Some of this comes from concern over their weight, from people mistaking them for dogs, or from not understanding what their natural modes of exercise were in the wild.
This is too bad, because it’s both easy and inexpensive to cover a cat’s exercise needs.
However, we do need to pick one or the other at any given time.
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Misconception #1: Cats get fat from lack of exercise. While a bored cat who lies around all the time is not the best setup for getting them sleek and toned, the primary reason cats get fat is being fed the wrong food.
When fed properly, we will find that our cats perk up and find ways to get active all by themselves.
Misconception #2: Cats need to be exercised. This is crucial for dogs. In the wild, they live in packs who run around together all day. As domesticated breeds, they were expected to run alongside coaches all day, or chase elk over mountains all day, or pull carts or sleds all day.
Cats don’t do this. They never did this.
Misconception #3: Cats get more exercise in their natural habitat. It’s true that cats are more likely to need to run flat out to escape from a predator in the wild.
But that has never stopped them from running flat out through the entire house just because they want to. And they do.
There are times we don’t have to worry about our cat’s exercise needs at all. Such as when they are kittens, or when we have kittens. These little bundles of energy can be relied upon to play themselves into exhaustion, and do the same for all other living bodies within range.
Adolescent cats, Alpha types, and Beta buddies are other kinds of cat situations which, in any combination, tend to handle themselves. If we have a dog who isn’t elderly, or any toddler, or have access to young children who will drag a string through the house while giggling for an hour at a stretch, we also have a self-solving cat exercise situation.
If our cat does not have the proper incentive to exert themselves at least once a day, we might have to lend a hand. When they get older, they might need the extra push of us throwing the toys around to get them going. Other tactics are wand toys, remote control devices, (provided the cat chases them, not the other way around,) or cat exercise equipment.
I’m not talking about putting them on a treadmill. When we consider cat exercise, we must remember the two keys are Intensity and Duration. Cats lie around all day plotting and planning, and then explode into action. Their play needs to work on their fast-twitch fibers, the main kind of muscles cats have.
Cats are sprinters, not marathoners. So spending time once a day playing a cat into the ground doesn’t take too long if the cat is older or is a more mellow type. Once the cat starts lying down to grab for the toy, or folds up on the floor to watch instead of crouching with the tip of their tail flicking, they are done, and so are we.
Good cat furniture doubles as scratching posts, and then triples as exercise equipment. When a cat hauls themselves up a vertical, carpeted surface, they are pulling their entire body weight. This kind of weight-bearing exercise is excellent for their muscle type, and it doesn’t take much to fill their needs.
In my previous house, I had a sheet of plywood about six inches taller than the wall which we covered with a Berber carpet remnant. When butted up against the wall, it stayed in place without additional hardware or damaging the wall. We added shelves high up on either side, and got an exercise/scratching wall. This attractive addition lasted for years.
It’s good for cats to get some kind of workout. There are many ways to keep our cat lively; giving them access to energetic companions, making a play session part of their day, and/or offering them tempting exercise equipment they cannot resist.
This will keep our cat happy and healthy into old age.
For great cat ideas and unique cat furniture, be sure to visit Kitty Store Online. They offer a number of options to fit any budget.
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There’s more ways to care for our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on CAT CARE.
