So many people love the bizarre idea of watching their cat run manically on a hamster wheel that a Kickstarter campaign for exactly that has raised over 18 times its goal. Over $189,000 has been raised for the “One Fast Cat” exercise wheel. Indoor cats who don’t need to hunt to survive struggle with a lot of pent-up energy, and while running on a little wheel looks doofier than getting exercise in the great outdoors, it’s a good way to stave off boredom and cat depression (yes, that exists). According to creator Sean Farley’s comments on the Kickstarter page, “There are many ways to keep your cat lively, giving them access to energetic companions, making a play session part of their day, and/or offering them tempting exercise equipment for use when you’re not at home…that’s why we came up with ‘One Fast Cat’ cat wheel.” Bored kitties rough up your house by using your furniture as a scratching post, making messes, and refusing to use their litter box. What I don’t get is what motivates the cats to keep running once they start. Do you have to hang a treat in front of the wheel? All I know is watching the footage of that cat running in circles is giving me all the LOLs.
[TIME]Original by Claire Hannum @Claire_Hannum
