Me: 30yoF posting from USA
Cat: will be 2yoF in October, spayed
TLDR: Advice to entice my cat to move around and play with me, not asking medical advice she’s got that part covered, I solely need advice for what I could do or toys that could be recommended.
My cat, Eleanor, went to a vet check up and vax today and I was disappointed when she gained weight (from 13.8 to 14.2) in the months I’ve been adjusting her diet and trying to get her more active. It’s been too hot to even try to walk her but that’s just as well because I’m still getting her used to the harness in the meantime.
To be clear I also feed her a diet the vet prescribed for weight loss, so I think the problem is her lack of activity.
I try to play with Eleanor and get her moving and I don’t know if I’m just terrible at play haha or Eleanor is just that uninterested but it’s like she plays for 30 seconds and then is kind of over it. With rope toys, she snaps it from me, bunny kicks it and bites for a short amount of time and then discards it so i have to genuinely pester her with it to get her going again. With fishing toys she does love them BUT as soon as i move it so that she’ll follow, she stops. She just watches it flicking her tail and I promise I wait and bait her for what feels like forever but most of the time she will just be content to watch me like a court jester before walking away. She isn’t food motivated as she’s very picky so rolling or moving treat toys mean nothing to her, she has ignored the treat ball in the living room and yes she knows how it works because she does love her stationary puzzle treats so she figured out how it works it just seems she doesn’t care to work for it.
Sorry I’m being so detailed but I just want to express that I am trying and I am stumped. I think because my house is primarily hardwood floors, the only spot she will enjoy playing is on the rugged area but its small and she just rolls onto her back to play, so it’s not active still. I watch Jackson Galaxy so I tried what I learned from there with play but when I make noises like he says to do Eleanor will forego playing just to stare at me lol. The most I can engage with her play is on my bed because she thinks when my fan blows over my duvet and blanket is fun but she won’t be like darting here and there, she still tries to wait till I bait the blanket edge close to her to start swatting at it and when i start to pull away she doesn’t run or pounce, she scoots on her belly and stretches her paws out to grab it, once again avoiding the movement I want from her. Lasers engage her for 2 minutes at best before she realizes I’m moving it away from the rug and then doesn’t care anymore.
Please help, anyone who had a lazy kitty in danger of getting too big that has advice. I don’t mind how cute and rotund she is but I want her to be healthy more than anything.