Be a cat-tastic pet-parent by enabling these natural behaviours.
Once you have provided your cat with the basics – shelter, food, water and so on – you will need to enhance their home habitat to bring pleasure and stimulation, as well as security and stability.
Here are a few pointers below but remember always to consider your own kitty’s personality (when it comes to cats, we all know they are very much individuals) to make the best choices.
Also, don’t underestimate the importance of litter trays when it comes to feline happiness and harmony, especially if you have more than one cat!
- Firstly, cats do not like to share resources so always have more litter trays than cats and, even if you only have one cat in the home, be a thoughtful pet-parent and provide an extra litter tray.
- Secondly, the position of litter trays is important… cats would always choose to do their business in private so litter trays next to washing machines, tumble dryers, busy corridors and so on will not be a place for quiet kitty reflection.
Once the toileting is optimised, you will be well placed to take those next steps!
Home enhancements every cat will desire and need include:
- Scratching posts – cats love to scratch for several reasons. Therefore, a quality, durable scratching post will allow your kitty to enjoy one of their big sensory stimulating pleasures and will help to both invigorate and, equally, relax your cat!
- Lots of safe places to snuggle and snooze…. a snoozing cat is a relaxed cat so create an environment conducive to plenty of catnaps and your feline friend will be feline good!
- Allow your cat to be a cat by letting them act out their predatory nature using toys, feeding puzzles and the opportunity to pounce…. use prey alternatives and make it a bit of a challenge (but let them catch their “kill” to avoid frustration). This is in their DNA and will bring rewards for everyone by keeping your cat mentally and physically stimulated.
- Celebrate your cat’s sense of smell! Your cat’s sense of smell is at least twenty times better than ours. Everywhere your cat goes they will be leaving smell markers and phermones that help to create a feeling of safety, security, happiness and more. Your cat wants their environment to become permeated with their scents and pheromones so that they can feel at home. So, avoid using over-powering air-fresheners or incense and let your cats own their space with their noses!
Be a cat-tastic pet-parent by recognising and enabling these natural behaviours and help our feline friends to live their very best lives…! If in doubt, ask your pet-care provider for tips and advice to help create a feline friendly home!
Dr. Katrin is the founder of the German Veterinary Clinic. Her passion and commitment to delivering the highest standards of animal care as well as her extensive knowledge and experience has enabled the clinic to expand and flourish.
Dr Katrin is currently a resident in Veterinary Behaviour Medicine of both the European as well as American College of Animal Welfare and Behaviour Medicine and is the first (and only) veterinarian in the Middle East to specialize in this field. This means that GVC is the only clinic that can treat the mental, emotional and physical health of all our pet-patients.
