Feline Environmental Enrichment Gentle Paws

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1 Feline Environmental Enrichment Gentle Paws Cats can be a great source of comfort, love and companionship; but when their behavior creates havoc in your life it can be very stressful. Understanding and providing for your cat s genetic needs can take much if not all of that stress away. Putting the following 3 programs into practice should get you off to a great start. Work to Eat The work-to-eat movement is common in the zoo settings and it is common for a reason. Pet owners should take notice and join in. For those who are not familiar with work-toeat, the theory behind it is that cats evolved as predators and should not be fed from a food bowl. We should satisfy their natural instincts to search, pounce, scratch, grab, manipulate and bite prey. This is especially important for indoor cats. Cats are extremely intelligent animals and very adept hunters. Indoor cats can become bored easily. Signs that your cat may be bored include: *shredding toilet paper or paper towels *stalking you, family members, guests or other animals in the house *playfully attacking your moving parts (or maybe not so playfully) *dropping toys in her water dish *roaming the house all night Work to eat benefits include: *fighting boredom by stimulating the mind and wearing out a hyper cat or kitten *slowing down the eating rate of a cat that likes to gobble up her food too fast *helping overweight cats lose weight by moving/hunting for their food *allowing your cat to indulge predatory instincts by toying with and manipulating prey *distracting a rambunctious cat from pouncing on and harassing another family cat *If you go out of town for a day or two, you can leave several food puzzles so they don t gobble down all the food you left them at once *keeping a cat that is constantly under foot or walking across your keyboard busy *multiple work-to-eat toys can keep a food aggressive cat from stealing food from another cat. If there are enough puzzle toys in various rooms throughout the house, the food aggressive cat cannot play with all them at once, allowing the other cats to eat from the other ones Below you will find examples of some great cat food puzzles on the market. Many dog food puzzles also work well for cats the puppy sized Kong can be filled with your cat s favorite wet food. One of my favorite food puzzles is homemade. Take a yogurt container and cut holes in it that are just big enough for one piece of your cats kibble to

2 fall out. The more holes you cut and the bigger the holes, the easier it will be for your cat to get the food. I would start out with a lot of big holes, so your cat gets rewarded frequently for playing with the container; then as your cat gets better and better at getting the food out, make it harder by making new containers with smaller and fewer holes. You want it just easy enough that your cat won t completely give up on it and just hard enough that your cat cannot get all the food out really fast. You can also make most work-to-eat toys harder by putting it in a paper bag or hiding it in a box or under a laundry basket. Food dispensing ball Pavlov s Cat Scratch Feeder cat scratches & treats come out Stimulo Cat Feeding Station, cat hunts food, catches it with her paw Busy Buddy dog food puzzle (small size works for cats) Many different Kyjen brand dog puzzles are great for confident cats

3 Here are some home-made puzzle feeders: Exercise Have you ever seen an overweight feral cat? I haven t! Work to eat is the first step to getting your cat more exercise. Step 2 is play with your cat! Given the choice, most cats will lie around during the day and then start wondering through the house at night while you try to sleep. Cats love to chase you will see many toys designed for this as you walk down the cat aisle of any pet store different items on the end of a string attached to a stick. There are also some great toys (below). I recommend having several different toys on hand and rotating them through so your cat doesn t get bored with them. Bored cats tend to explore more (counter tops, table tops). Although these toys encourage the cat to play independently, please take the time to play with your cat. Indoor cats can be taken outside safely on a leash and harness. Harnesses are much safer than neck collars if your cat gets scared or starts chasing something and gets to the end of the leash, a harness will stop their body a collar will stop their neck possibly causing spinal injuries. You can use a long leash made of clothes line with a hook on the end and make it as long as you want; this way your cat can explore, chase and capture bugs to eat (YUM!), roll in the grass and lie in the sunshine. I have even seen people walking their cats like people walk their dogs! Be cautious, though indoor cats should not be outside unattended, they do not have the skills that outdoor cats have practiced and perfected.

4 Flying Fun by WARE - remote control, bugs fly around Cat Dancer Mouse in the House mouse moves around Peek & Play by Hartz feather on top, small mice hidden inside Panic Mouse Underground Mouse Toy Cats in High Places Cats are tree dwelling/climbing mammals. They not only enjoy having high places to perch, it is also about safety and security for your cat. Cats need to have tall furniture, shelves at different heights, window perches or cat trees (vertical territory). Vertical territory allows your cat to observe the room, who comes in, where everyone is, identify stray pieces of food they may have missed and network with their favorite people eye to eye. Vertical territory should be located in the area your cat likes to spend time in. You don t have to buy expensive cat furniture, you can make your own perches by incorporating existing furniture like book shelves with some soft furry fabric on it or place shelving at different levels for your cat to jump from one to another. For multiple cat households or houses with cats and dogs, vertical territory is even more important for your cat s sense of safety. On way cats express their status to each other is by claiming prime areas (usually higher places). This status or hierarchy is fluid it

5 changes. Status is influenced by a variety of factors including who is in the room, the time of day or if there is food nearby. Shelves places on wall for cat to jump from one to another An inexpensive book case with holes cut out for climbing this is a website showing a normal step ladder that has been turned into a cat tree very creative! Providing your cat with these 3 essential things work to eat, exercise and high places should be a priority for any indoor cat. Aside from a veterinary check up (most important), environmental enrichment should be the first step you take in trying to modify your cat s unwanted behavior.