A cat exercise wheel? When I heard about these I knew I had to try it!
My name is Nina and my life's work is to help animals around the world. This extends to our domestic feline companions. I have two cats. One is a perfect little angel girl. And the other... Well his name is Noah. Noah has always been very high energy. Especially compared to all the other cats I've had in my life. This manifests into lots of meowing and chasing our perfect little angel cat around. Some ways we've minimized the unwanted behaviors in the past was to play with him, put all his food in puzzle feeders, and generally rearrange his cat towers, boxes, couch cushions etc to mix things up. These things can definitely be worked into your repertoire of cat enrichment. But if you're reading this article, then like me, you are desperate for another way to zap the energy out of your cat. When I discovered the concept of the cat wheel I was intrigued. It made sense; hamsters love running wheels. I've seen dogs on treadmills. So why wouldn't my cat like an exercise wheel? Well, I think we both know how cats can be. They are in-again-out-again-finnegans. They are "there's no more food" complainers when there is still plenty in the bowl. They manage to be picky and stubborn with just about everything. So of I got this cat wheel, would they actually use it? And would it actually help with the crazy cat energy? So in this video Noah tries the One Fast Cat exercise wheel to aid with his high energy. I'll show you what I did to get my cats used to their new cat wheel. Below are several tips to getting your cat used to the new cat wheel!
1. LET THEM FAMILIARIZE
You may not even get an option with this step depending on how nosy your cats are! When assembling our cat wheel, we let the cats scope out the process. It was less intimidating lying on the floor and the cats had a chance to get used to the new smell of it while enjoying a new little play space. This began the positive association with the exercise wheel.
2. DESENSITIZE WITH TOYS
The wheel, once set up can be quite large and imposing for your cat. Convince your cat that this is a fun, safe, addition to their territory. I did this by playing chase with their favorite toys all around and even through the wheel.
3. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Put the wheel in an easily accessible and highly centered area in your home. I know it is large, but its actually nice and narrow and won't take up much floor space. We live in a small apartment and originally had the wheel against a corner wall where no humans or cats normally hung out. In that area, the wheel was ignored. When moved to a more exciting, dynamic, high traffic spot, they were much more willing to use it. It really doesn't get in the way, and it looks sorta cool, too.
4. BRIBERY, DUH
I mean, positive reinforcement. Every time your cat gets close to the wheel, reward them. Once they feel comfortable being close to it, start leading them on with a treat in front of their nose. Continue to only reward them for increased progress (i.e. no longer reward them just because they're close to it, now they have to put some paws on it, etc). Pairing the wheel with your cat's favorite treats will help reinforce that the wheel is an awesome place to be!
5. MURDER AS A MOTIVATOR
Now that your cat is comfortable getting their paws up on the wheel, it's time to show them how fun running on it can be! Some cats will naturally try this anyway and take to the wheel. If your cat is like ours, they may need extra encouragement. Grab your cat's favorite toy to chase and dangle it in front of them while they're on the wheel. This should help get their engines going! Try a laser pointer or some catnip for extra zoom power.
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