How To Enrich Your Cat’s Life
Cats are known to boast about their independence, which has awarded them the reputation of being pretty low-maintenance pets, at least compared to dogs. But is that really the case?
Definitely not!
Our feline friends require a great deal of mental and physical stimulation, and social interaction. When these needs aren’t fulfilled, our cats become bored and can start to exhibit anxiety, aggression, excessive grooming, and undesirable behaviours like bathroom accidents and furniture scratching. There’s nothing low maintenance about that!
Enrichment To The Rescue!
Enriching your cat’s environment boosts their mental and physical health by keeping them stimulated, engaged, and active. The great thing about cat enrichment is that it can be as simple as letting your cat play in the box your new shoes came in! Here are some other ways to enhance your cat’s environment.
Getting a New Perspective
For our cats, the places that we live are their whole world. Imagine how fascinating it is for them when they can see something new! Adding a window seat or a place where your feline friend can watch the great outdoors is a fantastic way to boost their mental stimulation. We’ve also seen some pretty cool cat shelves that can be attached to the walls, to give your cats a new perspective on the places they are accustomed to! You can even take it one step further with a catio, which is an outdoor enclosure for your pets to play in. While these enclosures need a bit more supervision, they certainly improve your cat’s environmental stimulation.
Trash to Treasure
There are lots of objects from around the house that can be upcycled in the name of cat enrichment! We love to make “box cities” by cutting holes in old packages and letting our cats explore. Like we said earlier, sometimes it truly is as easy as old bottle caps or old strings to enhance your cat’s playtime. Just be sure to watch for choking hazards!
The Ol’ Switcheroo
Switching up your cat’s daily routines is a great way to add some excitement to your pet’s life. Interactive meal toys and water fountains can get their cogs turning and reward them for puzzle solving. It’s certainly a fun and stimulating way to enrich mealtimes! We also like to switch up the toys that are available to our cats. Somedays we play with feather toys, other days we leave out tunnels or catnip plushes. This variability is good for their brains and their physical health.
What did we miss? What are your favourite ways to enrich your cat’s environment? One final, (and our personal favourite) way to enhance your cat’s life is through socialization! Giving your cat experiences with new people is a major stimulation boost and can help them become more comfortable and confident. This is one of the benefits of our cat paw-ty break services!
If you’d like to learn more about how Dog Jogs can enrich your cat’s life, or let us know your favourite tips and tricks for cat enrichment, contact us here at any time.