June 12 (UPI) — A cat showing off his skateboarding skills in China has broken the Guinness World Records by gliding 32 feet 9.2 inches on a skateboard in just 12.85 seconds.
Bao Zi, an American shorthair cat, broke the record for the fastest 10-meter skateboarding by a cat, aged just 1 year and 8 months.
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Bao Zi’s owner, Li Jiantao, a professional dog trainer, said his initial goal in bringing the cat into his home was to solve a rat problem.
“At night, there were rats running around on the ceiling, so I asked Bao Zi to chase them away,” he told Guinness World Records.
Jiang Tao said he quickly realised Baozi might have talents beyond catching mice.
“I have been training dogs for over 10 years and started skateboarding with my dogs as a hobby. However, Bao Zu showed a strong interest in skateboarding, so I decided to cultivate this behaviour,” Jiangtao said.
He said it took the cat about a year to master the art of skateboarding.
“In fact, it’s quite difficult to train cats because they don’t learn things as quickly as dogs,” he told the South China Morning Post. “Dogs improve and learn every day, whereas cats can learn a trick and forget it the next moment.”
Jiangtao said his experience training Bao Zi led him to expand into cat training, and he specializes in teaching cats to use the litter box and flush after they’ve done their business.
