While it’s perfectly normal for your cat to spend large chunks of time sleeping while you’re at work or school, you should still try to stimulate your cat while she’s home alone. A cat who has spent the day exploring and playing will be much more likely to let you sleep through the night! There are several options for keeping your feline friend busy while you’re away.
Hide Houses
From paper bags to cardboard boxes, cats love to explore small spaces. You can leave boxes in random places in the house, or flip them upside down and cut a hole in the side. Make sure you cut handles off paper bags as you don’t want kitty to get his head stuck! By changing up the location and type of hide houses, you encourage your cat to keep exploring even after you’ve left the house.
Puzzle Feeders
Puzzle feeders are a great way to extend your cat’s feeding time. There are several options out there, but they all work under the same principle. You place treats or dry kibble in the ball, and you cat has to roll or otherwise manipulate the toy to get the food out. If you hold off on that morning feeding and place the food in the puzzle feeder, it will keep your cat occupied for much longer than a bowl of food.
Outdoor Bird Feeder
Placing a bird feeder right outside your living room window can provide hours of entertainment for your cat. If you don’t want to commit to a permanent bird feeder, you can always go the pine cone covered in peanut butter and seeds route! You can change the types of seeds you provide based on the season and the types of birds you’d like to attract. It always helps to do your research to make sure your feeder is beneficial for the local bird life. And even if those pesky squirrels get into the bird feeder, your cat probably won’t mind!
Toy Rotation
Maybe your cat has a whole basket full of toys that she never plays with. If she’s got access to them all the time, they become boring and “old”. Instead of buying new toys, remove all of them for a week or two. Then reintroduce a few toys at a time, and only keep them around for a week. Switch out the toys every Sunday for the week ahead, and watch your cat rediscover all her “new” toys! Just make sure the toys are safe for your cat to have without your supervision; leave the sting toys for supervised play sessions later.
Movies for your Cat
There are several cat movies on the market today. Most of them have common themes of nature sounds such as birds chirping, and brightly colored moving objects like butterflies or pieces of string. The idea is to stimulate your cats visual and auditory senses. If you just can’t stomach the thought of buying movies only for your cat, you can always leave your copy of Planet Earth running for the same effect!
Sources:
http://www.cathealth.com/playing/keeping-your-cat-active-while-youre-away
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