Simon the Backpacking Kitty loves to join his dad on his adventures

Simon the Backpacking Kitty is a cat influencer and adventurer. He and his owner, JJ Yosh, love to go on adventures together: traveling, hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, and swimming.

They have a strong bond with each other and post pictures and videos of their journeys on Simon’s Instagram.

Simon the Cat Influencer

JJ was already an influencer before he got Simon. When he started posting pictures with his cat, people loved it, so he made Simon his own Instagram page.

Now fans of the influencer kitty can see plenty of pictures and videos of Simon having the time of his life in the outdoors.

Surprisingly, Simon isn’t afraid of water adventures. He loves swimming and takes to the water so naturally, it’s like he was born for it!

On JJ and Simon’s most recent adventure, they rafted and camped along the Colorado River. Hopefully, Simon got some good swimming in along the way.

A man, woman, and black cat rowing down the Colorado River.
Simon conquered the Colorado River. Pic credit: @backpackingkitty/Instagram

JJ and Simon’s Rough Start

Simon is a calm, affectionate cat, but he wasn’t always that way. In a video on their YouTube channel, JJ tells the story of how he adopted Simon when he was just a kitten.

He says that he didn’t want Simon at first, as he didn’t even think he could own a cat because of his traveling lifestyle.

But in 2016, JJ’s landlord got a litter of rescue kittens who all needed homes, and JJ decided to try to give Simon a chance.

It was difficult at first. Simon was not a calm kitten; he was anxious, meowed constantly, and wouldn’t let JJ near him.

On his second day with JJ, Simon ran out of the house into the rugged wilderness of the mountains where they lived, he hid under a rock and wouldn’t come out.

The landscape was dangerous for a kitten, with many predators. But thankfully JJ was able to get him out from under the rock and take him home before he got hurt.

With a little bit of patience from JJ, Simon mellowed out and became a calm and loving kitty. It was time to try bringing him on adventures!

Training a Backpacking Kitty

JJ started out with some easy hikes. In his YouTube video, describing their first hike, JJ said:

“Simon acted overly dramatic, panted like a dog, and he didn’t really want to walk on his own.”

A black cat on a leash sits near a rock in a canyon, a can of cat food nearby.
Simon on one of his first hikes, not very happy about walking on his own. Pic credit: backpackingkitty/Instagram

So JJ put Simon on his back, which Simon seemed to like. He was calmer and could enjoy the walk and the scenery. Because of his love of traveling on JJ’s back, he came to be known as the Backpacking Kitty.

JJ took Simon outside every day so he could get used to their adventures, in his YouTube video, JJ says:

“Simon wasn’t just born to be an adventure cat, although in some ways he really was.”

It took practice for Simon to get comfortable with it, but his natural curiosity and love of the outdoors make him perfect as an adventure buddy.

Explaining how adventuring with Simon has affected his outlook on life, JJ said:

Naturally, cats are curious, and I think that’s what I really love about Simon, Everything he explores and experiences, he sees it kind of for the first time. So in a lot of ways, I’ve been able to see the world in a whole new way.”

Simon also helps all of his fans see the world through the pictures and videos from his journeys. They can’t wait to see what adventures he’ll have next!

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