An Indoor Kitty's Outdoor Adventure

Dear Chipolo,

You just saved the day!

We recently purchased one of those kitty harness and leash combos, which bills itself as “escape-proof”. My two boys and I set out to take our sweet kitty, Dibby, on his first walk. Surprisingly, he liked it! In fact, we walked through the trails of the woods by our house for two full hours. We passed bikers and dogs with no incident. Dibby was doing a great job. But things took a sudden turn for the worse.

A jogger was approaching on the trail. We picked up Dibby to be safe. But something about the quickly approaching man really scared our cat, and he began to squirm. We held on tight, but we were no match for his agility (and claws). And without much effort on his part, Dibby Houdini-ed right out of the harness and our arms and bolted deep into the woods. We ran into the bramble after him, desperately calling his name for what felt like forever... but nothing. Everything looked the same; a grey tabby would be impossible to spot. And since Dibby is an indoor cat, he has no sense for these woods or their relationship to our home.

My boys and I sat on the ground to catch our breath and my nine year old began to cry. My mind raced with thoughts about setting up camp, where we could place food, the pending thunderstorm... We were crushed. My older son hung his head and blamed himself for not being able to hold onto Dibby.

But just then, I recalled the Chipolo Plus I had placed on his collar. I pulled out my phone and connected to his Chipolo. We were stunned and hopefully when my phone immediately picked up a signal. He appeared to be nearby! I crossed my fingers that the collar hadn’t just fallen off. I rang the Chipolo and could hear it clearly. I slowly approached the sound, and saw slight rustling under and a pile of sticks and leaves. He was completely camouflaged. My son and I slowly approached, crouched down and sure enough, Dibby nervously emerged from his hiding spot - seemingly grateful to be picked up.

I cannot imagine this ending to our story without the Chipolo. There is no way we would have located our scared kitty without days of searching - if ever. The Chipolo turned a possibly tragic loss into a quick recovery. We are ever so grateful for your product.

PS: We have three cats, and they all wear a Chipolo!

Maggie F.