The magic and mystery, the sheer pleasure and joy that cats bring to our lives are no surprise to those of us that have chosen to cohabit with them. As cat people we love them unconditionally; from clipping their nails, cleaning up their hairballs, to daily litter box scooping, and allowing them to sleep on our heads. We pet them, stroke them, and brush them. But how many of us have actually thought about exercising our cats? Is it even possible? Is it worth it?
By exercise are you envisioning walking your cat on a leash around the neighborhood, just like a dog? While I have seen pictures where some cat lovers have been able to convince their cat to wear a harness and leash to venture outside, I can assure you that that will not work for my little Houdini! And we all know that cats are not small dogs! So why bother? If we are true and honest with ourselves, most of our cats are carrying a few extra pounds. While some think that this is normal and ok, it really is not ok for our cats. Those extra pounds make it more difficult for the cat to clean and groom, they lose their balance, flexibility and agility, and most importantly, those extra pounds can shorten their lives. Did you know that overweight cats have a six fold higher risk of developing diabetes mellitus, a disease that carries a lifelong burden of medical and health issues, and early death? Just a few minutes of exercise each day, combined with the appropriate diet can help keep our cats in healthy shape.
So, how do we exercise our cats? The key approach is to capitalize on the natural hunting/predatory nature of the cat, and to replicate this with toys and games. Spend some time at your local pet store. Look for toys and games that are fast moving, that the cat can stalk, that have random movement or emit squeaks and sounds like prey. Some of the toys are even battery operated robotics that don’t even need us to play with the cat. These are a great solution for busy multi-tasking family. Laser pointers, while they provide great random movement, are a no-no. This may come as a surprise, but the laser pointer can never be caught by the cat. The cat that can never catch the “prey” will become frustrated and give up on playing the game.
While encouraging exercise, did you know that toys and games are a great stress reliever for the cat? This is especially important in our multi-cat homes where stress between our cats can lead to conflict and manifest in a variety of diseases such as lower urinary tract disease.
Another great solution is to combine exercise with food. You can buy, or even make your own food toys. Food toys contain an inner cavity where you can put some of the daily food allowance. The cat needs to play with the toy, move it around, bat it etc to get the kibbles to come out the small holes. An easy home-made solution is to take an empty, clean, plastic soda bottle. Put a few holes in the wall, just large enough to let the kibble come out, but not so large that the kibble easily falls right out. Then spend some time playing with your cat, moving the new toy around to get a kibble or two to come out. He or she will very quickly learn the game and happily play each day to get their meal!
