Keeping your cats indoors protects them from traffic,
predators and infectious diseases, but you still
need provide for their psychological and physical
needs through exercise and play. Regular
exercise and playing helps prevent obesity and
its associated health risks. It also helps prevent
undesirable behavior like excess grooming (and
resultant hair balls), aggression such as biting
your ankles, eating your house plants, scratching
furniture or jumping up onto counters.
Getting your cat to exercise or play is particularly
important for the indoor cat who has limited opportunities
for physical or intellectual stimulation. And for
both indoor and indoor/outdoor cats, it decreases
boredom and promotes bonding with the owner as
well as mutual enjoyment of each other.
Here are a few tips to maximize play and exercise:
Let the outdoors in. Open your windows and
let the fresh air in—cats will love the
smells and breeze. Just be sure that your screens
are secure so that your cat can’t fall
out or escape.
Mount one of the commercially-available cat
windowsills and put a bird or squirrel feeder
or bird bath outside the window.
Teach your cat to walk on a leash. A ten-minute
walk outside on a leash will get the cat’s
muscles moving, get some fresh air into his lungs,
and enliven his mind. Just be sure his collar
or harness won’t slip off, and that he
is wearing an I.D. tag with
your telephone number, just in case you have
a Houdini
Create a “kitty beach” inside.
Buy two clip-on lamps from a hardware store.
Insert 100-watt full-spectrum bulbs, and attach
to a secure location. The put a large piece of sheepskin under
the lights. You can even put the light on a timer
to come on in the evening, their favorite time
to play. And there you have a “kitty beach”!
You’ll love seeing your cat twist and rub
on the sheepskin under the warm lights.
Buy a cat video to keep him
occupied periodically.
Play with your cat on his schedule. Peak activity
for cats is in the early morning and in the evening,
so begin your play at these times. Most cats
have a strong prey instinct so will usually chase
after a thrown object if you tease with a ball or toy for
a few moments then toss it, gradually increasing
the distance you throw it from your cat.
Cats especially love lightweight things
they can swat like tiny fur mice,
ping pong balls, rolled up balls of paper or
even the plastic tops to milk. (Don’t
use a ball of aluminum foil, as your cat
may swallow it and develop a serious medical
problem.)
Try a laser light toy and
watch your cat chase the red dot from the laser
with wild abandon.
Cats love motion and are attracted to feathers,
try a pole with a feather attached
to the end of a line - but because of the string,
don’t leave this toy out when you’re
not around.
Cats also like to jump into a crinkly-sounding
bag.
At about four months of age you can tell if
your cat will love catnip or
not (about 50% of cats are indifferent to it).
If your cat loves catnip, spray it
on and in his toys, and he will oftentimes act
like a young kitten again.
