Horseplaying with my 9 year old fat cat

Hi ....
I have an overweight, senior cat (9 years old)
I have tried many things with her diet without much luck, but we do live in a one bedroom apt so she spends much of the just laying around...

However, when I play with her, she is very energetic, and she can bolt around quite fast for a fat cat...what's most impressive is her ability to jump vertically into the air without a running headstart. She gets about 2 feet up in the air when I dangle a shoelace in front of her....

I try to spend a few minutes a day playing with her, usually kind of rough, I grab her by the belly and let her chew up my hand, it seems to get her activity level up and she seems to enjoy it

Is it safe to play with a 9 year old fat cat like this? Is it a good sign that she can still jump and run, or is that pretty common even for fat cats

I wouldn't recommend playing rough with her or you might end up with a shredded hand.  You shouldn't grab her by the belly at all.  Keeping her active is very good for her, but not the rough playing. 

Horseplay (especially hand - play) is never a good idea with cats. Cat bites are very prone to infection, and there's no sense in asking for trouble. This kind of play will teach her that hands are toys, and are appropriate 'prey' substitutes (after all, play for cats is all about honing their hunting skills). Also, grabbing her belly could hurt her (at worst) or seriously annoy her (at best).

Stick to toys for interactive play. Da Bird is very popular, and has a whole range of attachments - you're sure to find something that really gets her going!
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