Do Cats Need Exercise?

We always see cats sleeping all day long. They seem to be the relaxed type of pet. Unlike the dog, cats are not often associated with going for walks to the park or playing fetch. Funny videos of lazy cats run viral on the internet. But contrary to the popular belief, cats do need to have exercise.

The Feline Mind

Cats may seem to be the egoistic, self centered and uncaring creatures that they are, but they are not. Cats form bonds with their fur parents too. According to studies. Cats are as smart as dogs. However a cat’s mind runs different from dogs.

Dogs were domisticated to help with keeping livestock like sheep and cattle whereas cats where brought in because they can catch mice, which is to say already part of their nature. Cats where then domisticated in Egypt and received royal treatment. Pharoah, royalty and the Egyptian court basked in the godly presensce of the cat.

Cats were given a special treatment during those times. And they seem to have not forgotten that. They were fed special food, allowed to sleep and relax all day and cuddled in bed by beautiful maidens.

However far from the misconception that cats are lazy, cats are very active animals. They are nocturnal creatures who prefer to sleep by day and be more active at night. This is because small prey go out during the dark. They can hunt for mice, lizards, frogs and other small critters at night because they have sharp eyes.

They Do Need Exercise

Cats are very active animals that need constant exercise. They may not seem to need it because of the amount of sleep they normally take, but without proper exercise they will get sick and get fat.

Cats are prone to kidney and liver disease due to their lack of water intake and without exercise, their lives can be shorter than what it should be. Cats can also get diabetes. Diabetes can be fatal to cats. Without physical activity, they can gain weight and get weak.

Many sicknesses can come upon your feline friend without exercise. They can grow weak, get kidney, liver, heart problems, diabetes, hypertention and can even be depressed.

So please, engage them in exercise.

Kinds of Exercise Your Cat Can Have

Please don’t let your cat stay in a cage all day bored to death. Allow him to have an exercise time. Give your cat the freedom to stretch and run around.

1. Cat toys – Cats would love toys like feathers, strings, balls and many more. This can allow them to chase something and get moving.

2. Take your cat for a walk – A lot of cat owners now bring cats on a leash for a walk. Yes, cats can go for walks provided they wear a harness around their body instead of just a collar and leash on their neck.

3. Cat towers – Cats can enjoy climbing up and down a cat tower. These structures offer cats the natural exercise they normally do in the wild – climbing.

4. Laser light – Cats love to chase red dots. So go and take out a laser light so that your cutie cat can move about.

Optimal Health

Cats need both proper nutrition and exercise to be able to reach ages of 18, 19 or even 25. Cats can be constant companions if taken cared of. If you spend enough time with your cats, they can learn what you are telling them.

So go on, spend time with them walking in the park, or yeah, you can also laze around with them and take a nap.