'Dog-like' adventure-loving cat from Sheffield enjoys hikes and bike rides and is preparing for camping trip

Kyle Kana’iaupuni Robertson, 31, got his cat Pōhaku in March last year.

Pō, as he calls the intrepid furball for short, is a Russian Blue Ragdoll and spends every day with his owner.

Kyle, who lives in Meersbrook, said: “I am not sure which one of us is more co-dependent, but he is always in the same room as me.

“He is also quite dog-like. I didn’t teach him to play fetch but he taught me how to play fetch with him instead.”

Pōhaku’s name has its origins in Kyle’s Hawaiian roots, with the word having a sacred connotation in the culture.

Pō’s adventures started small with lead-training in Kyle’s garden and quickly evolved to walks in Meersbrook Park on a lead or in a carrier backpack.

The proud ‘cat-dad’ said: “Pō was pretty brave to begin with and wanted to climb all the trees and I had to hold him back, since he would just climb up and not know how to get down.

“Then he just started to get a bit bored with that, because there’s not much to look at. It wasn’t until he finally climbed out of the backpack and got on my shoulder that I realised we could venture out a bit more.”

The trips to the Peak District were carefully planned, so that Pōhaku could roam lead-free without any hazards nearby.

Whenever any dogs or other potentially threatening things meet the adventure duo on their walks, Pōhaku finds refuge on his owner’s shoulder, where he sits like a parrot.

The process of finding what works for Pō required a lot of trial and error.

Kyle said: “He’s not very treat-driven, so that never worked. I wouldn’t ever actually take him out of the backpack unless he wants to come out by himself. It’s always open and I’ve got him on a lead anyways, just in case, but lately he’s graduated a bit more from that to go without it.”

For Pōhaku’s first birthday in January, his human dad took him a bike ride through the peaks and at one point the brave cat actually stood on his owner’s shoulder while he was riding the bike and leaned into the wind.

The adventurous cat had a hard time in winter, since the weather wasn’t ideal for long walks outside.

Kyle said: “He got a bit feisty. I don’t let him out on his own as I live on a busy road with lots of cars and I’m convinced he’s too friendly so would get stolen. I do look forward to a good spell of nice weather to take him out again.

“I think the scale of his adventures are yet to be properly pushed.”

Kyle recently got a van and wants to take Pōhaku on camping trips soon.

He said: “The dream is to be camping with him on a nice day, have the van’s doors thrown open and we’re just both chilling in the sun. Maybe playing fetch? One day I would like to

take him to the beach, see how that goes.”

To follow Pōhaku’s adventures, visit: https://www.instagram.com/po_in.the.peak/.