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Environmental Enrichment for Cats
By Joanna Pilton (Final Year Veterinary Intern)
Choosing to keep your cat indoors is an increasingly popular choice for many cat
owners, one made for reasons of health and safety of the cat and, importantly,
for any native animals found in the environment. Usually cats are kept mentally
and physically healthy by the stimulation of the constantly changing outdoor
world. However, the indoor cat has a special set of needs—and it is up to you to
provide adequate stimulation within the walls of your own home so that problem
and nuisance behaviours resulting from boredom and lack of activity are less
likely to occur. Indoor cats also need outlets for normal behaviours such as
sharpening their claws, climbing and / or stalking which you may not find so
appealing on your most recent furniture purchase.
This is where environmental enrichment comes into play.
Environmental enrichment is anything that makes your cat's world more
interesting and complex. This includes activities such as training and exercise,
as well as toys and games. There are hunting and foraging type activities,
chewing activities, and methods to vary their environment such as sights,
smells, shapes etc, as well as interactions with people.
High resting places: Improving the quality of the space may be more appropriate
for many indoor cat owners than improving the quantity. Cats are naturally
climbers. Provide a range of resting places by extending vertical spaces with
shelves, tall scratching posts or access to the tops of cupboards. Also by
frequently changing internal structures and contents you can keep your cat's
life interesting.
Food: Cats naturally spend up to 6 hours a day hunting, foraging, stalking,
catching and consuming prey. Food foraging activities that are interesting and
stimulating can be used to increase your cat's daily activity levels. Try
interactive food puzzles or make your own by putting holes in cardboard boxes or
toilet rolls and hiding food inside. Hide food around the house for your cat to
find throughout the day or scatter it across the floor. You can stuff Kongs with
different types of food too. Cats also like to chew to maintain oral hygiene, so
bones and other chews are necessary to keep their teeth and gums healthy. You do
not need to spend a lot of money buying toys for you can have fun and be
creative making your own.
Scratching: Cats need to scratch to sharpen and maintain their claws as well as
mark their territory. To avoid your cat scratching on the furniture, buy or make
a scratching post. Cats can prefer different coverings so try different
materials on your scratching post to discover which one your cat prefers. Some
cats actually prefer horizontal scratching mats. Reward your cat if he uses the
scratching post and provide more than one around the house.
Training: Cats can be trained. So keep your cat's mind active by regularly
training them to 'Sit', 'Come', 'Drop' and 'Stay' and any tricks. Have short,
fun and interesting/varied sessions using their favourite food treat or toy for
the reward.
Family Time and Games: Most cats enjoy social contact and love routine. Try and
set aside time for petting, grooming and play every day. Encourage appropriate
games and interactions that can be an outlet for natural behaviours such as
predatory behaviours where your cat can hunt, chase and pounce. Time outside
with your cat can be enjoyable for both of you. Train your cat gradually to wear
a harness or build an outdoor cat enclosure. Your cat may also like cat grass,
cat mint or cat nip grown in pots inside your home.
Other: Consider tunnels, crinkly cat sacks and toys hanging from door knobs for
your cat to explore. Play with balls, stuffed toys, squeaky toys or interactive
toys such as the "Flying Bug Jar for cats" or the "Cool Cat Jungle Gym" which
you can purchase online. Rotating toys can keep them new and interesting for
your cat.
Remember you may need to teach your cat how to interact with its new toys and
always supervise your cat with new toys to ensure they are safe. Finally, if you
are giving your cat lots of treats throughout the day, make sure you consider
your cat's total intake so that your cat doesn't get fat!
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