• Seagoon_@aussie.zoneOP
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    1 year ago

    Serious question here.

    How do cats and dogs maintain physical fitness even tho they sit on their little fluffy arses all day? Especially cats.

    • just_kitten@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      Dogs I can understand, especially since most of them need walking and are generally a bit more active. But cats??! Mfs sleeping for 20-22 hours a day. They must burn a lot when doing their 10 second zoomies.

    • Seagoon_@aussie.zoneOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      I think cats and dogs have a different muscle fibre profile than we do, they have a lot of quick muscles fibre, meant for the quick dashes of hunting prey, we have mostly slow muscle fibre , meant for marathons.

      Maybe that has something to do with it. I’m not a vet. 🤷‍♀️ I just want to be able to sit on my arse like a cat. 😂

    • calhoon2005@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      I think with dogs it’s mostly about not over feeding them. Then regular decent walks are enough for most breeds. Not my doggo though. 2x 1 hour walks a day with park play/chasing frisbee else he goes nuts in the house.

    • SituationCake@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      Not sure about cats and dogs specifically, but I can give a related answer. It’s been found that hibernating bears loose virtually no muscle mass and emerge with the same fitness they went to sleep with. They have some biological tricks that humans just don’t have, we are forced to exercise to maintain muscle. So maybe there’s similar effects in other animals, and we are just unlucky.

      • Seagoon_@aussie.zoneOP
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        🤬

        smartest bloody monkey on the planet so why can’t we be fit like bears too, it’s not like that takes away from marathon running or brains

    • Outlier1031@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Cats in general have evolved to sleep for long periods to conserve energy for hunting. Big Cats will sleep for 17 - 18 hours before going on a hunt and modern house cats haven’t lost this need for rest. This is basically why cats get the zoomies periodically.