Exercising with Your Cat: Ideas to Keep Them Fit & Active

September is “Happy Healthy Cat Month.” Keeping your cat happy and healthy are not always mutually exclusive. While cats may appear to be more lazy than other pets, they actually need to have consistent exercise to stay healthy. Aiming to play with your cat for just 10-15 minutes a couple of times every day will reap long term benefits in your kitty’s health. But how do you keep them engaged? While there are a rare few cat owners that walk their cats, it’s not like exercising with a dog. You’ll need to stimulate your cat to play. Here are a few good cat exercise ideas that you can try to implement in your own home:

1. Have toys in every room of the house. Cats can be nocturnal, and they might feel like playing at night when you’re trying to get your beauty sleep. Give your cat options for toys to chase around the home, in every room in the home. That will keep them engaged as they roam the house at all hours of the night. For your own sanity, keep the quiet toys in the bedroom and save the loud ones with bells for downstairs/another room away from where you sleep.
2. Lasers are an inexpensive way to keep your cat stimulated. I’ve found laser pointers at the dollar store. They might not last forever, but if your cat is anything like my previous cats, they will eventually get bored with it. But the first few months with a new laser pointer are a great way to get your cat to chase something around the house. Not only are lasers fun for your cat, they will have you bursting out laughing with enjoyment at the cat’s futile attempts to catch air.
3. Invest in at least one cat tree. Climbing is a great exercise for your cat. Cat trees give your cat the chance to jump around on something other than your brand new couch. Trees are also great for giving the cat an option to scratch, again, other than your brand new couch. Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine associate professor Susan Nelson suggests placing treats throughout the tree to encourage climbing more often.
4. Replace toys often. If you see the same toys in the same spot for months and months, your cat is bored with them and won’t play with them anymore. Refresh with some new toys every so often to keep your cat engaged. Don’t feel the need to invest too much money in cat toys, again the dollar store is a great resource for toys. You can also store away some old ones and rotate them every so often.
5. For the most safe way for you to play with your cat, opt to purchase wand toys. The pole offers a barrier between your skin and your cat’s claws. Need I say more? Plus you can drag the toy around more easily. Cats will be more active with toys that are active themselves.
6. Speaking of active toys, there are a number of battery/usb powered toys and wind up toys that your cat will enjoy chasing around the house. Check pet stores as the more mechanical toys appear alive to the cat, giving it more incentive to continue to play with it.

Remember to look for signs that your cat is ready to play, and signs it’s time to leave the cat alone. If your cat breaths too heavily and/or starts panting it’s time to wrap up play time for now.

For more pet health tips follow Quivira Road Animal Clinic on Instagram! Contact us anytime if you have questions about how to keep your cat active!