Keeping Cats Feeling Content
Living harmoniously with your feline friend or friends is a goal most cat owners strive for. Creating a safe environment for them to relax, play, eat, toilet and sleep is essential. Cats are clever animals, and lots of cats also enjoy learning, so it may even be fun to do some training sessions with your cat! Providing toys for your cat will help to keep them active and happy; there are numerous toys out there for independent play as well as toys that encourage playful interaction between the pair of you. When bored, or under stimulated, cats can become depressed, seek comfort in food or go further away from home to find fun interactions.
Encouraging your cat to do what comes naturally is a fun way to bond with them as well as giving them mental and physical stimulation. Natural behaviours such as pouncing, climbing, stalking and grooming can add enrichment to the relationship between you, as well as helping them to problem solve, gain confidence, learn impulse control and improve the ability to cope with frustration.
Tips to Keep Your Cat Happy
Here are some tips to help you keep a happy cat in your home and reduce cat stress.
Tip 1) Don't keep your cat's water and food dishes close to the cat litter tray. Cats are very clean animals, and they like to eat and toilet in distinctly separate areas.
Tip 2) The standard rule for litter trays in the house is 1 per cat, plus 1! If you have 2 cats, you will need 1 litter tray per cat, plus 1 extra. Have your cat's litter trays available on each floor of your home.
Tip 3) Cats naturally like to climb and hide at different levels in their environment. This meets their instinctive needs and makes them feel safe. Take a look around your home and see what different levels you can provide for your cat to express this behaviour. You may need to give your cat a shelf to rest on and/or provide them with a cat tree which has different levels to perch on.
Tip 4) Toileting for cats is a very private affair. Make sure you allow for this privacy by placing your cat's litter tray in a quiet place in the home. Placing the litter tray next to the washing machine or by the back door may be disturbing and stressful for your cat and may result in your cat toileting somewhere else in the home.
Tip 5) Have you ever measured your cat litter tray to make sure it is the right size for your cat? Your cat's litter tray should be 1.5 times the length of your cat from nose to tail. This is to make sure your cat has enough space in the litter tray to move around, dig, bury and use again. If the litter tray isn't big enough, your cat may go somewhere else around the home.
Tip 6) Tap into your cat's natural instincts and enrich their environment daily. Try introducing daily hunting games for your cat to find their food. Play games with your cat using cat activity toys to give them the opportunity to pounce, attack and chase.
Tip 7) Introduce a vertical scratching post for your cat to groom its claws on and scent mark in the home. The scratching post can be placed in an area where your cat likes to scratch.
Here at Leading the Way, we offer a range of services that include (but aren’t limited to) dog walking, enrichment activities for cats and small animals and comforting home visits to spend precious time with your pets and to oversee their daily needs such as emptying litter trays, changing water bowls and feeding.
Leading the Way is here to help!
If you would like more information on any of the services that Leading the Way Pet Care provides, please contact us via please contact us via email or phone us on 0800 027 9846.