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Why and How to Keep Your Cat Active

Why and How to Keep Your Cat Active

Updated on February 03, 2023
Reviewer Profile Photo
Reviewed by Petco’s Animal Care
Education and Compliance (ACE) Team
cat playing with teaser toy

From scheduling routine vet visits to choosing your cat’s diet, you spend a lot of time thinking about how to contribute to the wellbeing of your cat. And, after a day of brushing your cat’s coat, scooping their litter boxes and providing them with dinner, make sure you don’t forget about the importance of activity.

Helping your cat engage in daily activity can offer numerous health benefits. Let’s look at why activity is important and how you can help your cat stay active.

Why activity is important for weight management

Exercise and play can provide numerous benefits for your cat. For starters, your cat can gain numerous physical benefits from engaging in activity.

In fact, daily activity is one of the most important contributions to helping your cat maintain a healthy weight. For many cats, a lack of activity can quickly lead to unwanted weight gain. Activity can help keep off this excess weight and increase muscle strength, it can help lower your cat’s risk of arthritis and diabetes. This can become particularly important for senior cats, as they may be dealing with a slowing metabolism. And if your cat has gained weight, your vet may recommend an increase in activity along with a specialized diet to help them lose weight.

Your cat can also gain social benefits from activity, such as reducing behavioral challenges due to increased contentment and confidence. Activity can have mental benefits for your cat, such as reducing boredom.

How to provide more activity for your cat

Activity for your cat will involve both exercise and play. Physical exercise is generally cardio-based and happens over a prolonged period—think running up and down stairs. Mental exercise involves conquering new challenges and exploring new locations or scents.

Play can be sedentary or even inactive, but it also involves mental stimulation. When physical exertion can occur during play, it is usually for shorter periods of time. For example, when your cat is batting a toy on the ground, that’s an example of play. While both play and exercise are beneficial, most cats get more time playing than exercising.

Ideas for increasing play

A cat’s playtime generally fits into one of two types: object play and social play. Object play harnesses your cat’s inherent sense to turn every toy into something to stalk and capture.

You can engage your cat’s object play senses by leaving items around the house—like enticing toys and puzzle games—that they can play with on their own whenever the mood strikes. As a pet parent, you can also encourage object play by playing with a feather toy for your cat to interact with or pointing lasers for them to chase. Not only is this good for them physically and mentally, but it helps create a stronger social bond between you and your cat.

Another form of play is social play. We often observe social play in cats, who become rambunctious wrestlers when they’re around each other. Social play may appear rough, but many cats learn valuable lessons from these active interactions as they test their boundaries and sense new things about their world. If you have multiple cats, you’ll likely witness occasions of social play. You can also engage in this type of play with your cat through games like chase and hide-and-seek.

Other ways to play and engage with your cat

Remember that activity doesn’t need to look the same for every pet—the goal is simply to help your cat stay active. As you spend time playing with your cat, you’ll discover what activities they love most.

When you’re ready to get more creative, remember that cats enjoy—and benefit from— games and toys that engage their physical and mental abilities. Besides puzzle toys, you can create play opportunities for your cat by hiding treats in cardboard boxes or making mazes out of tubes that your cat must navigate to find a prize (treats or catnip work well). Window perches, cat trees and cat condos provide your cat with climbing activities that also give them a respite—a high-up perch from which to view their kingdom.

Toy Checklist

Ready to take your cat’s daily play to the next level? Pick out a few toys from the following checklist:

Exercise

While play will contribute to the bulk of your cat’s daily activity, try adding in some exercises as well. This can be particularly beneficial in helping your cat maintain a healthy weight.

  • Enticing your cat to run up and down your stairs or multi-level cat trees
  • Turning mealtime into exercise time with a puzzle toy that requires your cat to solve mental puzzles to get to their food

When it's time to increase exercise and play

Your cat should be taking part in playtime and exercise every day. However, in some cases, you’ll notice signs that it’s time for you to increase the amount of activity your cat participates in daily. Pay attention to the following indicators that your cat needs a little more exercise and play

Physical indicators ˇ

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Weight gain Lack of endurance when exercising Restlessness like pacing

Behavioral challenges ˇ

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Hyperactivity or rough play Destructive behavior Whining or pestering/annoying behavior to try to get pet parent’s attention

Mood challenges ˇ

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Becoming withdrawn, sluggish Lack of excitement for things that used to excite them 

As always, be sure to talk to your veterinarian if you notice any of the above changes to rule out an underlying health concern. Your vet can also tell you how much activity your cat should be getting based on their age and health.

Providing your cat with a healthy, fulfilling life is what being a pet parent is all about Exercise and play are just two of the many facets that contribute to their overall wellbeing. Remember, always pair activity with a healthy, nutritious diet.

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