimes. He also seemed to enjoy being a passenger on my motorcycle.

 

[dr_wu002]

I always wanted to do a hike with a cat So it's possible huh

I had taken Mr. Tappy (my avatar cat) on short walks (~1/4 to 1/2 mile) through the woods by my house. He always stuck by me but sometimes it was difficult to persuade him to go any further -- he'd prefer to go back to the bridge that crosses the little stream or sit on his "summit rock". Also, he was sometimes spooked by skateboarders on the nearby bike path and would try to run home! I had considered taking him on some of the easy trails near Mt. Tom but I was afraid that something might freak him out and he'd take off. I never leash trained him (because he started out as a city cat in Boston) and wasn't sure if it was worth it just to take him on some trails -- he seemed content with the backyard woods.

Unfortunately, Mr. Tappy died very suddenly yesterday morning from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is somewhat common in Maine Coons so, sadly, I'll never have the chance to try longer excursions. Wonderful cat; very sad day for me.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Mark Driscoll]

Dr. W,

My thoughts are with you. I have lost many good feline friends.

Mark

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

That sucks, Wu

We lost our Ferris in August to a kidney infection. I know you will miss him.

KDT

 

[MichaelJ]

My condolences.

Xander has the same condition; he gets an echo every couple of years but of course there's nothing I could ever do about it if it got worse.

 

[David Metsky]

Saba the wonder cat lived at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge for two summers and she climbed the mountain many times. She'd follow hikers up Gorge Brook and then occasionally down trails that didn't lead back to MRL. Once she ended up in Providence RI, seriously. Don't ask.

She had the nasty habit of just lying down in the middle of the trail whenever she felt like it. And when we were building trail she'd walk directly under rocks we were moving. Not much self preservation instinct, but hey, she had nine lives, right?

She'd also go skiing with us by her home in Vershire. She had 7 toes on each paw, part lynx with all that flotation. When she got tired she'd climb up on the tails of yours skis and wait for you to put her in the backpack for the trip home.

 

[Bobby]

That sucks, Wu. We lost our 17 year old attack cat, Hobbes, earlier this year. Yup, she really attacked if she didn't know you. Kinda scary.

Happy retirement to Nin, here's to a happy life in the valleys.

 

[cbcbd]

RIP Mr Tappy

The other day I got to thinking of my cats who are now gone (one was euthanised, the other disappeared a week after)... feel your pain.

Here's to all our companions now sharpening their claws on puffy clouds!

 

[una_dogger]

I am so sorry, Dr Wu. I had the pleasure of spending 18 years living with a Maine Coon named Tumbleweed, they are such personable and playful cats -- as you know. Tumbleweed took many hikes in the woods with me, always mewing on the way home to alert me if we took a different course back then we had on the way out. So many wonderful kitties out there, so sad they don't stay with us forever.

{Godspeed, Tappy}
{{{{{Dr Wu}}}}}