What is a "Target Cat?"

No, it is not a cat that you buy at Target and that red cross is NOT a bullseye that you shoot at. (If you could even entertain shooting a cat, YOU CAN LEAVE my Substack now!) A “target cat” is a cat that is used to train “cat detection” dogs, which are dogs used exclusively to search for lost cats. We select dogs that absolutely love cats for this work! They are trained, using methods that are similar to how all other detection dogs (i.e. drug detection, bomb detection, human remains detection, etc.) are trained.

My target cat Cheeto loved to be found by his buddy Susie, a cat detection dog. Cheeto would give Susie soft love bites and Susie loved it!

One of the most important aspect of training a cat detection dog is the need to train and use a “target cat” which is a cat that is fearless around dogs and is trained to crate quietly. These cats have important “jobs” and never get the credit they deserve for playing a role in helping to recover missing cats!

As I prepare to fully launch my Substack, I thought you subscribers would enjoy watching a very cute video of my target cat Cheeto. This video was filmed by a local (Seattle area) TV show prior to Cheeto’s debut on Animal Planet’s show Must Love Cats. It will make you smile, plus give you a glimpse into my lost pet recovery work.

Enjoy!

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Scent-cerely,

Kat & Dogs