One china cat’s daily workout: open water laps

Is His Favorite Stroke The Doggy-Paddle?

A cat in China is the newest member of its local winter swimming club. The no-name black cat has become a celebrity among the 200 members of Chongqing’s Changjiang River Winter Swimming Club. He swims at least 50 meters each day in the cold river, according to the Chongqing Business Daily newspaper.

Club member, Sang Changjiang, claims that the six-month-old cat has been swimming with the club for four months. Its talent for swimming was discovered one afternoon when a club member accidentally knocked the cat into the river when diving into the water from a boat.

Sang said, “We knew the cat was terrified of water and thought it might drown in the swirling river. But it swam furiously to get close to the boat and was rescued.”

From that point on, club members always took the cat swimming with them, and after only ten days it could swim by itself unaided.

“Each afternoon around 4pm, we would take it to swim and it has become part of its daily life,” added Sang.

After its daily dip, the cat licks itself dry then falls asleep on a sofa on the boat which is its home.