How much playtime does a cat need per day?

Here is the thing with my sweet cat:

Every time around 10-11pm, her pupils dilate and she stars to show me her favorite toy.

She won’t play alone with the toy, but she will show me (if she has the chance) that she is in mood for play.

If I won’t play with her, she will eventually go to sleep, but she will have an unsettled sleep overnight. Also, she will be less happy.

So, how long does she like to play?

My cat is 8 years old and she needs to play for about one hour.

You might think that one hour is too much. How could you spend one precious hour every day in order to play with your pet-friend? Well… it might seem a lot, but it is also relaxing and somehow therapeutic.

A cat is not a toy. You have responsibilities towards it, you have to take care of it and make sure it has a lovely life.

So, your moral duty is to play with your cat, but you will also benefit from this interaction.

If you aren’t a cat person, obviously one hour each night to play with your cat is unbearable. But if you love cats, you should have fun playing with them.

How old is my cat?

If you think that only young cats like to play, well my cat is 8 years old, which in human years means 48. She is not a young cat, but she is very active and loves to play.

She also stays outdoors for about 3-4 hours each day. There, she interacts with other cats, she climbs trees etc.

I don’t know how it would be if she would stay only indoor. She would probably need 2 hours playtime…

Every cat is different

Obviously.

As we, humans, are different, so are our cats. One will love to sleep, one will love to cuddle, one will be a gourmand and another will be very very active.

My cat loves a little bit of all, but especially loves to eat and play. She might already be a little bit too fluffy, but thankfully she exercises a lot 🙂