5 Easy Steps to Fix Your Cat’s Boredom

In this article we share 5 easy steps to fix your cat’s boredom, keep your cat curious and encourage play for years to come.

 

 

Is your cat bored with toys?

It’s no secret that cats are naturally energetic and playful animals, but it is also very common for cats to become bored with toys.  Over time this can result in oversleeping, overeating and an overall change in what once was a peppy firecracker personality. Toys encourage your cat to be active which may contribute to maintaining a healthy body weight and overall mood.

 

Have you ever gotten dressed and weren’t able to find anything to wear despite having a closet full of clothes, or browsed Netflix and couldn’t find anything to watch even though there’s thousands of movies and shows available?  Well, cats experience similar issues.

 

So many cat toy choices

If you’ve ever walked down the toy section of your local pet store, you probably noticed an abundance of toys ranging from simple fuzzy balls to more intricate, interactive and electronic toys.  Unless your cat is picky or favors some toys over others, you really can’t go wrong with your selection.

 

Over time your cat has accumulated an impressive arsenal of toys and you may have noticed that despite having several toys laying around, your cat has become bored with them.  This is a very common occurrence.  Just like humans, cats need to be stimulated with new objects to encourage play and interest.  Luckily there is an easy solution and its called toy rotation.

 

 

I adopted this technique while working with animals at several different animal shelters. Short and long term stays at animal shelters can have a very negative affect on animals resulting in severe boredom which often leads to sever anxiety and depression in cats and dogs.

This technique was very affective in promoting play and physical activity which resulted in much happier moods even with difficult cats.

 

5 Easy Steps to Fix Your Cat’s Boredom Using Toy Rotation

 

Follow these easy steps to keep your cat curious

and to encourage play for years to come.

 

5 Easy Steps to Fix Your Cat’s Boredom | Toy Rotation

 

Step 1. |  Gather Up the Toys

Gather all the toys, including the ones buried deep under the couches and inside of shoes.

 

 

Step 2. | Inspect the Toys

Inspect all the toys.  Decide which ones you want to keep and which to throw away.  Typically it is a good idea to throw away any damaged toys. – if the damaged toy is one of your cat’s favorites, then take note and you can always replace it with a new one later on.

 

Step 3. | Categorize the Toys

categorize the toys.  Separate toys of similar size and texture from interactive/ electronic toys.

 

Step 4. | Toy Rotation

This is where the magic happens!  Pick out 2 toys from the collection and place them in odd spots around your humble abode. It is important that the 2 toys are of different category type. eg: fuzzy ball and a battery powered mouse. By placing the toys in odd random spots, your cat will stumble up on the toy when he/she least expects it.  This will create excitement and a sense of discovery.

 

Step 5. | Repeat Daily

repeat every day or every other day.

 

5 Easy Steps to Fix Your Cat’s Boredom | Complete!

Voilà! Success! Now you can sit back while you wait for your Pet Parent Achievement Award to come in the mail!

Providing your cat with just two new toys a day enables them to appreciate what they have and focus more attention on the one or two toys. This technique will keep your cat on their toes, they will start to anticipate playing with a new toy everyday day, it will provide a sense of mystery and break away from routine. Oftentimes less is more.

 

“It’s not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness” –C. Spurgeon-.

 

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5 Easy Steps to Fix Your Cat’s Boredom

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