For the Love of Pets: Do cats need exercise?

People often think that all cats do is sleep.

While they indeed sleep a lot, they can also be quite active. However, they prefer short bursts of exercise with plenty of naps in between. It is really important for our cats to stay active to help keep them healthy well into their golden years.

For undomesticated cats, a lot of their exercise comes from scavenging. They love to chase and pounce, so playing with your cat is a great way to exercise them.

Even though they do spend a lot of time resting, it is really important to keep your cat active to stop them from gaining too much weight, which causes a lot of health problems.

Another important reason to keep your cat active is to stop them from getting bored.

A bored cat can become depressed or may eat more and put on weight. There is no exact amount of exercise your cat should be getting every day, but at least two sessions of playtime a day of around 15-20 minutes each should help to keep them active.

Cats love to explore, so giving them a range of cat toys and activities will help to keep them interested and active.

Remember to keep your cat’s toys clean and throw them away if they get damaged. Getting them a new toy every now and again is a perfect treat. Most cats love playing games, especially with:

Things they can hit

Cats enjoy batting at light things that move easily across the floor, so a ball of paper is ideal. It is important not to give them anything they can chew up or swallow. If you are fed up with your cat losing their toys under the furniture, you can put the ball or toy in a large cardboard box so that your cat can play with it in a controlled space.

Things they can chase

Wind-up or motorised toys, or a piece of string dragged across the floor is a fun game that will be sure to bring out the hunting skills in most cats.

Things they can jump onto

Cats love to be up high, so make sure there are safe surfaces and plenty of space for them to jump on and off to help burn extra calories.

Things they can climb into

Anyone who owns a cat knows they can have hours of fun with a simple empty box or a tunnel.

Things they can scratch

Scratching keeps a cat’s claws sharp and tones their shoulder and back muscles. A scratching post will meet this need – and should save your furniture.

Although it may be tempting, especially with little kittens, it is not a good idea to use your hand or fingers as ‘bait’. Your cat will think it is ok to scratch and bite you.

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