Exercise is just as important for the health of your cat as it is for you. Most cats do not get anywhere near the amount of exercise or mental stimulation that they would get if they were wild animals. This contributes to weight gain by decreasing their metabolism and in some cats causes boredom eating. We, as owners, are at fault when we offer food treats to stop the pestering and meowing, when what the cat really wanted was something interesting to do! Here are three steps to increasing your cat’s activity level and enhancing his or her life.

Give your cat something to look forward to besides just eating and petting. Plan 10 minutes each morning and evening, 15 minutes each night or in the middle of the afternoon, what ever works for your schedule. Get out the laser pointer, use a feather toy, a shoe string, throw paper wads or ping pong balls down the hall and get your cat to play a little. Once he or she realizes that this activity has a schedule you will find your cat waiting eagerly for it at the same time each day.

If the same toys are out all of the time they become boring. Its not like being outside, where all of the sights and smells to investigate change daily. This week, leave out a paper bag and some fur mice. Next week, put those away and bring out the cardboard box and ping pong balls, the third week try his catnip mouse and some tissue paper to crinkle up. Use your imagination here and keep rotating things in and out of the toy area. Since the toys are “new” each week, your cat will spend a little more time investigating, a little more time awake and burning calories.

In most cases the dieting cat eats his meal in just a couple of minutes. That can certainly leave them unsatisfied. You might try taking some of his treats or some of his dry food allowance and put it in and around his toys; a few kibbles in the cardboard box, under the tissue paper, inside of an empty cardboard paper towel roll. They sell balls with holes in them that can be filled with kibble and only rolling it along the floor will release the food. You could give him half of his food allowance in one room and half in another. You could feed your cat one kibble at a time by making him chasing it down the hallway as you toss it. All these ideas take the focus off the food for your cat and turn it into a fun game that also increases his activity level. You might choose to do this every day with one meal, or several times per week as it fits your schedule. With multiple cats or dogs in the house, you may choose to do these things in one room with the door closed so your cat has time to find all of his food.