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Exercise and nutrition for your cat

With over 32% of cats considered overweight or obese in Australia, we often see and treat the problems associated with excessive weight. Unless a cat has an underlying medical issue, there are two basic reasons for cats becoming overweight. 1. Too many calories, 2. Not burning enough calories. Yes, just like humans.  To keep your cat trim, taught and terrific, here are our top slimmers tips:-

Exercise your cat's curiosity

There are some fantastic cat toys on the market to encourage cat play. If your budget is an issue, there are plenty of ways to create homemade cat toys. Here are some of our favourites

  • Paper bags (try sealing the bag with tape and placing bells or balls inside)
  • Cardboard boxes with various sized holes cut out including one big enough for your cat to manoeuvre through (make sure there are no staples or sharp edges before play commences)
  • Ping pong balls
  • Crumpled paper balls
  • Old socks made into a ball
  • Feather tied to a string (you control the string)
  • Plastic bottles or containers with bells or even dried pasta inside (secure the lid nice and tight)
  • Scratching posts and objects made from carpet remnants glued securely to wooden blocks

Toys are only suitable for supervised playtime. Your cat should not be left alone with homemade or purchased toys. The last thing we want to be doing is retrieving a favourite sock toy from your cat's tummy.

There's cat food and... there is another cat's food...

Every cat is different depending on their age, weight, lifestyle and even breed. A tailored weight loss program will help you meet weight loss goals even sooner. Organise an appointment for a consultation with our veterinarian who will check that your cat is otherwise healthy before we design a free nutrition program for your cat.

Tracking weight

Rapid weight loss is not necessarily a healthy outcome. Track your cat's weight by dropping in to see us regularly - our scales are available at your convenience. To make it even easier to keep track, ask us about our weight tracking chart (also available online).

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