Cats may be independent, they may not want your cuddles and kisses all the time, but that does not mean they can be left in your home alone with nothing to do, they will get bored and stressed. Kristen Collins, ASPCA animal trainer claims that cats love having things to do.
Cats have instinctive needs to hunt, hide, climb, and have control over their activities. Your home needs to be able to provide a setting where your cat can express these behaviours. But don't start turning your home into some cat Hunger Games arena.
If your cat is not able to express these behaviours, they’ll become stressed and express it in various ways such as, excessive meowing, urinating, furniture scratching or hiding.
Cat’s would usually get these stimuli outdoors, however the great outdoors is a great danger for cats, with the average outdoor cat only living around 2 years compared to the indoor cats reaching 15 years.
Therefore, it’s up to you to provide them with fun ways to play and be entertained; keeping their brain and muscles healthy without trying your patience.
Did you know that giving your cat brain-stimulating activities from a young age has been shown to help prevent or delay the onset of cognitive dysfunction syndrome.
We all know that we can’t be at our cat’s side constantly tending to him like the fanner of the pharaoh; so here are 12 ways that you can keep your cat entertained, with and without your intervention.
Also, if any of you have any other ideas, please do let me know in the comments below.
1. Food Puzzles and Toys
Starting off with food puzzles. This is great for all cats and a clever solution for those that aren’t regularly active, or are motivated by food, or are overweight.
The aim of the game here is to work for your food. Food puzzles engage their predator instinct to hunt for their food, hence it promotes the expression of their natural feeding behaviour. It keeps them active and most importantly slows down indigestion by making them eat little and often.
I have just bought Lilo this puzzle feeder:
Before even starting with the puzzle feeder get them used to not eating out of their bowl, scatter food in different areas of a room. Then start by filling the puzzle feeder in a way that they don’t have to work too much out to get the food e.g. by overfilling it or just by placing it at the edges. As time goes on you can make it more difficult by placing the food in the middle or spacing the food amount out.
Remember it’s really important to make cats feel successful in the beginning of puzzle feeder training otherwise they will lose interest.
Toys are the most direct way to engage their hunting instincts and the best way to develop a bond with your cat. Playtime will release feel good chemicals in your cat’s brain, keeping them happy and stress free. They will associate these positive interactions with you and their environment. Making it easier for them to stay indoors.
You should aim to give your cat three, 5-minute intense playtimes. If you cat needs motivation, catnip toys work great or you can use treats to provide the cat with reward based playtime.
Fun fact: cats recognise baby talk as something positive and they make positive associations when they hear it.
2. Cardboard and Paper
Two items that you definitely have somewhere in your home. These items form part of some of the deepest and most complicated questions one would ask oneself…what’s inside a black hole? What’s the meaning of life? What’s the fascination that cats have with paper bags and cardboard boxes?
Even though you might stay up all night trying to find a concrete answer; to a cat a cardboard box or a paper bag (please remove the handles) is very versatile, providing many benefits. For example a slide…
Researchers at Utrecht University discovered that cats find comfort and security from being inside a cardboard box. Bags and boxes can also serve as the cover the cat needs to stalk, hunt and pounce on their prey i.e. your hand, a moth, shiny reflection.
Try to have a box or bag where your cat can chill out and play when we wants. Keep an eye out if your cat tends to consume weird things, to make sure they are not ingesting any paper or cardboard as it may cause intestinal blockages.
3. Make Your Home Their Home Too
What I mean by this is to give your cat as much access to your home as possible – within reason. Our Lilo cannot go into our bathroom because of our peace lily that he likes to eat (lilies are poisonous to cats).
Freedom to roam is a basic necessity to cats. It is important to minimize confinement as much as possible.
If you don’t have much space, think vertically. Get climbing trees, cat shelves, towers. W.R Shaw mentions in his book ‘Keeping Cats from Getting Bored’ that cats love to discover new places and objects. This also means new vantage points and new ways of seeing their home.
Try adding scratch posts to avoid them taking out their scratching needs on your sofa. If you ever notice them not paying much attention to their furniture, try changing its position. You may see that they prefer this new spot as it brings new life to it.
On the other hand, if you do have horizontal space, make sure to give your cat enough space to be able to run at high speed like Speedy Gonzales, they also love running up and down stairs.
4. Give Them Their Personal Space
I’m not talking about giving your cat a whole room to themselves. However, cats are territorial creatures and even though they love living with you, they need a space that they can claim just for themselves.
This is extremely important if you have more than one feline living in your home. Forcing too many cats to share a small area is likely to result in behavioural and even physical problems as each one competes for their own territory.
Make sure to give your cat an area where they can escape too. Be that a cardboard box, a cat cave, a bed, a cat tree, or even a cat perch.
Monitor your cat, they see the world differently to us and may have already chosen their chill out spot.
5. Windows
Windows are great for cats to have access to the outside world within the safety of their own home. Try and keep a window available for them to keep themselves entertained with people watching.
If possible, get a bird feeder or hang ornaments in order to grab their attention whilst you're out of the home.
6. Radio & Cat TV
This tip I got from Airpets whilst my Lilo was quarantining (we adopted him in Peru and I highly recommend Airpets). Playing the radio helps the cat relax, especially if they are going to be home alone for a long time each day.
Did you know there is such a thing as cat TV? Unfortunately, it’s not cat’s doing the news – although we’d all want to see that.
Cat TV usually is close up footage of birds that can entertain the cat for a while. This is useful if you are not able to place a bird feeder on your garden.
7. Fish Tank
This is definitely an expensive way to keep your cat entertained and it is a viable option if you were considering decorating your home with one anyway.
You need to make sure that the fish tank glass is solid, it is in a sturdy position and that the cat has no way to access the inside of it. Usually built in ones are the best for this case.
8. A brother or sister
I would take this option with caution.
Cats in general are solitary creatures and the introduction of an unrelated individual can be an issue. It really depends on your cat reaction and experiences to other cats. Amy Shojai, a certified cat behaviour consultant and the author of ‘Complete Kitten Care’ states that cats over 4 years that have not lived with other cats would struggle to have another feline in their lives and would result in behavioural problems. She also mentioned that if your cat is under 2 and has had positive experiences with other cats then a cat of the same age or younger would be a good companion.
You still need to tread with caution because if your cat doesn’t see the other as part of the same social group then living together in an indoor environment with limited space will cause stress and behavioural issues.
I would therefore recommend getting cats from the same litter, rather than unrelated ones. Make sure you have enough space and their personal space to each retreat to when needed. Also introduce them slowly to each other, consider adoption and use the cat relaxing sprays for your home.
9. Set Up A Webcam
I think my cat gets up to the craziest things when he is home alone. Leaving a pet cam with voice features or even using Skype, lets you have some fun watching his antics whilst keeping your cat company to the sound of your voice.
10. Supervised Time Outside
This is kind of hard because cats do love to explore.
We always leave a window slightly open, Lilo likes to be lookout from that window and he comes and goes to explore whenever he pleases. He is not allowed to go out at night. He has a sundown curfew.
This is because other cats are more active at night, meaning potentially more fights and it is also more difficult for cars to see the cats on the street.
We are trying to train Lilo on a leash and this will allow for him to go out at night. Our dream would be to take him to trips and for him to be comfortable – like these cats below.
Being outdoors lets all the cat senses be stimulated. Hence why it is the easiest way to keep a cat entertained and healthy. The outdoors is dangerous however, so being able to supervise your cat to prevent them fighting, ingesting weird things and being run over is highly recommended.
You can either train them on a leash, or cat-proof your garden fence.
11. Playtime with yours truly
Whether you use your hands, a wand, a ball, play hide and seek, or tag. Interacting with your cat and getting him to play, hunt, run around and do exercise is the best way to keep your cat healthy and stress free.
Playtime increases the bond between you and your cat. It allows them to associate their environment and the people around them with positive experiences, security, and trust. Generating good brain chemicals in the cat that keeps them happy and makes them fall in love with you more and more.
12. Catnip
Catnip is a herb. A member of the mint family. It acts like a magic wand that makes cats interested in the thing that’s around it.
Dr Lori Teller, a clinical associate professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences says that, “ the smell of catnip acts as a stimulant, which causes some cats to have a burst in activity and gain interest to things expelling the smell. When ingested, nepetalactone has a sedative effect.”
Cats under the influence of catnip may roll around, run, flip over, and exhibit general hyperactivity. Others may be very chill. However, Teller warns that “not every cat is susceptible to these effects.”
Catnip can be a great way to enrich your kitty’s routine. Like anything in life, too much of something is not good. So be cautious in how often you expose your cat to this herb.
Catnip is very unlikely to cause an overdose, but too much can cause nausea and vomiting. If this happens then remove catnip from their environment.
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