9 Creative Ways to Get Your Cat to Exercise

Cats are great as emotional support and therapy animals. However, they are crepuscular creatures — meaning they are usually active at sundown and after. Because of this, they are prone to weight gain due to the lack of daytime exercise.

If you have an emotional support or therapy cat, keep it healthy by ensuring it stays fit through daily exercise. Here are tips you can use.

1. Buy them a cat tower

Cats love climbing and a cat tower is a great purchase to provide them an area for vertical exploration. But keep in mind that some cats snob towers which would be a waste of money. So place treats in different areas to encourage climbing whether you’re awake or not.

2. Give them plenty of toys to play with

Aside from towers, cats also are keen to get their fangs and claws on smaller things. But they get bored of playing with one object eventually. This is why it’s better to give them multiple toys to get busy with. Just remember to immediately replace toys that have been worn out.

3. Play with lasers

Pointing a laser and watching your cat chase it around is a great source of entertainment. But in reality, it’s a great workout for them. The best part is that you can play with lasers even if you’re doing something else such as watching TV, scrolling through your phone, or eating your meal.

4. Put on a tail

Cats do love everything small and moving objects such as strings or a small yet long piece of cloth. So tuck in one into your pants and let them chase the end as you move around your house. Just don’t leave the cloth or string unsupervised as your cat might swallow it.

5. Make a piñata for them

Cats will be cats and they will play with anything. That includes hanging objects. Utilize this behavior and encourage them by making a piñata with treats inside. Make sure that wherever you hang the piñata, it would be a challenge for them to reach it and they won’t crash into nearby objects as they leap to get the rewards.

6. Take them out on a walk

Yes. Cats can be trained to walk on a leash. However, you must train them while they’re still young. To effectively do this, use a harness and make sure there aren’t dogs or big animals in the neighborhood that would scare them and cause trauma.

7. Have an aquarium or bird feeder

As mentioned, cats love to chase anything small and moving. Get an aquarium or a bird feeder. Just make sure that the fishes or birds are out of your cat’s reach. They may be jumping around or tapping on the glass to try and capture the other animals. What’s important is that they are forced to move around without anything damaged or hurt.

8. Try giving catnip

This only applies if your cat responds to catnip. See to it if your feline comes from a family that has this responsive gene. Catnip is a great way to increase their energy, resulting in hyperactive playtime.

9. Train them with clickers

Like leash training, cats are also responsive to the clicker training method. You can teach them to do tricks or run an obstacle course. And if you have plenty of time, you can train your cat to be more than an emotional support or therapy animal.

Make it part of your daily routine to give your cat the exercise it needs. Think of it as if they’re dogs. The only difference is that keeping a cat active is easier since they don’t require a huge space for activities.

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