Keeping Cats Entertained

Keeping Cats Entertained

We’ve been in various stages of lockdown over the past few months. Sometimes depending on where we live, what type of cats we have or our lifestyles we choose to have indoor cats. After being in quarantine ourselves we’ve not only come to learn a lot more about our animals but have begun to understand a little more about why sometimes they need different types of enrichment to keep them happy, healthy and occupied.

Detailed below are 5 ways you can change up your space to bring something new to your cat's life!

Vertical vs Horizontal

It’s natural for cats to climb and jump. From their original evolution from the jungle, getting up high is part of sourcing food and getting away from danger or other cats! Interior decorators even create feature walls in homes of exceptionally intricate climbing walls that don’t look out of place. Think about how you can introduce higher and more adventurous set ups in your home.

Bringing the outdoors inside

Feathers and foliage are great entertainment - if you don’t mind the clear up. Feathers are a natural part of hunting and therefore, on the end of a piece of string in a doorway, create hours of fun. Foliage is also a great choice to introduce different smells and textures for a cat to investigate.

Window entertainment

For the quieter of kitties, simply creating a window space that your cat can sit and enjoy the outdoors is a great boredom buster - who doesn't people watch every once in a while? A bird feeder is a great addition to any garden and encourages movement for your cat to watch too.

Natural Supplements

Catnip is a member of the mint family and has some amazing properties for cats. It has a pungent smell to them which can have many different reactions, but is well known to induce a relaxed state. Experts believe it’s the chemical nepetalactone that elicits this attraction and response.

Closed Doors

Closed doors can be very aggravating for cats. It could be for a number of reasons. From how it changes their territory, their acute hearing may have heard something on the other side, they can smell something they want to investigate, they know you’re on the other side and want to be with you or they’re just very curious to find out what's on the other side. Although you may have to close doors sometimes (most likely for peace during a work video call)  you might be caused less hassle and noise by leaving the door open!

None of us particularly enjoyed being stuck inside for a long period of time. These are a few ideas to bring some sanity back to your home if you’re going back to work or even if you’re staying at home more often. It’s been incredible to see the way our animals have adapted to our new way of life and it’s only fair that we keep bringing them new and interesting things for them too!