Three-quarters of NZ Cat Owners Don't Exercise Their Cat

Owners contribute to cat obesity - 16-Jun-2014 - NZ Living & Travel news

Surprised? No, of course not. New Zealanders are not alone. I should think that anywhere in the world about 75% of cat owners totally ignore the need to ensure that their cat gets some sort of exercise. A bit of exercise is like a good walk for a human; it is good for you both physically and psychologically and the same applies to the domestic cat. Exercise is the opposite side of the coin to feeding.

The trouble is that the majority of New Zealand cat owners don't really exercise any control over the amount their cat eats. That, too, is not unusual. According to a Royal Canin survey of 315 cat caretakers 75% leave food out all day - free feeding relying on the cat to eat the right amount.

You should be able to rely on your cat to eat the right amount but you can't if she does not exercise at all and if the food is high in carbohydrates and far from ideal. Boredom can lead to overfeeding and addictive food can too.

I fully understand the difficulties some cat owners have in finding the time and space to ensure their cat exercises but....ultimately there is no excuse.

What do I do? Well I am typing this outside in the garden using my wireless router (or my iPhone as a router) while Charlie my cat messes around in the garden within my eyesight. Not bad. Not great, but he is doing something other than snoozing.