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As cat owners, we love our cats and want them to have the best lives possible. We want to make sure they are safe and happy. Making sure our cats are happy requires more than just feeding them and giving them shelter. You also need to provide enrichment to keep your cat physically and mentally active. When they aren’t sleeping of course. To help you enhance your cat’s life, we’ve come up with some simple enrichment you can provide your cat to give them the best life possible.
Cats are natural predators. However, being a domesticated indoor pet, they will not get the same opportunities to let loose their natural predator instinct. There are a couple ways you can help them by giving them challenges and rewards. One way is with their food. In the wild, cats have to hunt for their food. In your home, their food is usually provided in a bowl. Try mixing it up when you feed them to give them that hunting experience. Instead of one or two big meals every day, try giving them three to four smaller meals. You can use a licking mat or a food puzzle to make your cat work harder for their food. You can also try hiding their food in treat dispensing toys. You can easily make some out of toilet paper rolls by closing the ends and cutting some holes for the food to fall out as your cat hunts it. Working harder to get their food will stimulate their brain and make it more rewarding when they finally hunt down their "prey".
Playing with toys is another great way to help your cat release their natural predator instincts. Getting toys they can chase around, pounce on, and bite will help them feel like they are back in the wild. You can get some solo play toys so your cat can entertain themselves, but you should also make sure you take time out of your day to play with them. It’s much more fun to have someone manipulating the toy by dragging it or making it fly through the air. This will also give you time to bond with your cat.
Scratching another natural instinct cats need to express in their home. You can help them by getting scratching posts or cat furniture with scratching material on them. Not all cats enjoy the same type of scratching post so be sure to experiment to figure out what your cat likes. Some cats like scratching posts that are vertical and some like them horizontal. Some cats may even like both ways! Getting your cat scratching posts and giving them a designated area for scratching will help save your furniture from being ruined by their claws.
Cats like having their own spaces up high so they can survey their kingdom (your house). Give your cat access to safe places up high with cat shelves or ramps so they can climb and explore. Your cat will enjoy being able to oversee more space and jumping to new heights will be a great way for them to get physical activity. New sights will stimulate their mind while climbing to get up high will enrich their body.
In addition to overseeing the room from up high, give your cat other things to see so they can enrich their mind. Provide your cat with a window perch to look outside and see the wildlife outside. Even indoor cats can appreciate watching the birds and squirrels fly and run by their window. If your window happens to be lacking in wildlife, you can also put on some tv for your cats. There are many videos online designed specifically for your cat. They show birds and squirrels or even fish. Put it on and let your cat see a whole new colorful world of activity. Just don’t let them watch too much tv!
There are plenty of ways to help enrich your cat’s life. Play games with their food, mix up their toys, and always give them activity to participate in or look at when they want. If you keep your cat stimulated with new games and sights, they’re sure to have a very enriched life.
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