I have had my cat kitty for a little over a year. I always make sure she exercises daily for 15-20 minutes. I just use toys on a stick.

I have seen her get a little breathless, and she might pant for a second every now and then. But these past two days, her feather on a stick broke, and all thats left is the blue string. i swung it by her to see if she was interested, or if i should toss it.

Oh my goodness, she went NUTS! She chases after it and goes nuts when she cant see it (since its only a plastic string). She got so worked up that she was open mouthed panting (i had never seen her mouth open so long before lol), and her belly going up and down. This has never happened before. I got concerned and stopped, but she kept chasing me wanting to play more. lol

It took awhile for her tummy to stop going up and down, but her panting only lasted a minute. Even after i had stopped she was trying to dig the toy out.

Can my cat hurt herself when exercising? or do they naturally know when to stop?

As long as she quits panting quickly she's fine.  I think healthy cats know when to stop.  Cats have a mind of their own and simply don't allow themselves to be forced to do anything.

I'm going to respectfully contradict Denice and say that if the cat is panting, stop until she recovers a bit.

I know they're different animals, but one Christmas my dad took my chihuahua's new toy away after 13 hours of straight play so that he could go to sleep. (Chihuahua = not happy!)

My Squeak- who has an obesity problem- also doesn't know when to stop and is at risk of being over-exercised, as she just came out of a year at the shelter. We're increasing her activity level slowly, but she never wants us to put the toy away either!

Playing cats are not making rational, "adult" decisions. They can't help it; the fake prey is so awesome, omg. I'm sure many do know when to stop, but not all do. Panting is definitely a sign its break-time!

msbedelia said:

Playing cats are not making rational, "adult" decisions. They can't help it; the fake prey is so awesome, omg. I'm sure many do know when to stop, but not all do. Panting is definitely a sign its break-time!

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both great responses. but i think im going to go with my gut, and give her a break when shes panting. i didnt like the feeling i got when i saw her breathing like that.

thanks to the two people that responded!

Always good to trust your gut! You know your kitty best!