Kittens and Exercise
Just like in human children, it is important to start a cat’s life with a regular amount of activity and exercise. Kittens can be incredibly accurate examples of their breed and show a tendency for non-stop activity (as is the case with most of the Siamese types) or they can be traditional “couch potatoes” that spend their early days napping on the bed.
Regardless of a kitten’s natural tendencies, however, a good owner is going to encourage a healthy amount of both physical and mental stimulation. When a kitten is only a few months old they can begin learning how to do certain “tricks” and they can also be taught the most appropriate ways to get activity and exercise around the home.
It is essential for human owners to play a role in the kitten’s daily routine, particularly where physical activities are concerned, because no cat is going to automatically know the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. For example, a younger cat might think it the most entertaining and exciting thing to chase around the older cats in the household. This is certainly going to give them a needed dose of exercise, but it is going to be very disruptive and even harmful to the older cat.
Instead, the owner should be the source of exercise and commit themselves to scheduled play sessions during each day. For example, they might purchase a climbing pole of some sort which has toys dangling from various platforms. The kitten should be made to notice the toys and encouraged to climb up and down on this object in order to burn-up some of their energy.
Choosing to make the pole and toys a focus will help the kitten to view the other cats as something other than a great thing to chase around the house, and it will instead direct their attention to the pole and toys whenever no humans are around.
The types of games the human can play should include everything from jumping and chasing to obedience training. This is the other necessary exercise to add to a kitten’s repertoire early on. This is not to provide the humans in the household with amusement, but is a good way to keep a cat safe and mentally stimulated. It is easy to find a specially designed “clicker” made to train cats, and then use this to teach commands such as sit, stay, and come. There are many books about cat training, and it is a good idea to add this as part of a kitten’s regular exercise program.
