cat that needs exercise:
he has alot of toys, goes for walks daily, and is spoiled rotten with attention and love
he is 8 months old (today), was neutered two months ago
he is a healthy weight (for now)
and he eats right according to our vet
my concern is the number of obese cats out there --- I'm working full time and starting college in the fall...he'll always receive the amount of attention he gets now(if not more), but is there anything I can do to help him get more exercise? Is there a toy that cats really love or a place I can take him to walk when the snow is taller than him outside?
he's been sleeping more since the op. and I'm worried he'll turn into one of those cats with health problems because i didn't take any preventive measures!
Answers:
You're wonderful to be so concerned about your cat's health!
My cats' favorite toys are 'da bird': http://www.thecatconnection.com/da-bird-... , a laser pointer, zanies mice (little fur mice with a rattle inside), Rosie Rat: http://catniptoys.com/merchant2/merchant... , Wooley Bully: http://www.cattoys.com/wooleybully1.html... ,a toy mouse that squeaks when they bat it: http://www.cattoys.com/playnsqueak.html,... and things like pen caps, milk jug rings, and straws that they can bat around. They also like empty boxes and paper bags (no handles - they can get caught in the handles). Some cats like catnip, others like honeysuckle.
You might like to read these articles about play therapy %26 environmental enrichment for indoor cats:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?ac...
http://www.catclinicofroswell.com/faq/de...
https://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/home/beh/fe...
http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/indoorcat...
The best way to keep a cat slim %26 healthy is to provide it with high-quality grain-free food - cats are carnivores, and to get the nutrition they need from high-carb dry foods, they must consume a lot of extra calories, which can lead to obesity. Read these articles (written by vets) on the relationship between diet %26 obesity:
http://www.catinfo.org
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?ac...
Hope this helps!
Relax. If you keep up what your doing your cat will stay happy and healthy. And it's normal for cats to sleep a lot. As for toys, a cat will play with anything that it can get its little paws on, and they love catnip(make sure that's only an occasional treat though.)
May your cat stay healthy and happy. :)
Laser pointers. ;)
Cats go CRAZY for them. You can pick 'em up cheap at a dollar store, or if you want to spend a little, they now make "revolving automatic" ones that you can sit on the floor and it'll shine the laser beam around for you. My cats go absolutely insane for these things.
It sounds like you are taking a good initiative in his care. That's great! Make sure you regulate how much food he gets per day. Free feeding (leaving the food out and just filling the bowl up) is never a good idea, even with cats who don't gorge themselves. That's the first thing to help manage weight.
As for excersise: lots of toys are great for cats. Dangly toys, catnip filled stuffed toys, moving toys, etc. When you are home, a few minutes with a laser pointer is great excersise. Cats love that!
The first thing I would recommend is a kitty friend for him. 2 kittys can play when you're gone and amuse themselves and do things humans can't do, like chasing each other, and play fighting.
Another neat form of exercise is the laser light. It's really fun when you take the cat outside and use it. They have a greater distance to run and chase it. But of course, never shine it in their eyes, it can cause blindness. My cats love it! When they are in the house they will chase it up the walls, etc. It's comical.
Pulling a string works great too for exercise and they love that also. One of mine will bring a shoestring to me when she thinks it's time to play.
easter eggs with beeds in them!
our cats love those laser pointers
it's wears you out less than trying to play with a string and it wears them out more. :o)
sounds like he's super spoiled or very well loved whichever way you want to look at it.
My cat also loves the laser pointer, it cost me like 3 dollars at walmart. I play with her everyday, she has a basket full of toys on the floor and she has access to them at all times and will sometimes dig through there to find that special one to play with! Those little colorful mice are great too, she tosses them around a lot. If your cat is susceptible to catnip, try "soaking" some toys in it because it makes them nearly irresistible to my kitty. In the warm months there are a lot of moths/lightning bugs around where I live and my cat discovered that they are quite tasty after one accidentally flew into the house. Now every night after dark I will leave the porch light on to attract a moth and then open the door and let it in for her, this will have her running around for hours, sometimes she catches the moth and bats it around and sometimes she doesn't. The protein in moths and other bugs helps with a shiny coat! Recently we put up a birdfeeder outside the window and that has also increased her exercise routine as she runs to the window seat frantically whenever she sees a bird fly by or hears it chirp.
catnip
If he's at a good weight now then keep up what you've been doing and he should be fine
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