What’s Up With The Cats?

Why cats, and how do they relate to adventure travel?

If you look really carefully at our logo, the big cat has tabby markings and represents Whiskers, our Norwegian Forest cat.  Her favorite thing is to snuggle up under the covers at bedtime.   The little pure black cat represents Toki our black beauty.  Toki’s favorite things are to sit in the cat tree, hat up Jenn when Ed’s not around, and to purr on your left shoulder (always and only the left).  She is also a special kitty.  She has an enlarged heart and IBS but is so full of love she doesn’t know how sick she is.  Of course, the prescription cat food, prednisone, B-12 injections, and canned pumpkin help.  If she doesn’t get her pumpkin she has the cutest bitchy meow to remind us.

Our Cats are Travelers

The cats both enable and restrict travel, and are always on our mind.  If we had dogs we couldn’t run as hard as we do.  The cats are good for a weekend away without supervision and weeks away with a neighbor or friends help.  Being cat people, we have installed a cat cam so we can watch them sleep where ever we may be.  Also, for many of Jenn’s hops, before she met Ed, the cats were her only moving buddies.  There are several items pacing long term travel for us: kids in college, finances in general, vesting Ed’s retirement….but the cats seem to be the long pole in the tent.  Someday post kitties, we’ll hit the open road and who knows where we’ll land.  For now, we have someone to keep the home fires burning.

Cats are Travelers Historically

Cats historically have signified travel and independence.  You now know about our cats specifically, but what about cats in general? In Egypt cats were always given special privileges and were treated like royalty. In Scandinavia, the cat stood for fertility, and in India it is a symbol of childbirth. In ancient times, it was believed that witches took the form of their cats at night. Cat’s are fiercely independent. You can never really own a cat: they allow you to take care of them and love them, but only on their terms. They come and go as they please, when they please. Cat energy is independence, curiosity, many lives, cleverness, unpredictability, healing, the ability to fight when cornered, seeing the unseen, protection and love.  Doesn’t all of that sound like travel energy?  It has been said that if a cat is your power animal, then you:

• Have magic and mystery in your life.
• You are independent and a free thinker.
• You will stay with a person or situation until it bores you, and then you’re gone.
• You have a great talent for organizing things.

To summarize: independence, curiosity , unpredictability,  seeing the unseen, protection, ability to come and go as you please, and great talent for organization. These attributes make cats an excellent symbol for adventure travel/ travel planning.

Cats Resonate with Us

There is a reason we have cats and why the cats resonate with us.  Beyond the history of the mystique of cats, ethical wildlife experiences are also a big part of the travel experiences we seek.  We used to volunteer at an accredited exotic animal sanctuary and we make sure that our travel money supports organizations that promote animal welfare and wildlife preservation.  We also envision Coleman Concierge being a positive force that connects eco travel opportunities with ethical travelers.  The cats represent not only our cats but the mystique of cats and ethical travel choices.