Deb D’Andrea, Nederland.  Just like dogs, cats like to be entertained and can become bored hanging around the house with nothing to do. An indication your cat may be bored is if they pee outside their litter box, meow excessively or are scratching on your favorite furniture. It has also been shown by providing stimulating cat activities you can help delay cognitive dysfunction syndrome as they age.

There are several activities you can do with or provide for your cat. Whiskers, my cat growing up, used to love it when I cut a hole in the corner of a paper bag and played with her. She’d climb inside the bag, peek out through the hole and I’d dangle a feather for her to bat at with her paw. Then she’d bolt out of the bag in a full on chase to catch the feather. I found this to be highly entertaining for both of us, usually with me laughing as she and I ran around the house in a game of ‘chase the feather’.

With the thousands of TV channels available these days, not only is there Dog TV but also Cat TV which runs 24/7/365 for your feline entertainment. There are also YouTube videos for your cat if you want to leave something running on your computer for them; but beware as they may learn to hit a computer key and change the channel!

Something I’ve done with dogs is to play hide-n-seek with their food. Instead of just leaving a bowl out for them to graze, hide food around the house for them to discover. This works well for cats too, and will keep them hunting for that tasty tidbit throughout the day. Of course if you have dogs or mice, be sure to remember where you hide the food to not encourage other critters to indulge. As a rule of thumb, cat food is not good for dogs.

Many cats enjoy outside time, but mountain living can greatly reduce their life expectancy if they are outside cats. One of my clients created an inside-outside cat habitat, with a gently flapped tunnel leading outside to a 100% fenced area on the sunny side of the house. The cats would safely venture through the tunnel, pushing open their cat door and would hang outside. They’d spend time watching the wildlife, and had the freedom to go in and out all day long. They loved it and no one had to worry about them being snatched up by a mountain lion, fox, coyote or eagle.

You can also teach your cat to do tricks just like dogs. I’ve seen cats high five, play catch and do agility. The more time you spend with your cat, the more you both can learn new tricks and minimize cat boredom!

Till next time. Deb D’Andrea, founder of 4TheLuvOfDogz, provides mobile Canine Massage, Canine Agility and Petz Nanny Services for dogs, cats, birds, fish, horses, and other critters. 4TheLuvOfDogz home-made dog treats and K9Birthday Cakes are available direct. Contact Deb at 720-675-7078 or email at info@4theluvofdogz.com for more information.