Exercise for the Indoor Cat, Part 2

Keeping our indoor cats fighting fit isn’t an easy proposition. Cats have a tendency to laze about and call their own shots. If you can turn your head right now and see your fat cat rolling around complacently on the top level of his/her carefully selected cat tree, then you know exactly what we mean. You need more weapons at your disposal, and your cat needs more incentive to get busy.
Toys, of course, are also a good method for keeping your indoor kitty active, but they really require your participation to be truly effective. Most cats will bat a plastic, jingly-mouse around a few times out of curiosity, but they will quickly get bored if it doesn’t put up a fight. Your cat needs to exercise it’s natural hunting instincts, and for this to happen, you need to get involved.
So use the plastic, jingly-mouse if you want, but tie a string to it and pull it around for your cat to chase after. There are all kinds of toys made for this purpose, but they require and active hand from you. Think of it as a form of stress relief for both you and your cat. It can be fun for the two of you and there’s a lot of bonding going on, too. “You remember that time I pulled the jingly-mouse all around the house and up the walls for you, Felix? Yeah, good times, good times.”
One of the most effective and fun toys for inducing cats to exercise wasn’t even intended to be a toy: laser pointers. This re-purposed business tool is nowadays like the holy grail of cat exercise equipment. If you don’t have one, you and your cat are missing out on some fun. These can be had for as little as $5, and what a great investment in your cat’s healthy development.