Mentally Stimulate & Entertain Your Cat
Cats are intelligent creatures, and although they have been domesticated to enjoy life indoors, they are natural hunters and need to engage in behaviours that mimic hunting, exploring, and playing. These natural behaviours can be suppressed when restricted to a home environment—particularly small apartments or homes without outdoor access or space to explore.
Keeping indoor cats stimulated and entertained is crucial for their overall well-being as they can become bored, anxious, or develop behavioural issues when not properly engaged. There are many ways to keep your cat happy, healthy, and mentally active, which we’ll detail, including one-on-one activities that can be used to bond with your cat, the most entertaining cat toys, entertainment for when you’re not at home and social interaction.
How To Entertain Your Cat At Home
One-On-One Activities
Interactive play is an opportunity for you to bond with your cat and stimulate their mind simultaneously. Although it’s possible to make do with what you have at home, there are plenty of toys that can trigger your cat’s hunting instincts. Wand toys—especially ones with feathers or strings—are some of the most entertaining cat toys, as they simulate the movement of prey animals, are great at keeping your cat entertained, and encourage athletic behaviours such as jumping, pouncing and chasing. By playing bird sounds on your phone or TV, it can further engage their senses to create a more immersive experience. Hide-and-seek games can be used to engage your cat’s natural curiosity and instincts, which you can engage by creating a scavenger hunt around your house.
Keeping Indoors Cats Stimulated When You’re Not Home
If you don’t work from home and your cat is left on their own during the day, it can be easy for them to get bored, so you must create an environment that keeps them engaged when they want to be. Whilst climbing towers and scratching poles allow them to play on their own, without new stimulus, cats can quickly get bored. Fortunately, there are interactive and automated toys that are triggered by motion sensors, time intervals, or randomised patterns to entertain your cat throughout the day. Some of these can be activated through apps, which allow you to play with your cat even when you’re not at home. Additionally, some apps can allow you to communicate with your cat via your phone, and to feed them as well.
Hiding treats can encourage your cat to use their sense of smell and problem-solving skills, whilst offering them a reward at the end. There are some great products that encourage hunting behavuour and enable you to set up your cat for a day of activity and mental stimulation, even whilst you’re away.
For a great resource on food-based cat play, we highly recommend checking out ‘Food Puzzles for Cats’ which showcases puzzles that range from basic and homemade through to boutique and brain teasing.
Social Interaction
Cats are frequently touted as highly independent, and whilst that can often be true, cats benefit from interaction with both humans and other pets. Spending quality time with your cat daily—whether it’s cuddling on the couch or engaging in interactive play sessions—is very important. However, introducing them to new people, pets, and environments can stimulate their minds, and show them the world outside their home. If your cat is sociable, supervised playdates with other friendly cats can allow them to play and make friends. Introducing them to the outdoors, even if for a short period, can also be a great way to activate their hunting instincts, and stimulate and entertain your cat.
Keeping your indoor cat entertained and mentally stimulated is vital for their health and happiness, and by providing them with one-on-one attention, and entertainment when you’re not at home, and by introducing them to new friends and environments, you can create an active and engaging lifestyle that keeps them fulfilled.
For more detail and other great ideas on maximising the welfare of your cat, we strongly recommend visiting Ohio State University’s ‘Indoor Pet Initiative’ site.
At Evervet, we want to ensure that your pet has the best quality of life, and we believe that fun activities are a vital part of pet care!
When choosing a vet, we know that you want the best for your pet, and our experienced and knowledgeable team will give you peace of mind and ensure that you and your beloved pet get the best care possible. Whether you have questions about caring for your indoor cat, specific breed-related questions, or want to book in for a check-up, we can help.