Environmental enrichment aims to satisfy a cat’s need for interaction with its environment. This can be done in many ways, some of which suit some cats better than others. Cats are notoriously individualistic. Some activities involve the owner in active participation, while others just have to be set up and left for the cat to use when it wished. By doing more for their cats, owners also enrich their own lives.

Small fast-moving objects cause the innate chase response in kittens. Most mature cats will continue to show it, particularly when they have practiced it all their lives. This can be done with small balls, such as practice golf balls that are hollow and have holes in the surface, or items such as scrunched up pieces of newspaper, pulled quickly and erratically on the end of a string. Some people even tie the objects onto fishing lines and poles so that they can cast out and move the object over a bigger area without the cat seeing them do so. Furry, feathery or flapping things are particularly attractive to cats. Patches of bright light, such as the reflection from a watch face or mirror, often get cats chasing. A hand-held laser pointer that gives a brilliant red spot under any household conditions is a very convenient way of exercising cats. Some cats, particularly the younger ones, will jump and strike at soap bubbles, which should be made from non-toxic soap.

We can make feeding more natural by getting our cats to search for food and be providing it in a form that needs chewing. If you feed dry food, you could put it in small clumps on the floor progressively farther away from the bowl each day. The clumps can eventually be scattered throughout the house in different places each day so that your cat has to search them out.

It might sound a bit radical, but cats can be obedience trained with the same principles of positive reinforcement as dogs. Why do you think they suddenly appear when the refrigerator door is being opened? That is not innate behavior; it has been learned. It’s amazing what will be learned when you are hungry and your behavior results in food being given. Cats can easily be taught to come, sit, stay, lie down, and retrieve. Reward the desires behavior immediately as it occurs. Break down the learning task into small steps and start at the beginning. Train with very small pieces of the most palatable food. In this way, your cat will just get a taste and not a stomach full, which will satisfy its hunger. Once you have taught several commands, they can be randomized in order and times of day they are given. Such a training session, particularly when it entails working on a new command, will add complexity, unpredictability and choice to your cat’s daily life.

Given the choice, cats will vote with their feet and show us that they like to watch a changing scene. They will choose to sit or lie for long periods in safe places where they can watch the world go by, whether it is street activity, people or animals. With a little bit of thought, we can usually provide that safe and interesting area.

One way cats can get to a vantage point is by jumping or climbing. You can make this easier and encourage them to use the height of the rooms by providing walkways between high points. Shelves can be strategically placed on walls, or narrow pieces of timber can be placed between beams.

A convenient way of cats getting access to high points is up a tall scratching post that they will climb as though it were a tree. If the cat cannot climb, for instance if the cat is older, then a series of shelves could be embedded in a tall post. The cat can then climb by jumping from shelf to shelf.

Given the chance, many cats will lie for long periods in small high places from where they can watch the activity below and presumably feel secure. It is a good idea to provide access to such areas for anxious cats and where there is more than one cat in the house. This can be easily done by closing the lid of a cardboard box of suitable size (about 14”x12”x10” for an average sized cat). Turn it upside down and cut a hole in the middle of one end just big enough for the cat to get in and out. Put in an unwashed garment, such as an old sweatshirt of its favorite person, and place it in the highest accessible place in the house. As they are so cheap and quick to make, you can experiment with several of them in different places. High-level walkways, very tall scratching posts or indoor “trees” can give access to these places.

Healthy and Happy Indoor Cat Part 3- How Is It Done? continued