How can you make a cat take more exercise?

Many moons ago my youngest DD had something similar to this harness and used it to take her overweight rabbit for a walk.....

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/310866533530?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0

I think the idea of a cat wheel could be hugely improved if there was a mouse or gerbil incorporated into the design. Neither cat nor rodent would be in any danger of obesity.

How about getting Mr P. to make one of these?
cat wheel

I had one of those, goldengirl, but my late ginger cat had his own method of cheating me. Somehow or other he managed to conceal the pill and spit it out again when he thought my back was turned.

Our vet gave us a pill syringe for DDs cat. You place the pill between the softish grippers at the end, hold cat, push end of syringe into said moggie's mouth and press the plunger. Job done. Better done with two people though.

Why are you calling me names Phoenix ?

Clearly the way to make a cat take exercise is to threaten him with a pill. He will then move faster than he ever imagined he could, and give you a good workout into the bargain.

It was a nightmare trying to get pills into our cat. We would try hiding it in food but he would eat around the pill, if we wrapped it in something he liked he would somehow manage to eat the food and spit out the pill!!

I did wonder whether Digby may be catching his own food (ours often brought home little "gifts" - half a mouse or rabbit!), but if he spends all day indoors then thats not likely - unless you have a cellar which is over-run with mice that you don't know about

sucs.swan.ac.uk/~cmckenna/humour/animal/catpill.html

Hope link works, if not, just google 'how to give a cat a pill'.

My cat wrote it

Tablets for Tara, not a chance. She is even like a streak of lightening when I go near her to apply drops on the back of her neck to ward off fleas. If she does not want something, her jaws remain clamped. Iwould imagine that most cats are like that.

Maybe Maurice needs another trip to see the vet but I doubt if that will impress him too much. Males do have urinary problems so perhaps that is the cause?

I did not realise that there was such an age difference between the two.

Soutra - I don't. Pleeeeze post the link!

Our nice young lady vet had a good way to give pills and injections. She took her overalls off (yes, she was dressed underneath) and poured our cat Fred down one leg (he was a big, big black effort). His head popped out of the bottom leaving his legs and claws pinned immobile. No squirming. Much easier to prise open the jaws and stick a pill down his throat. We tried it and it worked.

Soutra yes, I know the one you mean!

Although when Maurice had had to take tablets in the past he is no bother at all. I just buy some of that horrid flabby sliced cheese, wrap a bit around the pill and Maurice eats it!

Tablets? For a cat? Yeah right - I wonder if I can google that hilarious piece about administering a pill to a cat. Anybody else know it?

Hello again, and thank you for the replies!

Digby is 4 years old, we've had him since he was 2, Maurice is 12 and we've had him from a kitten.

Reading some comments above has made me think that Maurice may have a thyroid problem I did think that he was starting to go a bit senile, but perhaps not. He was taken to the vet recently (Mr P had to take him, I was working, here is the email he sent me after the visit, Mr P that is, not Maurice. Maurice doesn't send emails, he's dyslexic:

^Well apart from having a particularly ripe poo in the basket on the way there (which was a right mess by the time we got in the surgery) I had a right battle to just to get him in the basket and close the lid.
She listened to his chest (all sounded clear) and took his temperature (which was fine), although it was another battle to hold him still enough (nurse had to come in to assist with that one). She agreed that the problem appears to be in his throat (although she couldn't see of feel anything) and that the weight loss is concerning (she managed to weigh him).
She has given him a shot of antibiotics and a shot of anti inflammatory and said to see what that does in the next week - if there's improvement they can always start a course of tablets. If there no marked improvement they could do an exploratory on the throat.^

Digby spent all day indoors today, as he often does when I'm at work, and he hasn't been out for long enough to be eating away. Besides, everybody knows everybody's cat in the vicinity, and I'm sure I would have heard if his Fatness aka Squeaky Fatarse had turned up on someone else's doorstep.

Anyway, had better go because he has actually made it upstairs, and if I time it right I might be able to get him to do a bit of pouncing practice by wiggling my toes under the duvet.

Goodnight all,

Must admit I wondered that as well rosequartz. I had a dog (two at different times) with dropsy from different causes. It is quite easy to tell the difference between dropsy (ascites) and fat though, the abdomen feels like a drum with ascites whereas the rest of the body is quite bony. Doesn't sound like it from phoenix's description of the swinging sporran.

I think I would be tempted to stop the biscuits altogether and see if that helps, as suggested by Jess and Nellie. I don't give my cat biscuits at all any more, they are terrible for their teeth (contrary to what the manufacturers would have us believe) and disastrous for the urinary tract, especially in males.

I need one of those for me, Aka.

I wish I hadn't said about it now, don't want to be alarmist. I am sure most cats get fed by neighbours if they go out and the fatter they get the lazier they will become.

Anyone read 'Six Dinner Sid'

You can get balls from the pet shop that have holes in them. You put his dry food in there and the only way he can get it is to chase the ball around until bits fall out I don't know what their called but I have one for my dogs.

I suppose it depends on the age of the cat, if they are very old it could be a possibility.

DD1'S cat eats fairly well but is so bony and thin, although fluffy , that I always think he is ill whenever I see him. He seems fine though.

OMG mine wobbles around like that

I would suggest cutting out the biscuits. You cant make cats do anything they don't want to. Look at Lions they are totally idle unless they are hunting their next meal.

Has he got dropsy if his tummy is wobbling around rather than being solidly fat? How old is he?

phoenix scrunch up a piece of paper and throw it a few yards away. If the cat enjoys that, maybe you could do it little and often in the evenings?

There is little point spending even £1 on toys if the cat is not interested. I had an indoor scratching post with a ball attached for Tara when I first got her but she was not interested, preferring the garden fence or my neighbour's tree to sharpen her claws.

How old is the cat? Maybe it is just old age.

My youngest dog (he's 5 years old now but was 3 when this happened) began to gain weight and as his diet hadn't changed and my other dog wasn't gaining weight, I took him to the vet. It turned out that his thyroid gland is no longer functioning correctly so has to have whatever the dog version of Thyroxin is. It may be worth getting your cat checked out just in case.