An Exercise Program for Indoor Cats

[SoDesuKa]

I have no idea what to do to get my cats to exercise. All they do is sleep all day. Perhaps friends could come over and we'll have an intervention. Listen, lack of exercise is not good for you.

Seriously . . . is there anything that can be done to encourage cats to exercise? Yes, I could probably chase them around the house. I am fresh out of motivational speeches for sleepytime cats.

Otis looks up at me through sleepy eyes, Oh, it's you again. What did you bring me?

[Lil Missy]

1. Squirtgun.

[david13]

2. Some of them will go nuts over a laser pointer. Or even a flash-

light.
Catnip gets some of them running around.
There are sticks with various toys on a string, that they will chase.
I have taken string, sat on the floor, and pulled the string in a circle around me, and have had cats who would run around in circles for hours. One would run until he actually fell over panting with exhaustion. Rest a bit, and back after the string.
The idea is that you are supposed to be smarter than the cat, and therefore able to come up with ideas for them.
Some of them make their own toys, electrical cords, for example. That is a tough one to cure, but it can be done. If you can outwit the cat.
Talking to the cat doesn't work. They do not speak our language.
They know that furniture with cloth covering is properly defined as cat scratching area.
Thus furniture is good exercise for their legs & paws.
dc

[rug]

3. I have to pick them up and rotate them every four hours.

[LeftyMom]

4. Laser pointer. My cats will chase the little dot of light right up a wall if I get them going. nt

[The Midway Rebel]

5. A dog that hates cats.

Avoiding aggressive Akitas and stalking Siberian Huskies is what kept our old spayed lady Calico Tabby cat around and healthy for at least 20 years. Likewise, that cat hated dogs...and other cats for that matter. She ran off all newcomer cats and out lived 6 of my dogs.

Our new rescued cat has made friends with my alpha female Husky and he is easily 10 pounds over weight. He won't be around for that long I bet.

I heard cats sleep 20 hours a day.

[SoDesuKa]

7. Feline Strategies

Many cats can handle a dog. They probably have some kind of negotiation strategy that allows for coexistence. I don't think coexistence is possible with a pit bull. Just on looks alone, a pit bull looks stupid.

Cats are also stalkers. Even if they sleep 20 hours a day, the remaining time is mostly taken up with stalking. F'rinstance, I never hear them come into the bedroom at night, but they're always there when I wake up. They're also territorial about "their" part of the bed. If I should shift my position so that I impinge on Otis's space, he presses his paw into me and flexes his claws. He's some piece of work, that one.

The other one is nearly as bad. She waits until daybreak, then climbs up on top of me and kneads my belly. No, you will not sleep through that. The loud purring is enough to wake me up by itself.

I believe cats are designed to sit long hours in one position. It's part of being a predator. They wake up so quickly that I don't think that their naps are deep sleep the way we know it. I think they do actually sleep, not just cat nap. That's the reason they go off and hide somewhere.

[Skip Intro]

6. They make it seem that whatever they're doing is what they're supposed to be doing.

[CreekDog]

8. Tell them *not* to exercise

they'll probably do the opposite. :D

[redqueen]

9. Cat wheel!