Create A Stimulating Environment For Your Cat

Go figure. My three black cats, who have kitty perches, great views of birds at the feeder and toys galore, are gaga over a video. Last year, a friend loaned me a just-for-cats video, which I very skeptically popped into the VCR. My cats were too young and too smart to be bamboozled by some images on a screen. Hah! As soon as they heard the chirping-birds soundtrack, they came running and planted themselves in front of the TV.

Lesson learned. They were bored out of their kitty gourds by the usual stuff. This was new! It appealed to both sight and sound. And it was a different medium. All of which are key to creating a stimulating environment for your cat.

Know your cat

"Providing a rich environment is actually more important for cats than for dogs," says Dr. Christopher Pachel of Twin Cities Veterinary Behavior Referral Service, "because they're not as domesticated and easily revert to their wild behaviors of exploring, hunting and foraging."

Pachel adds that a bored cat will replace these normal behaviors with something else - using the furniture (or you) as a scratching post, sleeping too much or over-grooming.

When creating a more stimulating environment for your cat, Pachel says, "Know your cat. Expand on what he or she likes to do. Something is enriching only if your cat uses and interacts with it."

Pachel recommends considering all of your cat's senses: taste, smell, touch, hearing and sight. For instance, put a kitty treat or two in a wadded up piece of notebook paper and let the cat "discover" them. Or cut a paw-sized hole in a plastic water bottle and place a treat in it. With both of these techniques, your cat has to chase the toy to get to the food, which parallels his catch-and-eat behavior in the wild.

Mix it up

Enriching your cat's environment can be as easy as switching things around.

• Rotate your cat's toys, refresh the catnip in them or surprise him with an old favorite that's been "in hiding."

• Move his perch from one window to another.

• Put a shoebox on top of a bookshelf for a bird's-eye view.

• If you usually play fetch with a ball of foil, try wadding up construction paper.

• Put toys in unexpected places like the back of a chair or on top of the entertainment center

• Place his feeding dish on the counter or on top of the fridge.

"Look at how you can use your space more creatively, so your cat is safe, but can still check out the world around him," Pachel says. That could be a multi-level cat perch or a jumpable shelf cleared of breakables.

Good for your cat

Pachel says an intrigued cat is a happier, healthier cat. "Cats who are active and less stressed maintain a good weight and can live longer," he says. "And the interaction between you and your cat is enriching for both of you."

Patricia Miller is Top Cat at Laughing Cat Communications, a communications planning, writing and editing company in Minneapolis. patty@laughingcatonline.com.