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- Dec 19, 2017
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About two years ago I took in a "feral" cat that was about a year old at the time. She does not act like a typical feral, as in she is VERY friendly and almost overly affectionate. She used to get into territory wars ("marking" places of the house, becoming agressive when I would show my oldest cat attention, etc.), but she stopped all of that about 6 months to a year later.
My issue now is that, because she is getting older, her metabolism is slowing down and she is gaining weight. She sleeps or just lays around almost all day, every day, with the exception of getting up to eat when its feeding time, change sleeping locations, or to greet me at the door when I come home. I don't think that I have ever seen her get the "zoomies" or even exert much more energy than a short dash across the kitchen to her food bowl. Whether it is just her personality or its because she spent the first year of her life outside as a feral, it is extremely rare for her to play. She is generally comfortable around me but she can be skittish when it comes to loud noises or fast motions, so trying to play with toys (string toys, balls, track toys, etc.) does not work; she only runs away. I have, however, caught her playing when she is in a room alone with things like bottle caps and hair ties. Once I even saw her lightly tap one of the balls in the track toys and watch it go around, but it was only that one time. I think part of the problem is that she is lacking confidence, especially to play around my other two, very active, cats (one being a 7mo kitten). Even still, the times I have heard/ caught her playing by herself are VERY infrequent and short-lived (maybe only lasting about a minute or two each time).
So I guess my question is, how can I get her to be more confident to play, or are there other alternatives to get her to be more active?
I definitely do not consider her obese yet, but I would like to get it under control before it becomes a real problem. Plus, I just feel like trying to get her to be a bit more active would have its health benefits in general.
My issue now is that, because she is getting older, her metabolism is slowing down and she is gaining weight. She sleeps or just lays around almost all day, every day, with the exception of getting up to eat when its feeding time, change sleeping locations, or to greet me at the door when I come home. I don't think that I have ever seen her get the "zoomies" or even exert much more energy than a short dash across the kitchen to her food bowl. Whether it is just her personality or its because she spent the first year of her life outside as a feral, it is extremely rare for her to play. She is generally comfortable around me but she can be skittish when it comes to loud noises or fast motions, so trying to play with toys (string toys, balls, track toys, etc.) does not work; she only runs away. I have, however, caught her playing when she is in a room alone with things like bottle caps and hair ties. Once I even saw her lightly tap one of the balls in the track toys and watch it go around, but it was only that one time. I think part of the problem is that she is lacking confidence, especially to play around my other two, very active, cats (one being a 7mo kitten). Even still, the times I have heard/ caught her playing by herself are VERY infrequent and short-lived (maybe only lasting about a minute or two each time).
So I guess my question is, how can I get her to be more confident to play, or are there other alternatives to get her to be more active?
I definitely do not consider her obese yet, but I would like to get it under control before it becomes a real problem. Plus, I just feel like trying to get her to be a bit more active would have its health benefits in general.
