Overview
Quick Navigation
Owning a cat as a pet can be likened to owning a little kid in the sense that you tend to always randomly look out for it and ensure its safety and security are intact. Also, you want to ensure that your cat is happy and healthy so they can be comfortable.
Read about how to exercise your dog indoors here.
Another way to ensure your cat enjoys maximum comfort is to create a platform where it can have direct access to physical and mental stimulation. A very typical example of this is creating a specific playtime with it that you can maintain regularly.
Below is a list of steps/activities you can use to make your indoor cats feel happy, entertained, and stimulated so they don’t get bored all of the time.
Create A Chat Schedule With Your Cat
Whether or not you have heard of this before, engaging your cat in a chat time is one of the best ways you can keep it active and responsive. There is a specific meaning attached to the saying “Curiosity Killed The Cat” and it particularly buttresses just how involved a cat wants to be.
Several benefits come with you having a chat with your cat. The number one benefit is that you establish a connection with it and make it feel very safe and comfortable around you. You’re also creating a non-hostile environment for it where it can be very expressive and be of its best behavior.
Secondly, it helps to build trust between you two. When you hold random chats with your cat, you are going to make it trust you more because it would begin to feel more relaxed around you.
To have a chat with your cat, start by making it natural; just like you would do with your friend. Maintain a normal distance with it and make it appear like you’re talking to a human. Now what you say does not matter, just ensure you do not appear hard or harsh, speak gently and softly, and in between your words, mention your cat’s name randomly.
Create a relaxed atmosphere and don’t stare too hard at it or it may feel challenged. Blink slowly at it, and when it responds with a blink, it means it is now relaxed and you can them go ahead with the chat. If you don’t get a blink back, take the step again. If you have more than one cat, try and ensure you have a chit-chat time with them all.
If your cat is the type that dislikes being touched, this is the best alternative way to keep it engaged.
Play Chasing Is A Great Idea
You may not have found out yet, but cats do love engaging in play chases. They like it when you chase them from one spot to another in form of play, and they love it so much that they could continue the habit even as they approach adulthood.
Once you notice your cat is standing at the end of a hallway and is staring back at you while taking a few steps away, that is probably the best hint that it would love to have a chase play with you.
If a cat is not comfortable with how close you are to it during a chase play, it will make sounds to notify you. It’s the same when they’ve had enough of the play already. A good sign to know if your cat is enjoying the play is by watching out for its tail. If the tail is up during the play period, then it’s e joying the moment. If it’s down, however, that may be a sign that it’s running in fear or probably no longer interested.
See how to help your cat pass a hairball
Try Switching Toys Occasionally
The way your kid would cherish the idea of playing with a new set of toys is just about the same way your cat would too. Your cat would always feel interested at the sight of a new collection of toys available for it to play with.
If you don’t know what toys to get for your cat, there are a couple of options you can go for. Options like mice toys, feather wands, and even balls. These toys make great sounds that your cat would love. Other options you can look at are crumpled pieces of paper and balls of yarn. Once you can provide any of these for your cat, you will surely win its heart.
If you want to carry out the toy rotation process, the best way to do it is to put away the ones your cat used for the last playtime. Keeping these toys away will ensure that your cat will look forward to playing with them later on because if it keeps seeing them scattered around, it will get tired of them.
If you can, once it finishes playing with a set of toys, after you keep that set away, try to introduce a fresh set the next time it wants to play with toys. If it sees a different toy the next time, it catches your cat’s fancy and it also becomes happy.
Fetch
A lot of people don’t know this but cats also like playing fetch games just as much as dogs do. To get your cat engaged in this type of play, ensure that the toy you’re using is light and small which can fit into your cat’s mouth. After throwing the toy to a not-so-faraway distance and your cat goes to catch it, encourage it to fetch it and return it to you.
If your cat is playing the fetch game for the first time, you must teach it to bring it back because it may not occur to it to do so. But after some time, it starts getting used to the pattern and then does it more often. During this period, ensure you always pet your cat and keep it comfortable and safe so it can enjoy the play.
Cats Love To Play With Lights
Generally, cats love it when they see light reflections. It triggers them and makes them feel readily interested in light play anytime. If you can use any object to direct the reflection of light to a wall or any other surface for your cat to see, it gets excited and wants to play with you immediately.
You should be careful, however, so you do not direct lights that are too bright to your cat’s eyes else it affects your cat’s sight.
Final Words
Boosting your cat’s happiness is important in keeping it active and healthy. It also helps it enjoy a longer life span. As long as your cat is happy and entertained, it will surely be happy with you, its owner, and feel comfortable whenever you’re around it.
Also, read on how to get rid of a cat pee smell.