Entertainment is good and healthy for your cat. Cats can be fun to play with, but unfortunately, we live in a busy world, and you may not always be there to play with them. Cats are curious creatures, and this makes them attracted to a lot of things that could keep them occupied for hours.
It’s important to make sure your cat has some entertainment in their life. When they get bored, they are likely to play with sensitive things in the house and damage them. If you are wondering about how you can keep your cat entertained while you are away from home or at work, here is a list of several ideas to try out.
Ideas To Keep Your Cat from Getting Bored
Toys
Toys are some of the most motivating things for cats. They keep them entertained for hours and reduce their rate of sleeping and laziness. Wireless mouse toys are great purchases that provide hours of fun for your cat (and you).
Some can be used to improve the intelligence of your cat. Take, for instance, food puzzles; you hide treats inside them, and your cat has to figure out how to get to them. It is also an additional low-cost method of feeding your cat. Even when your cat figures out one puzzle, you can always purchase a different one from the plethora of products available.
Cardboard Boxes and Tunnels
What cat doesn’t love boxes? Cats can jump into and out of them during their play, and sometimes they snuggle themselves inside and sleep. Cardboard boxes are cheap, easy to obtain or create, and a lot of fun for your cat.
If you don’t want to leave your cat inside the house, you can consider getting a cat tunnel. They are affordable and can be set up inside or outside the house. Moreover, they come with more entrances and exits than cardboard boxes. An advantage of these tunnels is that they are waterproof and will keep your cats warm and dry even when it rains.
Cat TV
If your cat is old and it doesn’t have the energy to jump and fun around, then letting them watch TV is a great idea. The moving images in our television will captivate your cat and keep it glued to the screen for hours on end.
Make sure you get the right TV content that will interest your cat. This can include videos of birds and mice flying or moving around. You can get such videos from YouTube or purchase DVDs that have specially made for cats to watch.
One way of knowing if your cat is interested in TV is playing such videos and watching their reaction.
Specialized Cat Furniture
This type of furniture is designed to scale in relation to the size of your cat. Your cat is essentially a part of the family, so buying them their own furniture sounds like a reasonable idea.
Some cat furniture that you can get includes single-pole scratching posts and cat trees. Cat scratching posts don’t take up much room and are fairly inexpensive. Cat trees cost a bit more and combine a lot of features, such as hiding holes and jungle gyms.
Cat furniture can also be used to train your cat on where they should direct its kitty instincts to scratch and bite. This will save your furniture from being scratched or torn since the cat will be doing that to its furniture.
While you are searching for the right cat furniture, you may want to consider adding tower tracks to your purchases.
Light-Emitting Devices
Cats are slaves to any moving dots of light. They can spend a lot of time jumping around and chasing after them. Light-emitting devices are cheap and can be purchased online or from stores near you.
Some of these devices include blinking light-emitting diodes and laser toys. If you are going to buy a laser toy or any other such device, its best to go for rechargeable ones, make sure it also has a good battery that will keep it going for hours. Some even have automatic set-ups that will switch them off after a few hours and turn them on later.
Paper
The crinkling sound of paper is a marvel to a cat’s ears. Even better is how it can change shape as your cat plays with it. The best papers to use are paper bags. A cat can tunnel their way inside them or tear them apart for their amusement.
You can leave several papers lying around the house for your cat to play with as the day moves along. A safety precaution to take is to make sure no handles are attached to the bags; paper bags can be a choking hazard when your cat is trapped inside.
Other Unique Ideas
Fish Tanks
Fish and cats do not see eye to eye, but a well-secured fish tank can be a source of great entertainment for your cat. The movement of the fish inside the tank visually stimulates your cat and keeps them interested as they wonder how to get to it.
Just make sure there is no opening for your cat to get into the fish tank or knock it down. In addition to entertaining your cat, fish tanks also improve the interior look of your home.
A Room With a View
Cats are attracted to the outside, and they will lie down and watch the daily events unfold if they have a wide-angle view. It’s even better if the view is from an elevated position. If you live in a house that has such a perspective, you might want to consider leaving the curtains and blinds open.
If there is no space for them to lie on the window, you can move furniture around and place something like a bookshelf next to it. This will give it a spectacular view and keep them entertained when you are at work.
Getting a Feline Friend
If you have one cat, getting it a friend might be an excellent option to think about. This will reduce their loneliness, and they can play together in the house. Taking in another cat is a big responsibility, and you should take your time to consider it.
You can always find another cat at an animal shelter or get one from a friend whose cat has given birth to a litter.
Setting Up a Designated Space
Giving your cat a ‘play zone’ teaches them boundaries and where the action should go down. This tactic confines its activities to a particular place. This space could be a corner of the house or a nook.
If your cat loves going outside, you can set up a small doorway for them to pass through. Alternatively, you can leave the window of your house open so that they get some fresh air, and it has a passage to go in or out through.
Conclusion
Owning a cat is a big responsibility, and you should work on improving its overall health by engaging entertainment activities. No one understands your cat better than you do, making you the ideal choice for searching for what tickles its fancy.
Just as you find entertainment to be refreshing, so does your cat. It might take some time before you figure out which entertainment plan works best for your cat, so be patient with it. It is also ideal to acquire several entertainment options and switch them every day when you leave for work. This way, your cat will always have something new to look forward to daily.