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Sleep, Eat, Repeat. Is this what you find your cat doing most of the time? Cats spend most of their time sleeping and grooming. But have you ever stopped to think “is my cat bored?”? In this blog post, we’re talking about signs to look out for in a bored cat and things you can easily do at home to help enrich their minds. Keep in mind that before you jump to any conclusions, if your furry friend is showing any of the behaviours listed below, it is strongly recommended to bring your cat for a routine check up at the vet to ensure there aren’t any health issues that are resulting in the abnormal behaviours.

Have you noticed your cat doing one or more of the below?

HELP! My cat is:

• Destroying the furniture– is your cat starting to scratch up the furniture? Have you noticed scratch marks on the door? Are you findings random things in your home chewed on?
• Vocalising/crying louder and more often than usual– are you struggling to get to sleep at night because of your cat’s incessant meowing? Are you getting up to feed them so they stop meowing, only to be met with more meowing 5 minutes later?
• Grooming more and spraying on walls– is your cat grooming more than usual? Are they grooming so much that they’re starting to lose hair in certain areas? Is your cat urinating on vertical surfaces (spraying)?

These are just a few signs of boredom in cats, though before we jump to that conclusion, a visit to the vet is recommended first to rule out systemic disease. For cats that over-groom and urinate inappropriately especially, check that your cat doesn’t have health problem (such as urinary tract infections, skin infection, allergies, stress) first as these can be treated or managed. Health problems such as arthritis and dementia can also cause some of the issues mentioned above.

There are many things you can do to help alleviate boredom and mentally stimulate your cat at home.

Quick and easy DIY toys!

• Find an empty toilet roll and fold in the ends. Fill it with treats and cut a small hole (just big enough for 1 treat to fall out) and let your cat figure out how to get the treats out! This also works well with empty water bottles.
• Fill a sock with stuffing and tie off the end- that’s it! Add catnip (optional) for added fun! Now you have a kicker toy!
• Want something even easier to do? Scrunch up some paper or tin foil and throw it around. Cats don’t always go for the most expensive toys.
• Tie some feathers to the end of a long shoe string and pull it around. Cats LOVE feathers and anything that mimics (jittery) movement! This has to be done supervised though as strings, if ingested, can result in linear foreign body obstructions.

Of course, there are toys that you can find on the market that are great for mental stimulation. One toy that we have found many cats take a liking to is the Da Bird. Most cats love toys that allow them to utilise their innate hunting skills. The Da Bird whizzes through the air much like a real bird does when you twirl it around. Occasionally moving it with a jerking motion also keeps cats intrigued. We stock the Da Bird at Perth Cat Hospital so feel free to come on down and pick one out for your special feline! The great thing about the Da Bird is that you can customise it by changing the interchangeable ends- turn your Da Bird into Da Fish or even Da Bee! This helps to maintain the novelty of the toy and keep your cat entertained by the same toy for years.

If your furry friend is food motivated, puzzle feeders or interactive feeders are a great thing to use especially at meal times. Imagine your cat eating a meal from a boring food bowl. Now imagine your cat having to move obstacles around to be able to reach its prey! That is what a puzzle feeder tries to mimic. In the wild, cats don’t get their prey handed to them on a silver platter. They have to work for their reward. There are many different types of puzzle feeders available. The idea is that small amounts of food are hidden underneath, in between or behind small obstacles on the feeder that your cat has to manoeuvre in order to reach its reward. We stock multiple types of puzzle feeders at the hospital including; The Northmate Catch, Licky Mats and No Bowl Feeding Systems.

There are so many ways to keep your fur baby entertained. If you’re ever unsure if your cat is unwell or just bored, feel free to reach out to our friendly staff who are always happy to book a consult to check them over and give you advice.

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