We live in an apartment. Always have. And for the cat, that has always been just fine. She is an indoor cat. She likes to lounge around and watch the world go by and doesn't really participate much. But she is also aware that everyone needs a little exercise and as she gets older she needs to use it or lose it. So in the evenings, after her late afternoon nap (which is preceded by her afternoon nap, her mid morning nap, her early morning nap and a good night's sleep) she likes to run laps.
BD (Before Dog) these laps started on the far side of our bed, wrapped around the doorway, zagged out into the hall, through the living room and back into the bedroom. Some days, she would zig rather than zag and end up in the bathroom instead of the living room. But for the most part it was a pretty easy loop. She would do it a few times, lie down to catch her breath, then do another set or two. Obviously, she got her strict work out regiment from her father (my husband is a triathlete, ultra runner and all-around health nut).
Now, AD (After Dog), her course has been slightly modified. The Furlin Wall acts as a hurdle on her standard race course. She could definitely go between the bars if she wanted to (and since the gate is open more often than not, she could easily just go through it). But I think that is a little more effort than she wants to put into her work outs. So she just sprints from one side of the bed, into the closet, up over the bed and back to the starting line. It is a shorter course, but involves a little more agility work, so I think it is a fair trade off.
The dog, on the other paw, obviously requires more room and more exercise. We take her for walks (note the plural) every day. She goes to the dog park. We (and by "we" I mean my husband) play chase and wrestle with her. She gets a lot of exercise. But she is a high-energy breed and this is apparently not enough.
The dog is very smart and a quick learner. She has been studying the cat's form and, not to be outdone, has created her own race course. When the gate is closed, she has the short track. She runs from the couch, around the column in the dining room, back into the living room, up onto the couch and flips in mid air so she can start all over again. She typically does this three or more times without rest, then may do a second set depending on what the rest of her daily work out called for. Once we opened the gate though, things got interesting.
Now she starts in the living room in front of the couch, barrels through the gate, propels herself up onto the bed, flips on the pillows, flies off the bed, through the gate, launches onto the couch, turns mid air, and does it all again. This new and improved course is typically run three or four times, at which point she stops (almost always on the couch) and looks at us for her time. We are usually too busy getting out of her way and laughing at her to bother with the stop watch, but I guarantee she could give Usain Bolt a run for his money.
I wonder if we might ever have a real race in the house, cat versus dog, pata a pata, to crown the fastest animal in the house. I think it would be a photo finish, but my money is on the cat, by a whisker.
BD (Before Dog) these laps started on the far side of our bed, wrapped around the doorway, zagged out into the hall, through the living room and back into the bedroom. Some days, she would zig rather than zag and end up in the bathroom instead of the living room. But for the most part it was a pretty easy loop. She would do it a few times, lie down to catch her breath, then do another set or two. Obviously, she got her strict work out regiment from her father (my husband is a triathlete, ultra runner and all-around health nut).
Now, AD (After Dog), her course has been slightly modified. The Furlin Wall acts as a hurdle on her standard race course. She could definitely go between the bars if she wanted to (and since the gate is open more often than not, she could easily just go through it). But I think that is a little more effort than she wants to put into her work outs. So she just sprints from one side of the bed, into the closet, up over the bed and back to the starting line. It is a shorter course, but involves a little more agility work, so I think it is a fair trade off.
The dog, on the other paw, obviously requires more room and more exercise. We take her for walks (note the plural) every day. She goes to the dog park. We (and by "we" I mean my husband) play chase and wrestle with her. She gets a lot of exercise. But she is a high-energy breed and this is apparently not enough.
The dog is very smart and a quick learner. She has been studying the cat's form and, not to be outdone, has created her own race course. When the gate is closed, she has the short track. She runs from the couch, around the column in the dining room, back into the living room, up onto the couch and flips in mid air so she can start all over again. She typically does this three or more times without rest, then may do a second set depending on what the rest of her daily work out called for. Once we opened the gate though, things got interesting.
Now she starts in the living room in front of the couch, barrels through the gate, propels herself up onto the bed, flips on the pillows, flies off the bed, through the gate, launches onto the couch, turns mid air, and does it all again. This new and improved course is typically run three or four times, at which point she stops (almost always on the couch) and looks at us for her time. We are usually too busy getting out of her way and laughing at her to bother with the stop watch, but I guarantee she could give Usain Bolt a run for his money.
I wonder if we might ever have a real race in the house, cat versus dog, pata a pata, to crown the fastest animal in the house. I think it would be a photo finish, but my money is on the cat, by a whisker.
Comments
Post a Comment