It should be understood that exercise provides the human body with the energy fuel to function through the day. Similarly, you also need to exercise your cat so you can take proper care of them. It is especially important for cats who stay indoors as cat exercise will keep them fit since they are not hunting or roaming around the neighborhood freely with no one to stop them.
So they tend to get obese and overweight in a lesser time relatively. In addition, if you don’t play with your indoor cat, there is a higher chance of them becoming unfit because there is no physical activity involved to burn down the calories they are taking in, just like the human body system. It is highly encouraged if you take out time from your day for cat exercise.
Experimenting With Different Things!
You could experiment with different toys that would help your cat stay engaged with cat exercise. This could also depend on their mood, and you will have to act accordingly. If you make an effort to keep them busy, you will keep them fit. When their minds are stimulated, and they spend quality time with their owners, they will feel refreshed and fit. It will also encourage them to do some cat exercise.
This article also sheds light on why cat exercise is so important for your cat’s wellbeing. It covers the consequences if you don’t make your cat exercise or if you don’t play with your cat.
It also includes different ways in which you can get your cat to exercise. Knowing where to draw the line is better, so you don’t go overboard with making your cat exercise. It is important to know how much exercise is required.
Exercise for Cats Is Important
The basic answer to this query is to make sure that your cat can stay fit. Your cat needs to move around; otherwise, it will become lazy and unable to carry out the basic functions. It is also a popular opinion by veterinary experts that cat exercise is crucial for your cat to stay in shape.
Cats also need exercise to sharpen their senses. What people don’t realize is that cat exercise is equally important as dog exercise. People understand that they need to walk their dogs around the block and play with them, so they stay engaged and fit.
The same goes for cat exercise, but people don’t understand that, making cats lag behind. It is a common health practice that cat exercise is mandatory.
Cat Exercises Can Be Tricky
Cats may be a lot more challenging to deal with than dogs who won’t refuse if you throw a ball and ask them to chase it. On the other hand, cats might need some convincing for them to exercise properly. But if you make it look convincing enough, the exercise could become a lot more interesting and engaging for your cat.
Another plus point for cat exercise is that it will keep your cat healthy until old age, so you won’t have to take your cat for ongoing sickness through the years.
Health Problems and Stats
As a survey suggests, 25 to 40 percent of cats are overweight or obese in the United States alone, making it quite clear that cat exercise is not very popular amongst pet owners. Cats are known to be snoozers who would preferably sit around all day and enjoy in all seriousness. But what people don’t realize is that they don’t mind stretching their legs and paws and workout.
Cat exercise does not take up a lot of energy and time, unlike popular beliefs. If your cat is borderline obese or overweight, it won’t be athletic enough to jump around, chase, and have fun. When your cat becomes obese or overweight, it comes with a list of related health problems such as liver problems, breathing difficulties, urine infection, or ligament damage.
You could also start with cutting out the excess food you give your cat and cut back on the cat treats as well. You will have to take this step by consulting the vet, who will guide you a lot better. Increasing the intensity of the cat exercise is the second step towards this development. You won’t have to buy any equipment for cat exercise; you will just have to make your cat move around and stretch.
What Happens if You Don’t Play With Your Cat?
Playtime is a must for your pet cat to stay on good health and mental track. Every cat needs love and affection from its owner, so you need to take some time out of your busy schedule and make sure that you spend some time with your cat.
The most constructive way to spend this time is to play with them. A popular study has shown that every play hour that you spend with your cat increases its life span by a total of four hours.
Playing with your cat is also counted as a cat exercise because it involves movement. If you don’t take time to play with your cat, you will soon observe your cat going into destructive patterns that won’t be good for the cat, the owner, and the people around them. When you do not take the time for cat exercise or play with your cat, they will become lazy and lonely.
They won’t be able to recover and sit around the house doing nothing. When you don’t play with your cat, it is proven that your cat will become sad, have prolonged sleeping hours, and sulk around the house, avoiding any contact.
Signs That Your Cat Needs the Exercise
The signs indicating that your cat needs some cat exercise or playtime are that your cat will refuse to comply with anything you say. They will make an extra effort to stay detached and not listen to you because this is their way of showing that they are not getting the attention and love they want and deserve.
Secondly, if your cat is becoming overweight, it is an indication that you will have to subtract the food and add cat exercise and more playtime to your cat’s routine. Thirdly, when your cat starts scratching your stuff and the furniture lying around in the house, it signifies that your cat needs playtime.
Another signal is when your cat aims for your ankles and scratches them; it is another way of asking for attention and more playtime for your cat.
Exercises for Your Pet Cat
As experts suggest that your pet cat needs as much cat exercise as any other pet you have. Here are a few exercises that will help you make your cat stay on the right track.
Making Your Cat Play in Pairs
To answer the question, “How can I exercise my cat at home?” we could start with making your cat exercise in pairs with another cat. The other cat could be one of your pet cats or your neighbor’s; it will motivate your cat to go through with it and make it more fun for both of them.
You could set up a cat exercise practice for two cats that are friendly with each other, so they have a good time and get the work done. They could chase each other around while you throw a ball or play with toys. They could also fight with each other in a friendly manner without hurting anyone. You could start with the two cats from the very beginning, so they get used to each other rather than bringing the second cat at a later stage.
Building a Cat Tower
If you buy or build a cat tower as a form of cat exercise for your pet cat, it will encourage them to climb and play around that tower. The tower is built to help the cat become much more energetic and fit. It is the best-selling toy prop in stores for your pet cat.
Variety of Toys
When you give your cats the option to choose from various toys, it makes them a lot more interested in cat exercise than usual. You could give them the option to play with plastic toys, balls, items, or instruments so they can stay engaged and get some exercise while they are at it.
Building a Hockey Rink
When you build a hockey rink for your cat, it gives them the liberty to play around and have some fun. The movement required to play around a hockey rink will make your cat fit and happy. Meanwhile, when you are watching your cat play around, it will be a source of happiness for you as well.
Other Fun Activities
You could also have fun with a laser light that you could point at different places on the walls or at items placed around your house, which will capture your cat’s attention and make them chase it. It will keep you and your cat entertained to the fullest.
Cats Get Fascinated By Hanging Tools
When you play around with a rod with your cat, it is a great interactive cat exercise that will keep your cat interested and motivated. You could attach a cardboard fish to the rod, so your cat can jump around and try to catch it while it is hanging from that rod.
Treadmill for Your Cat
You could put your cat on a treadmill at a slow speed. You should supervise this cat exercise since it could be dangerous if not appropriately supervised. When you choose to use catnip on your pet cat, make sure that you use it in a situation where there is no other option but to use it.
In serious situations, your cat might get triggered or become aggressive if you use it on them, so make sure you gauge the situation beforehand. It should only be used to make your cat exercise properly.
Playing Outdoor
You could also choose to go outdoors to play in a safe environment where your cat will have all the space to run and chase. If your cat is fond of speed and challenges, you could also opt for making your cat go through agility training, where they will be required to do heavy-duty cat exercises if they are equipped to carry them out.
How to Get Your Cat to Exercise?
When you want to make an effort to bond with your cat so they can have a good time and exercise while they are it, you are not the only one who needs to work out to stay fit; your pet cat also needs to do the same thing to stay in shape. The difficult part is to get your cat to exercise, which can be taken care of by using some methods such as increasing the playtime to 10 to 15 minutes.
Once they are bored and tired of playing, they will stop engaging and sit around lazily. You could treat them and let them easy once you see they are done for the day. You could buy some new and exciting toys for them to get attracted to them and work out.
You could get some extra toys, especially the teething toys that can be damaged easily. Once your cat gets rid of one, you could offer them another, which would keep their head in the game. You could add difficulty levels to the play to get challenged and motivated to experiment while exercising.
You could also get flashy things like a piñata which would keep things interesting and help you in the challenge of getting your cat to exercise. People raise questions like, “How much exercise do cats need?”, to answer that, experts suggest that your cat should have an average of 30 minutes dedicated to cat exercise or playtime, which would easily keep them fit.
Final Thoughts!!
To sum up everything in this article, here is to hope that all your queries and concerns are answered regarding the cat exercises. I hope it helps you better understand how things go when cats are made to exercise.
