Keeping your kittens and cats indoors all the time is unquestionably the safest choice you can make for their well-being. They avoid being hit by cars, injuries from other animals, parasites, and life-threatening illnesses… the list is almost endless to the hazards indoor pets avoid. Keeping an indoor pet happy is just as important as keeping them safe! A pet’s happiness is an integral part of their staying healthy, just like with people. There are many wonderful ways you can enrich their environment and their lives. Here are a few of our favorite fun ideas for helping keep your feline friends happy, while living safely inside your home.
- Adopt a kitty friend – most cats are so much happier with a cat friend! We’re not just saying that because we’re a pet adoption website either, ask anyone that’s owned two or more cats. Even if you think your cat doesn’t like other cats, you might try fostering a few different (slightly smaller and opposite sex) cats. Often it’s just a matter of a slow introduction and finding the right personality match. Find a cat or kitten to adopt near your zip code.
- Daily exercise – Cats need to run, jump and chase every day. Wild cats have birds, bugs, and other small animals to chase around, but indoor kitties need you (or a kitty friend) to provide that kind of mental and physical exercise by playing with them EVERY DAY. You may need to try lots of different toys till you find one that gets your cat going.
- Variety is the spice of life – Wild cats wouldn’t be chasing an identical bird day after day either. You can make inexpensive cat toys by attaching almost anything to the end of a fishing line. Try crumpled up paper balls, tin foil, plastic wrap, knots of yarn – of course, never leave these homemade toys out with them unsupervised. My cats are huge fans of the feather on a string and laser toys.
- Climbing & hideouts – Even in a tiny apartment you can get super creative with arranging your furniture like couches and bookshelves to create create climbing steps and high up “hideouts” for your cat! They do not have to be carpet cat trees, check out some great stylish ideas on the moderncat blog here. Also don’t forget window perches, like a bookshelf or chair back infront of a window – cats love to look out even if they can’t go out.
You may ask, why not just build or purchase an outdoor cat enclosure? That’s a great idea too! If you have a balcony, patio or yard, there are endless ways you can create a cat-proof enclosure for your cat to enjoy being outoors safely. But before you invest a lot of time or money in one, you may want to try a less expensive outdoor cat tunnel first…. and if you follow the other tips above, you may find your cat is perfectly happy being an indoor-only cat without ever going outside.
For a comprehensive list of veterinary technician programs in the US, and more information on becoming a vet tech visit Vet Tech