Pet Gear AT3 Stroller Review - Update

I've had my new stroller for a couple of weeks now and I want to compare the old one and the new one.

 Old stroller.

 New stroller.

This is the second generation of the stroller that I had. As you can see, it no longer has the big pet step sticking out in the front. This makes the stroller more compact, more maneuverable, and easier to fold up and put in the car. But that's just the first improvement!

The drink tray, which in the old version was so difficult to put on, now comes attached. The fabric cover has been slightly redesigned and zips with ease. The mesh windows are lighter so it's easier for me to see out and for Mom to see me.

The way the stroller folds has been changed completely and is now so easy I could do it! (If I had opposable thumbs. MOL.)

The front wheel is now the same size as the other two wheels. The wheels simply snap on. And more important, they can now be removed to be replaced if by some miracle you actually manage to wear them out.

The only thing on the version that I would consider a negative is that the basket underneath sits much closer to the body of the stroller which makes it harder to put things in it. But frankly, everything else is soooooo much better that it really doesn't matter. I thought this stroller was pawsome when I had the first generation of it. The new version is miles above the old one. I would recommend this stroller to anyone wanting wheels for their pet.

I've had a few requests for tips for buying a stroller. So here they are!

Pumpkin's Tips for Fancy Wheels for your Pets

Bring the stroller in the house and let your pet get used to it before trying to take him/her out in it. Also, get your pet used to wearing a harness. Even though I’m enclosed in the stroller, I’m also harnessed and on a leash attached to the stroller. This way Mom can open the stroller to give me water or treats and I can’t run off. The leash and harness also help with getting me from the carrier to the stroller if we’ve gone somewhere in the car. I can’t run off while Mom’s taking me out of one and putting me in the other. I wouldn’t run off anyway, but you can’t be too careful. 

Mom also always brings something for me to play with in the stroller. Usually it’s my duckie, Fred. As much fun as riding in the stroller is, sometimes it’s nice to have a toy to play with.

My stroller came with a nice pad in the bottom, but Mom put a fleece bed in anyway. I like fleecy beds and Mom wanted to make the stroller extra inviting. And like any other time you’re training your four legged furriend to something new, make sure lots and lots of treats are involved!

When picking a stroller, think about how you’ll use it, how big your pet is, and what fits you. How easy or difficult is it to use? Will you take it in the car a lot? How easily does it fold and unfold? What kind of terrain do you walk on? Lots of the paths around here are mulch or hardpack (very fine gravel). The strollers with the little wheels would get stuck, so we got all terrain wheels. How tall are you? Mom also liked this stroller because it’s very tall and she’s on the tall side. Some people don’t mind using a stroller with a lower handle even if they are tall and then other things would be more important. Will you need to haul anything in it beside the pet (like a picnic)? She also liked that there’s a basket for stuff underneath and a tray for drinks and keys and other small stuff (like the flashy box).

There are lots of strollers to choose from. Some can go from carrier to backpack to stroller. That would have been nice because I wouldn’t have to go from carrier to stroller when we go in the car. But we couldn’t find one with big wheels. There are double-decker ones for people with multiple pets. There’s every color of the rainbow to choose from. There are strollers special for small pets all the way up to one like mine that’s for 60 lb. pets. Of course, I don’t weigh anywhere near 60 lbs. MOL! But Mom liked everything else about the stroller and I have lots of room to play in. Look at several before picking one. If you don’t get the best one for your needs, likes, and that suits your pet you won’t like it.

I think a stroller is a great way for people to take their pets with them to places they otherwise wouldn’t get to go. Without it, I’d always get left behind when Mom goes out. Now we get to go fun places and have more together time. What’s better than that?

Barr Lake State Park

Mom took me someplace new today - Barr Lake State Park. This park has a nature reserve area (that pets aren't allowed in) and a part that has a boating dock. The trail around the lake is over 8 miles, but we just did a couple of miles. It may be fall on the calendar, but it was 90 degrees today and there's very little shade on the trail.






This is one of Mom's favorite parks because it has over 300 kinds of birds. I'm not sure I believe her because we didn't see hardly any birds. But we did see lots of these:

The water in the lake was very low. It's the end of the season and most of it has evaporated. In the spring the water comes practically up to the trail.

 We also saw some things I've never seen before. Mom said the little fuzzy one is called a woolly worm. What a funny name! The big one is called a horse. I have a horse pal on twitter, but I didn't know horses were this big and that a person could ride one.

There's more pictures. You can see them here: Barr Lake State Park. And here's a video. The video is just leaves, but listen real hard. You can hear the cicadas in the trees. It was really loud.

Like I said, it was hot and we didn't find much shade, so we didn't stay very long. Cooler weather is coming and I'm looking forward to longer outings and visiting more new places.

Happy Mother's Day!

Oh my furriends, I just had to write about my mother's day adventure. My new bed for my stroller and my new harness and leash showed up yesterday. The weather was so nice today Mom and I had to go out and try out my new stuff. I figured we'd just go for a walk in the neighborhood like we usually do, but no! Mom loaded me in my carrier and put me in the car (I didn't like this part).

When we got out of the car, we were at a huge park with two lakes, a stream, a playground, and all kinds of other stuff. It's called the Adams County Regional Park. What an adventure. I saw all kinds of new things today. The first new thing I saw was a bridge going over the water. I've never been on a bridge before. We saw all kinds of birds - one with a red head that mom doesn't know the name of. We also saw a killdeer (got a pic of that one), mourning doves, robins, egrets, cormorants, blackbirds, and some others that mom couldn't identify. People were playing, fishing, picnicking, running, riding bikes, and walking their pets.

I saw other things I'd never seen before. I saw some things that looked like paper flying. Two of them were. Mom said they're called kites. The other thing was actually something alive and called a butterfly. I've decided I really like butterflies. I also saw a squirrel. He was funny.

We found a nice table in the shade to have a picnic. I walked around some, but mostly I stayed in the stroller even though it was open and I could get out if I wanted to. But there was so much to see and watch and smell that I didn't take a nap the whole 3 hours we were out.

The people were playing all kinds of interesting games, most of them with balls. I didn't know there were so many kinds of balls and ways of playing with them. People were throwing them, kicking them, and hitting them out of the grass with funny bent sticks.

I investigated the grass, climbed some rocks, and went to the playground. Silly mom put me in a baby swing. Not so much fun (the rocks were better). I checked out the slide, but it didn't look too interesting. Cats don't really like playgrounds, so we didn't stay there very long.

There were too many pictures to try to put them in the blog, but here's a link to them:

2010-5-9 Mother's Day at Adams County Fairgrounds

When we got home, I crawled into my little red tent and took a long nap. I was a tired kitty!

I'm so thankful to have my mom. I'd still be living in that nasty trailer park if she hadn't rescued me. I have plenty food and treats. I've got lots of toys and nice warm places to sleep. But not only do I have a great place to live, I have a mom who plays with me and gives me lots of love and cuddles and scritches and takes me on wonderful adventures. I'm just the luckiest little kitty.

So, Happy Mother's Day to my mom. The best mom in the whole world!

Sunday musings

One of Mom's friends got a stroller for her kitty, and another is thinking about getting one for her kitties. Soon we'll have a whole kitty walking club! We've had icky weather, so we haven't been for any walks lately. When the weather gets nice we're going to meet up with Mom's friend and spend the day in the park. I can't wait to make new kitty friends. Mom says they're Maine Coons, like me, but about 3 times my size. I can't imagine kitties being that enormous!

Mom's been very busy making music. Last week it was Beatles music. Next week it will be Broadway music. Later this month she's singing in two very special pieces - John Adams 'Transmigration of Souls' and Beethoven's Ninth symphony. One is a tribute to the people that died in the World Trade Center, and the other is a celebration of life. Sometimes I wish I was a person so I could go to the symphony and hear the chorus sing.

I don't know why some things I do annoy Mom so much. Just cause I have to smell everything she eats. I climb on her and sniff her breath (I practically stick my nose in her mouth) and stick my face in her plate. She always pushes me away and tells me I have no manners. I also follow her into the bathroom all the time. She says she doesn't bug me when I'm in the litter box, so why do I bug her in the bathroom? But bathrooms have all kinds of interesting smells. Don't people understand that kitties like to smell things? And people smells are very different from kitty smells. I have to investigate those!

My new cushion and harness came, and they were both too small. The cushion was too small for my stroller and the harness was too small for me. It's Mom's fault. She didn't measure the inside of the stroller, and she didn't measure me! She figured I'm a little kitty so she got me a small harness. Turns out I needed a large! If a little thing like me needs a large harness, I don't know what people with enormous kitties get for them. Anyway, Mom sent them back and is now waiting for the bigger ones to come. Sigh.

I guess that's enough musings for a Sunday. Kitty kisses to all my friends! I miss you all and as much as I'm proud of Mommy's music making, I'll be glad when she's not so busy and I can spend more time online visiting with you all. At least I get to keep up with your blogs, but I don't get to spend much time on Facebook or Twitter. TTFN

I'm just too smart for my own good.

Mom took me for a walk in my stroller yesterday, and decided to let me have some running around time outside the stroller. Well, I figured out how to get out of my harness and almost got away. Mom packed me up into the stroller again lickety split!

We're walking back to the house and the next thing Mom knows is my little head is sticking out of the stroller where the cover unzips. That's right, I figured out how to unzip the stroller cover. (Now I know why Mom makes me wear a harness and leash inside the stroller.) Mom zipped the stroller back up and got me home really fast.

Mom ordered this new harness and leash for me. For those who know her, this is Baby Patches mom's site.
http://www.nipandbones.com/gentle-leader-come-with-me-kitty-harness-bungee-leash.html
Mom's hoping I won't figure out how to get out of this one. If I do figure out how to get out of it, I don't think I'll be getting anymore walks outside. And I for sure won't be getting any out-of-the-stroller time. I'll post a pic of me in my new harness when it comes. Mom got blue to match the stroller.

Purrs everyone!

My first blog!

This is my first post in my new blog. My name is Pumpkin and I'm 7 months old. I live with my Mommy in a nice house in the suburbs. When I look out the back door I see a big field and all kinds of things live in it. I've seen lots of birds and bunnies. There are coyotes, too. I haven't seen them but you can hear them howl at night. There are also hawks and falcons and eagles. With so many things out there that like to eat kitties, I'm not allowed out by myself.

But I do get to go out! Mommy bought me this really cool stroller. It has lots of windows so I can see out in every direction. Mommy puts a harness and a leash on me for extra safety and we go for nice long walks. Last time Mommy even let me get out of the stroller. The ground felt weird and I didn't like it and I got back in the stroller really fast.

Here's me in my stroller:

Here's a picture from my first vet visit. I'm really tiny in this picture.


I'm much bigger now. I'm almost all grown up!

That's it for now.