Exercise for Everyone

As I was sweating at the gym yesterday, it again struck me that we need to make sure that we are giving our pets daily exercise as well. It is not only a great idea to keep them healthy, but it also a smart way to prevent them from becoming bored or destructive. We must always remember that the dogs need to be walked – likely more than we do. But, we need to remember the cats require daily exercise as well.  In both cases, we should consider additional physical activities for them.

Indoor cats get bored and can miss the hunt and exercise they would normally be getting outside.  Carpet covered towers, cat wall climbers and boxes give the cats chances to move around and climb normally.  Toys that run and require some chase are useful to both make them move and stimulate their mind.  These things are not just for exercise but again to offer motions & movements that are natural to cats, and can often also stop some other bad behaviours in the home such as urinating around.

Dogs benefit from the walks – multiple short walks are often great for dogs that lead a sedentary life, as is the same for us. You would not want to suddenly want to be walking a marathon without a lot of shorter distance practice. They also need some play time rolling around on the floor with you and small games will help build up other muscles and break up boredom from laying around while you are away.
So, while they won’t be lifting weights and stretching with us at the gym they would benefit from additional movement and exercise with you (and we will benefit from it as well)

Written by: Lisa Clifford, RVT