Today was booster-jab day. Having stuck the cats with needles, prodded them everywhere they thought possible and a few places they didnt, provided a couple of worming tablets to ram down their throats and charged me eighty quid for the priviledge, the vet then proceeded to make herself *really* unpopular by saying that both cats must lose weight.
We don't over-feed them - they get less per day than it says on the cat kibble bag, and they never finish it anyway. I sometimes give them cat treats (I find it useful to have a magic box that causes cats to appear when I rattle it) but since I've had the last box of cat treats for about eight months, I don't think I get through too many. We assume that, despite collars with big "DO NOT FEED" labels, they are scrounging food elsewhere or filling up on mice (and ferret food, but I've discovered that habit, and have moved the fert kibble out of reach).
So, having considered food, we can only consider exercise. How do you encourage a cat to exercise? They have a jingly ball which they will bat around the room a bit, a plush mousie which Ethel sucks, and a string that they will sit on if a hoomin will wiggle it. Occasionally they will chase each other, and when we bring the ferrets indoors Kitty chases the cats for a frantic five minutes before they remember that they can climb and ferrets can't (the vet said that she couldn't condone ferret-motivated cardiovascular activity, but it did seem a good idea).
Anyone any ideas how to slim down a pair of free-range moggies?
