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Tips to exercise my cat
Hello, I am new here, recently married with one furbaby, I really some need tips on how to exercise my cat. To cut a long story short, my cat is not allowed to be outside and so he is stuck inside a small unit. We normally take him out for an hour every morning but other than that he is stuck in doors.
I feel horrible because subsequently, he has gotten very fat and lazy and I need new ideas on how to get him to exercise without him leaving the house. I have bought a harness and leash and have tried to train him to walk on the lead but once it is on he sort of just falls over and wont move. We have bought a laser light but he's not interested in it, he will play with a hair tie, tied to a piece of string, but he is so fast that he catches it quickly and wont let go until he's bored with it. We have cut his food down to a 1/4 cup of kibble (as per our vets instructions).
I should add that I live in a one level unit, we are hoping to move in the new year to a place that is pet friendly but we can't go anywhere until then and I would like to have some tips in case we can't get anywhere that allows pets, any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Re: Tips to exercise my cat
Hi! I'm recently married and new here as well! Haha your cat sounds like one of mine.
We bought a harness and leash for our cat to see if we would be able to walk him...yeeeeeah....he ends up just laying on his side and becoming dead weight and he will just let him drag him. LOL. So much for that. I guess I was ok with that because I honestly would have felt a little silly about walking my cat. I think some people do but I don't think it's necessary.
Both of our cats are strictly indoor cats. We don't really do anything special with them for them to get exercise. Just buy some toys...my cats love things that have strings. My cats love ones with sticks that have feathers or strings dangling from it. One of mine loves soft little ball toys too. He used to play fetch with us when he was younger. Now that he is older, he doesn't do that so much anymore. Also, they will randomly run around and jump on things if they feel the need to get some energy out. Not sure if getting another cat is an option for you but ours seem to keep each other entertained .I think having another cat around to play with gives them some exercise on their own.
You could also try getting one of those big cat house things that have multiple levels to them so he can jump around on it and such.
In general, I think cats are just really lazy. I don't think they require the same amount of exercise as a dog would. Not to say they don't need exercise, but I think some toys and some portion control with his food is really all he needs to prevent an overweight cat. Our cats used to be way more playful when they were younger, but as they got older, they just mellowed out a lot more and do what cats usually do: sleep.
Every cat I have ever had has loved this little toy: Cat Dancer. It may solve the problem of your kitty catching and not letting go...you can just pull on this until he lets go.
Also, I don't know how much room you have, but you may want to consider getting a cat tree, something like this maybe: http://www.amazon.com/Armarkat-B5701-57-Inch-Tree-Ivory/dp/B003BYQ100
When we were in a fairly small apartment, it took up a bit of "real estate" in the living room but our cats loved it, and I'm sure got exercise climbing up, jumping down, etc.
Just a few thoughts! Good luck!
What kind of food are you feeding him?
Experiment with some different toys and you may find something that appeals to him. Ex: cat nip ball, Da Bird, or one of my cat's current favorite: http://www.amazon.com/Hartz-Play-Gone-Fishin-Color/dp/B000PYK6D2
Also try climbing structures for the cats. If you have a small space, they make some that attach to the wall (just like little shelves). Feed him up high so he has to exercise to get to his food.