5 Ways to Make a Cat Exercise
Cat obesity is a serious health problem. Besides a well-balanced diet, exercise is a great way to fight it. However, making a cat do that might not be as easy as it is with a dog.
In this next part of our series dedicated to dogfrisbee, an activity where the dog is thrown a disc, which he then catches and brings back, we focus on the discipline of Dogdartbee. This discipline comes from the Netherlands and its main essence is that the disc is thrown on a target painted on the ground. Inside the target, there are circles with different points. The goal is to collect as many points as possible.
Target with different point boundaries
"The field is rectangle-shaped, with dimensions of at least 12.5 meters in width and 25.5 meters in length. However, the most important area is the target. “It is where the disc is thrown and where the graded point fields are. When the dog catches the disc in the first (biggest) circle, you gain 10 points. For catching the disc in the second circle, you get 30 points. A disc caught in the third circle means 50 points, and, finally, for catching the disc in the middle, you get 100 points. The centre of these circles is 18.25 meters away from the starting line. The closer edge of the target is 15 meters away from the starting line, and the further edge is 21.5 meters away. The diameter of the smallest circle (100 points) is 50 cm," as described by Martina Bolehovská, a contestant who specializes in Dogfrisbee.
In each qualifying round, the contestant has nine throws, which he may either throw in one row, or he can divide those into two parts of five and four throws. If the contestant decides for the second option, he must notify the referee before his throws, later changes cannot be made.
With accuracy to the finals
The qualification round is followed by the semifinals where eight teams advance – those that achieved the highest points gain. “Here, each player starts with zero score. The semifinals consist of 3 rounds of 3 throws. The rounds take place in pairs: the first team goes against the eighth team, the second against the seventh and so on. The team that threw the most points in the pair advances to the finals,” the contestant explains.
Once again, the finals consist of three rounds of three throws, and the order in which the teams enter the finals is decided by the points from the semifinals, and the best team plays last. “The first four spots are determined by the points from the finals. The fifth to eighth positions are determined by the sum of points from the semifinals and qualifications,” Martina Bolehovská says.
It is not about time, but about the number of throws
During the contest, there are three referees on the field, each of them having his own role. One of them watches for foot faults, and the other two focus on the action in the target. One of the target referees is also the main referee, who has the main say in awarding points. “This discipline is not limited in time. The only fixes limiting factor is the number of points, and there are nine in each round,” the contestant emphasizes.
Cat obesity is a serious health problem. Besides a well-balanced diet, exercise is a great way to fight it. However, making a cat do that might not be as easy as it is with a dog.
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