Exercise for the indoor cat: five easy ways to do it


An indoor cat does not have the same opportunities to exercise as a “colleague” who lives outdoors. How to do a little activity around the house?

In the life of an outdoor cat, physical activity is everywhere and often impossible to avoid. But when a cat lives indoors, where he has all the amenities, he probably doesn’t get enough exercise. And veterinarians often recommend that our four-legged friend lose some weight if he is too lazy. And adding a little physical exercise to the daily routine of our indoor cat is not at all difficult, with these simple practical games that we can use in a practical and immediate way.


Using snacks to sprint

Of course, giving your kitten treats straight from your hand is a great way to build trust with your pet.

Besides, giving your cat something to eat as a treat may not seem like a time for exercise, but it does.

Why not turn snack time into a little exercise to train a little?

We find a stretch of our house that is as long as possible (for example a corridor, or we create a real path).

At this point, we slide the food rewards across the floor by throwing them as far as possible. This way, the cat will run to get them .

When the cat is at the opposite point of the path, we shake the prize bag a little, to get it back to us. Let’s have it one snack at a time.

In this way, the distance will be the maximum possible, to make our cat run around the house. Great exercise!

Sometimes we can even “pretend”, pretending to throw the snack so as to stimulate his intellect as well. And who knows if it doesn’t even serve a few more sprints.


The meal marathon

Cats usually learn what time to eat, and follow us around the kitchen as we prepare their lunch or dinner.

We could then use this dedication to persuade our indoor cat to do a little more exercise by walking with us.

With wet food this game seems to work even better. Once the bowl is ready, let’s take it around the house with us.

When walking, the cat will tend to follow us (or rather, to follow the smell of the food). By doing so, he will take a lot more steps than usual!

Let’s try to understand how long we can make the cat wait, without stressing it too much or unnecessarily tiring it. Depending on the cats, we may soon learn how to proceed.


Change where your games are placed

Cats have a difficult relationship with toys, as all cat owners can confirm. 

But if our four-legged friend has a favorite toy, maybe a toy or a ball that he can have fun with, we can do some exercise.

We strategically place this toy on a rather high surface. Of course, nothing the cat cannot achieve!

An example could be a shelf, a corner of the desk, the back of the sofa, or hovering over a chair. Cats love to climb and jump high, deep.

Once he notices the toy, he will jump and find a way to reach it and drop it to the ground. At that point, she will have to go down again to get it back.


Take advantage of the scratching post plans

If we have a scratching post with a suitable structure, we can make our indoor cat do a lot of exercise by making him climb.

A structure with several floors can in fact be a great place for the cat to climb, jump, run, always chasing a toy.

The best toys in this case are those to wave, such as those with a kind of fishing rod that has a bird or a fake feather attached to it.

For this game we have to get the cat up and down as fast as possible from the structure. Every now and then, however, let’s let them play the game!


Smart little tricks with furniture

Finally, just take a look at the furniture we have in the house. Let’s try to understand if by moving some of them we can create a path.

A series of steps, levels, and “streets” where the cat can go up, down, walk and climb will be perfect for physical activity.

An example? Let’s free up some space on a bookcase or shelf. We thus create an angle from which the cat can observe the area.

Our cat is certainly very curious, we take advantage of this characteristic to take him to explore and then move around the house.


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