Getting my cat to play to lose weight

[mrw5641]

Hi all,

I have tried everything to get my cat to play / run around to lose some weight. I bought tons of toys, he will swat but very rarely he will run around after a toy.

I am at my wits end! We are going to start taking him for walks this weekend which I think will help.

Any one have any suggestions from personal experience?

What triggers your cat to run like a looney?

 

[Mr. Meow]

The only cat I had who needed to lose a bit of chub wouldn't/still won't play. However, there are things you can do to make them get a bit of exercise. Reducing the amount of food kitty eats will help as well.
Walks are good. Another member talked about lining the doorway of a room with boxes so the cat would have to jump over them to get in/out of the room. This could be the new room that kitty is fed in. Another suggestion (if you have stairs) is to start making kitty walk upstairs to eat.
You could also try catnip, but that varies from cat to cat. Unfortunately for me, when she got catnip, she was more of a jerk, lol.

 

[Maurey]

It would help to know what kinds of toys you've tried and he's shown little interest in.

With mine, most wand toys will be sucessful (especially feathers and leather strips-- anything that moves a lot as you wave it through the air). Jum really adores soft foam balls for independent play, as well as a hard mouse with matatabi (silvervine) infused rope wrapped around it. Chips really likes fur-covered mice, and anything that'll make a noise when he whacks it around or smells of catnip or matatabi. Tbh, both are most consistently more interested in playing with a wand or any kind of teaser toy with me than chasing after balls or toys, though both of them have their moments when they prefer it.

 

[mrw5641]

I have been putting boxes in the rooms to make him jump and giving him his kibble up high and making him work for it... I just don't get why he won't run around and its very random.
Am I not understanding how cats work and thinking they run around everyday?

 

[Maurey]

Am I not understanding how cats work and thinking they run around everyday?

Many young cats will, others are just more mild and low energy. I was convinced that Chips would be that way, since he's such a laid back cat, and fully an adult, unlike Jum, but no. The moment the toy comes out he gets kitten zoomies.

When you play with wand toys, are you sure you're doing it correctly, for lack of a better term? There's definitely a wand toy or two neither of my cats like, no matter how I try, but if I simulate prey correctly w/ pretty much any toy, both of them will zoom around after me as I run through the house w/ the toy. If you just wave or dangle a toy above a cat's head, most adult cats aren't likely to react, ime.

 

[mrw5641]

I watched the videos and yeah. I think walking him outside will help him and some more wet food I think.

It is just frustrating like being a human and losing weight and nothing is working

 

[mrw5641]

I haven't tried leather string yet!

 

[Maurey]

I've had a lot of success w/ a toy similar to this one :> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G90773S/?tag=thecatsite

 

[suzeanna]

Not sure if this is still an issue, but thought I'd chime in. Calorie counting is the most effective way for cats to lose weight, I think -- I couldn't find a lot of research that indicated how effective exercise was and how much of it would be needed to burn lots of kitty calories. That's not to say that exercise isn't important, but measuring calories and tapering them down slowly+weighing the cat weekly to monitor progress has made the biggest difference for me. My cat was 18.5 lb in October 2020 and has gradually gotten to her current weight of 15.5 lb. (Still more to lose!)

 

[game misconduct]

my sisters cats used to be chubsters only way she got them to lose the chub was a better diet,proper portions etc. if your over feeding your cat will not lose weight no matter how much it plays. if the calorie intake is more than it burns off for toys try using da bee i got one recently and graycie is obsessed with it now

 

[JulietteTruong]

The biggest factor in helping my Juli trim down a bit was switching to an all wet diet. I tried various “diet” dry foods, playing more, but it didn’t really help. Playing is good no matter what, but cats don’t play enough for it to really make it difference for weight loss.