Walking your cat

[c2watkins]

Hi,
Just wondering if anyone on here has any experience of 'walking' their cat? My Zoe is quite overweight and we have tried restricting her food intake (on the vet's advice) and also giving her 'lighter' food but she doesn't seem to be shifting much weight. We think it's because she is quiet lazy and doesn't go out much (our other cat Cleo is out and about quite alot and goes for long walks and she is the perfect size - she also isn't quite as much of a pig as Zoe is). I am thinking of taking her out for walks to encourage her moving about a bit more. She can't go very far in the garden because she can't get over the fence due to her size and our garden isn't very big.
Does anyone have any advice? How long should I take her out for? What is the best harness to use? She has worn a collar before but I'm not sure how she would take to a harness....
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Carolyn

[womblecat1]

I once saw a couple out walking their dog and their cat.  Clearly the cat was not impressed as when it passed a tree it shot up it and refused to come down.  Regrettably I have to say that I laughed until I cried which wasnt very helpful but it was extremely funny.

Sorry that wasnt much help was it

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Will she play?

Might be worth trying some catnip toys.


Or hire a trained dog to chase her round the house.........  or maybe not!

[c2watkins]

She plays with one of those laser toys but will only play for about 2 minutes and then she flops down and refuses to move 

[Tallulah]

A few short playing sessions might be the best asnwer. Cats don't normally like being taken for a walk unless they've been used to it from a very young age.

Getting her to work for her food may also help. If you feed dry food, you can hide it in all kinds of places such as egg boxes, cardboard tubes and paper bags.

A bit tall scratching post with dangly toys may encourage her to climb and play when you are out.

[Burmatruex]

Agree with Tallulah.  "Walking" a cat is not what it might seem to be.  For one thing, some cats will not tolerate a harness at all.  For those who do it does not automatically translate that they will "walk" on it.  Even cats who do walk on a harness tend to do it only for so long as it suits them and then turn to mischief and trouble.   It wouldn't be like leashing up a dog for a brisk mile.

The other thing is this.  If she is overweight, a few minutes at a time may be all she is good for just now.  If she will play with the laser toy but then poops out, that is ok.  Do it a couple of times a day at first and build up.  Similarly see if you can tempt her with a wand toy.

The other thing I would recommend is that you scrutinize her diet differently.  Get rid of any grain/carb/vegetable matter in her food.  A cat's body cannot pull nutrition from those food stuffs and that may be contributing.  So, cut out anything with rice, wheat gluten, etc., and focus on foods that are just meat and water. A lot of "light" foods are actually very high in such things, so you might consider working away from that, if that is the case with your food.

Wishing you luck.

[Momma Cat]

Angel does walk on a harness.  When I first put it on her she fought against it.  I left it for a couple of minutes then took it off and tried again the next day.  Still she fought it.  On the third occasion I got fed up and picked her up and took her outside.  Oooh. she thought, the big wide world.  I put her down and she walked on the harness with no trouble at all.

However, I used to walk her around the estate.  You don't seem to get very far with a cat.  In fact I am sure they sniff gardens, hedges and just everything far more than a dog does.  Angel used to walk for about 1/2 hour.

The downside was other cats and people with dogs not on leads.  It casued me a lot of problems.  Also being unvaccinated I was aware there was a bit of a risk of her catching diseases without actually coming into contact with other cats (it happened to our dog a couple of times and he never was off the lead).

Angel's favourite toy is just a piece of string!  I whip it around above her head and make her jump up and chase it.  Does your cat ever get given treats (in moderation)?  If so throwing a treat upstairs and getting your cat to chase after it is a good thing.  Or maybe throwing a soft ball up the stairs for her to chase - or if that's too much for her right now, just rolling it along the floor.

[c2watkins]

Hi all,
Thanks for your replies. I think I will try playing more games with her - little and often might be the best thing. I also like the idea of hiding food around the house to make her work for it a bit more.
Hopefully by the end of the year we will have a newer slimmer Zoe on our hands 
Carolyn

[easter79]

The only way we got Easter to lose weight was to cut down the amount of food we gave her and put her on a special vet diet food - she is a naturally lazy cat as well - she will play with toys though occasionally so we have a Da Bird now which they both love and gets her to run around.  Our problem now she is thin is that she is so quick!  She can be up on a work surface and eating your dinner before you even know she is in the room - constant vigilance is needed!

[Jules in Wales]

Try and find a cheap scalextric set on ebay, mine love chasing the cars around the track, they'll play for hours (psst it's also good fun for the operator) . Another advantage of that is that they then get absolutely shattered and sleep all night without disturbing us 

[starpoi]

I use Da Bird toy with Arty and it's the only thing that gets him running around. He very much enjoys his sleep but when da bird comes out he goes crazy for it!

[carolr1]

I've tried to walk a cat after he had an operation.  It didn't work very well.  I imagine that unless they've been brought up to being on a harness and lead, an adult cat will not take very well to it.  I think the short play sessions are a much better idea.

[Jemini]

I got one of those balls that you can put dry food in and they have to bat it around for it to come out of the holes. Gypsy loves it but the others haven't got a clue how it works. It is good exercise tho'.

I got mine from Pets at Home.

[luckyjammygit]

Our cat Jules loved his walks when he was not allowed out on his own due to his skin complaint.

However once he could get out on his own again he objected to putting the harness on!

He is now mad for chasing a small beam from a torch so maybe Zoe would like to try that although it sounds like the laser toy is the same thing.

We still have the harness if you would like it sending to you.


Walkies