Many of us are spending more time at home then we normally would, and you may be wondering if and how this may affect your feline friends. Below we have put together some useful hints and tips to help you create the perfect home environment, with some child-friendly activities included to keep both your children and cats occupied, all year round, but particularly during this lockdown period.
While many cats are adaptable to changing environments, it is important to keep your cat’s routine as normal as possible throughout the current pandemic we are experiencing. Take a look at some of our advice and top tips for supporting you and your cat through this difficult time.
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1) A SAFE PLACE
In these unprecedented times, and whilst there may be a lot of movement in the house and a little busier than normal, it’s important that your cat has somewhere quiet and secluded to rest, sleep, escape and most importantly feel secure in. Our feline friends are most likely to be set in their own routine and ways, and with isolation periods extended, us humans are forced to spend our time at home and subsequently, your cat is forced to adapt its routine and share their core territory, which some may be finding this a little stressful.
TOP TIPS
We’ve put a list of places together, where your cat may like to escape to – so you can ensure you have a few places prepared and clear, ready for them to retreat to, including:
- Top of the cupboard – make sure it is safe and there is ample amount of room for them to rest and reach safely
- Underneath a bed – make a small space to ensure its safe
- A raised shelf – Clear a space on a bookshelf or on top of a chest of draws
- Inside of a wardrobe – leave a door open where there is room
- Inside of a box – you may have an old box in the garage or loft which you can dig out
GET THE KIDS INVOLVED
If you have children in the house, why not make hide-out an activity for them to get involved in, including:
- Turning a cardboard box into a hidey-hole by making a little entrance
- If your child has a tepee tent and happy to give it another use, this can be nicely set up for a cat
- Create a little nest by putting a long cloth over a breakfast stool
- Place a comfy blanket under the bed
It’s also important to teach children to leave and not disturb the cat when its hiding or sleeping. However, if the cat seeks attention give it, but don’t seek and disturb your cat, as if it's not on a cat’s terms they are likely to feel trapped, and as a result, may become stressed.
2) PLAYTIME AND PREDATORY BEHAVIOUR
Whilst you’re at home, your cat may enjoy playing with you; not only will both you and your cat will enjoy this time, you may also learn about your cat’s personality, and it may also help build a strong bond between you and them. Kittens and cats need to play and therefore for times when you are busy, cats can entertain themselves, however it’s important that they have interactive games, or toys.
Playtime will develop their social and communication skills and improve their physical development and co-ordination, it also relieves boredom, and provides and outlet for your cat’s predatory instincts, which will prevent behaviour problems and also ensure your cat is getting exercise. Indoor exercise is particularly important for cats without outdoor access.
Below are some ideas to help keep your cat entertained:
- Food Foraging
Problem solving toys and puzzle feeders allow cats to use their senses to forage for food or play with in order to release kibble. If your cat is new to puzzles, you may need to make them relatively easy to begin with and overtime make the puzzles harder.
GET THE KIDS INVOLVED
If you’ve got children at home, why not get them to make some puzzles, using toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes, egg boxes, yoghurt boxes and let their imaginations run wild.
TOP TIPS
- Do not use paint to add colour to your homemade puzzle
- Do not use small parts that can be hazardous to your cat
Interactive/object play
Interactive play and object play are short and intense predatory games and will also burn some of their energy off too.
GET THE KIDS INVOLVED
Make your own fishing rod for interactive play, or a furry feathery catnip toy. Be creative, give old or unused objects a new life.
TOP TIPS
- Play sessions should be carried out at set times (this will give them back the so beloved sense of routine), cats are more normally more active early morning, or evening.
- Rotation! It is important to provide only a small selection of toys per day to maintain novelty.
- Children should be supervised with fishing rod type toys.
- Exploring
Cats are naturally curious, so why not look at your house through the eyes of a curious cat and make sure there are plenty of novel things for them to explore.
GET THE KIDS INVOLVED
Take a plain, box to the next level: Cardboard Box Castle!
TOP TIPS
- If you have more than one cat, make sure there are more than one entry and exit point.
- Decorate your castle with pencils or felt tips but avoid using paint
3) MULTIPLE AND SEPARATE KEY RESOURCES
Key resources are essential necessities that cats need to be happy and healthy in the home, including food, water, toileting areas, scratching areas, play areas and as mentioned above, safe resting and sleeping areas. If you have multiple cats it’s important to ensure they have their own ‘key resources’ in separate areas of the house. Also, you should never be disturbed whilst making use of them – except for play time of course.
TOP TIPS
- Food
Food is an essential provision, however it’s important to consider that it is provided in a cat-friendly way. There are a variety of different bowls available, including glass, ceramic, plastic and stainless steel. However, if your cat wears a collar, a constant clinking noise on the side of stainless bowl could be very off-putting.
- Water
Naturally cats look for food and their water separately. Therefore, locating their water bowl away from their feed will promote hydration, and finding water can be extremely rewarding. It is also important to have one water container per cat in the house hold – away from food, the bowl should also be big enough so that your cat can drink from its bowl without its whiskers touching the sides, and like their bowls full to the top, so they can lap without putting their heads down.
- Litter Trays
It is essential to have a little tray if you cat is housebound, but also highly recommended even if your cat is free to explore outside too. When considering the location of your cat’s litter tray(s) they should be situated in a discreet corner, away from their food and water, and way from busy thoroughfares, and away from areas in the house that a cat might find stressful – i.e. Near a busy door.
4) RESPECT THE CAT’S SENSE OF SMELL
A domestic cat’s sense of smell is about twenty times stronger than ours! Cats rely heavily on their sense of smell as they use scents to gather information, but also communicate.
TOP TIPS
To support your cat’s wellbeing around the house, you should avoid strong smelling cleaning products, scented candles or room sprays. However, if you are able to provide scratching and facial rubbing areas and consider taking off your outdoor footwear off when you enter your home it will elevate any new challenging smells in the house. It is also important to provide places for appropriate scent marking, aka feline communication.
5) POSITIVE, CONSISTENT AND PREDICTABLE HUMAN-CAT SOCIAL INTERACTION
Consistent and positive handling of your cat from a young age promotes positive behaviours such as reduced fear and stress, but also initiates a strong human bond. As companion animals, cats benefit from friendly, regular and predictable social interaction with humans.
Ways to recognise if your cat is receptive include:
- Purring
- Facial rubbing
- Chirruping
- Head bunting
- Vertical tail
- Relaxed roll
And remember… cats like:
- To be in control
- A gentle touch and voice
- Low intensity and high frequency contact
TOP TIPS
If you’re working from home, below are some top tips of how to support your cat:
- Find a workstation in a room where your cat spends little time
- Or if your cat enjoys being with you, set up a cosy bed on the table/desk
- Adopt your normal working hours, and if possible, ignore your cats demands and attention seeking behaviour during those hours.
- Do not use food to treat or bribe your cat to stop pestering you when you’re working (this may have the opposite effect)
Some of the measures above are not only for the current climate we find ourselves in, but all year round, and will ensure you have a happy and healthy cat.
Information source: Vicky Halls RVN DipCouns Reg. MBACP (iCatCare/ISFM)
