ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — We’ve all heard of the doggy paddle, but what about the kitty cat paddle.
There is a cat in St. Pete that’s not afraid to dive in headfirst and he’s making quite a name for himself.
He swims, he tubes, he paddleboards... Fisher is living his best life out on the water.
“There’s really nothing he hasn’t done yet, maybe not a jet ski, I guess we got to get him on a jet ski,” said owner Finn Williams.
Williams and his partner Lorraine Ripp said it didn’t take long to find out their kitty could swim like a fishy.
“His first trip was in a pool, and he went on a little floaty, and he jumped right off, started swimming,” said Williams.
“And he just did like the doggy paddle very quickly and he was just off,” said Ripp.
“We prefer the kitty cat paddle,” said Williams.
The pool quickly escalated to the gulf. Williams might be behind the wheel but Fisher is the captain of the boat.
“He sits on the helm, and we are going 40 miles per hour and he just sits on the front and he looks into the wind with his hair blowing,” said Williams.
The one-and-a-half-year-old Maine Coon got so much attention, Williams and Ripp began sharing pictures with various outdoor companies, and pretty soon Fisher was a spokescat.
“Power-Pole, Airhead water sports, Fido Pet Products, they do a line of life preservers,” said Williams. “It's been amazing, he has over 13,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram now.”
These proud owners said the best part isn’t the fame, it’s the reaction.
“What I love about it is how he brings a smile to everybody’s face,” said Williams.
They hope more cat owners think outside the litter box.
“I think that people don’t realize that cats are more adventurous than they thought, they don’t want to just hang at home and be judgmental they can be judgy anywhere,” said Ripp.
