Lucky is having kittens!!!

My kitty is getting right fat here... My parents feed their cats 3 times a day, small meals, so mine is indulging, and not exercising as much as she used to... Got a right little belly on her now.

I have no clue how to exercise cats that just want to sleep. lol, I'll get my sister's cat Pookie over here, hes and entergetic little fellow!! (He would only be here temporarily.) That little cat needs to burn energy! One minute he is at the door, the next minute he is in the kitchen.

Do your cats have access to the outside? Apache looooves being able to roam free.

She also loves a variety of cat toys. Having dogs, though, makes it rather difficult to have them out and not have 90lb dogs go after them, too.

Find things that your cat likes to do and entice it every so often. It could just be that the cat has gotten used to sleeping and eating and sleeping and eating some more.

Cutting back on food may help, too.

that of course depends where you live, if my cat were to go outside he's be road kill in no time. plus I find with my friends who have outside cats they never see them and the cat tends to only want them for food and not companionship. Every cat is different though and I completely understand that. I'm sure you can find a game your cat likes. my kitten Willie, being a kitten, loves to play with anything that moves. Neko on the other hand, he's two, and will play with his toys to an extent when Willie is not around but the only game Neko LOVES is fetch, which he only does with two toys so far.

To each their own- Apache knows where her home is and let's the dogs know every few days, too. She comes around when she wants- she gets food, shelter, love and lots of cuddles- and she's happy. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've never really let them outside, and they are declawed on their fronts, and Hunter is scared to death when he is outside, but Lucky isn't, she goes out there, and eats some grass. If we had a cat enclosure for them to wonder, I would be more than happy to let them out. But since there is no enclosure, then I can't really let them out, but I can play with them some everyday, and let the ferret out, so she gets her exercise too. Then the cats chase her, and she runs away, and they try to find her.

If they are declawed, don’t let them out. They have no defense and cant even climb a tree.

I don’t let my cats out, it is just too dangerous for them to be out, we live in the city, there are roads, usually dogs running loose, the neighborhood feral cats. And I just don’t want another $200 vet bill that I paid when cuddles came back with an abscess from fighting with another cat.

All our cats roam free... Half the time they want to stay in though.

One of them is a bruiser, and we have to keep his playtime limited though, or he'll try and scrap.

I just wanted to add that Friday, my first cat, was de-clawed and was an outside cat. He could get over a fence faster than one could blink, climb any tree and chase the neighborhood doberman out of his yard (he did this many times).

So, some cats may be defenseless and not able to climb a tree, but not all.

I'm sorry but I just had to reply to this. It almost seems like you might be saying that it's ok to let your cat roam free outside. That is not a suggestion that should ever be made IMO. Why should a cat be able to roam free but a dog can't?

Anyways I don't want to get into that whole debate because I have a cat that I am constantly trying to turn into an inside cat, so I know the struggle. But, if I had an inside cat I would never decide to let it out to curb it's boredom.

I could take them both outside one by one, on the harness I got for them, and the little leash I got for them to go to the vet's office, and take them outside. If I don't get in trouble for letting the inside cats out.

It is okay for me to let my cat roam outside.

If you do a search we've had this debate before and somewhat recently. I feel no need to support my decision to let my cat be a free-roaming inside/outside cat.

You may feel the suggestion should not be made, fine, don't make it. I feel otherwise and shall do with my opinion what I'd like.

And if you didn't want to start a debate, you wouldn't have said anything to begin with...if we want to play with semantics.

That's a great idea. You may need to condition the cats to it if they are not already comfortable with it. If money were not an option they have enclosures that cats can go into and be kept in their own yard. That's not feasible for many, though.

It may just be a trick of buying different toys to see what your cat likes. Go to a dollar store! That's a great place to start. Good luck!

No need to support your decision. It's a poor one and I also have the right to voice my opinion.

And it's a poor decision on your behalf to be so rude when you have no idea how well of a life my cat lives and how happy she is. There is nothing that makes me happier to see my animals happy. I'm gonna go rub my spoiled kitty's belly now.. she loves that, too.

Also no need to say I was being rude. I'm sorry you found my opinion rude. *shrugs* Pretty defensive but whatever.

Anyways, not getting into one of your debates. Sorry, don't have the time.

You sure had the time to post that you didn't have the time! ROFL. Thanks for the laugh.

Spirit.. good luck! I've had cats all my life and most of them have been outside and lived long healthy lives. But we also had one inside cat that was quite a bore and we had to get creative with her toys. Feel free to PM me for some ideas if you'd like.

Aww Spirit your cats are gorgeous!

I know as a trend its far less common for cats to be let outside in the USA but over here most peoples cats do go outside. Mine do and they love it, I would have it no other way. Cats that are able to go outside are mentally stimulated and are able to express their natural behaviours and do what wild cats do. Yes there may be a risk of something happening but its a small one, I would rather they be happy and free and have that risk than keep them locked up indoors. I know some people live in areas where cats are at a much higher risk and I understand why they are kept indoors but its just not for me. I know people compare it to dogs all the time but dogs get to go for walks and explore off the lead. I take Casey to the woods for a few hours or to the beach now if someone had and indoor cat and walked them like that to provide them with all that stimulation then fine but I don't see how its the same as a dog.

With all due respect Kase if you were the one scraping free roaming cats off of the road like I have done many a time your opinion might change. A friend on mine had her cat killed by a coyote a month ago. Just last week I picked up a cat that had been hit by a car and held it while it died on the way to the animal hospital.

Like my first post stated I have a cat that was an outside cat before I got her. I can keep her in for a few months at a time but once the seasons change she becomes a raging monster, howling and sneaking out the door before you even know she was around. So, I know the struggle. My point was simply that if you have a cat that is already an inside cat, it's best to keep it that way, IMO.

Exactly. My friend lost one cat to a car. My other friend's cat went out and never came back, her other cat went out and my friend heard a big scream outside and the cat came home not putting any weight on his leg. He had broken his leg and dislocated his wrist and elbow, he is an inside cat now. My neighbor lost two cats to coyotes and my other neighbor also lost one cat to a coyote. I just would not feel right letting my cat out. My friend (who has the cat who broke the leg) still lets one cat out because they cannot get him to stay in. I love that cat and he is VERY friendly but when I'm there I almost never see him because he is out in the neighborhood some where. I'm not trying to criticize how you guys care for your cats I'm mainly talking to Spirit so she does not make an uninformed decision. My friends cat with the broken leg now takes that cat out on a leash and he loves it but some cats will not see the leash as a way out (like most dogs who get all excited when you get the leash) but continue to see the door as a way out and try to bolt every time you open the door, and some cats can't stand the harnesses or can get out of them. Plus are your cats vaccinated because unless they are then don't let them out that's even more dangerous. I'd say if you have them in keep them there.

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