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December 18, 2023 | Cat

Indoor Play Ideas: Keeping Cats Entertained in Cold Weather

There are many reasons for wanting to keep your cat indoors, whether to protect them from the dangers of vehicles on the roads, to keep them warm and comfortable in the cold winter weather or whether to keep them safe from attack from predators or local thuggish cats who like to pick a fight.

However, it is very important to be mindful of the fact that cats need to be kept mentally and physically stimulated, if they are to be able to live as close a life as they would live in the “wild”, and hence able to express their “normal” or innate behaviour.

Female cat owner playing with her cat indoors

Climbing Areas

Cats love to explore and climb, and it’s not difficult to provide your cat with raised feeding stations, or look-out posts high up, allowing them to satisfy their climbing instincts, and view their surroundings from different perspectives. Cat trees, wall-mounted shelves or carpeted perches can be much appreciated in this respect and as such, vertical spaces also offer exercise opportunities, mental stimulation and a sense of security.

Areas for a cat to perch on

Setting up a comfortable perch near a window is also beneficial as cats are usually fascinated by birds and other wildlife activities and by providing them with a window view, they can engage with the sights and sounds of the great outdoors and this in turn provides mental stimulation. A window perch may also allow your cat to soak up the rays, as most cats are definitely sun-seekers!

Outdoor enclosures

Arguably even better than this, if you have the space and the resources, consider building your cat or cats their very own outdoor enclosure, or “catio”. This provides access to fresh air, sunshine and the opportunity to engage with the natural world, whilst also protecting them from potential hazards, such as traffic. Catios often incorporate raised platforms, branches, and perches - all helping to stimulate them mentally and physically in the safe confines of a secure enclosure.

Puzzle Feeders

The use of puzzle feeders, or interactive toys is one of the best ways to alleviate boredom in indoor cats, and these usually involve the use of “edible treats” as a reward for input of work. Interactive play also engages their brains, helping to alleviate boredom too.

Limit the amount of cat treats

It is, however, important not to overdo the “treats” as indoor cats are likely to be expending less energy than if they were outdoors, and so it is very easy for indoor cats to gain excessive weight. This can lead to health complications such as diabetes, and as with ourselves, carrying extra weight makes you feel more tired, and the knock-on effect of this is that you are less inclined to take that much-needed exercise as it seems like an effort - and so the cycle begins, and it is a hard one to break. For this reason, consider feeding your indoor cat a reduced, or moderate calorie complete diet, and remember that the word “complete” means all nutrients etc are fully provided in the diet, and so if you are going to feed anything additional as a “treat”, then reduce the amount of the complete diet fed, so as not to allow the consumption of excess calories and fat.

Cat Toys

Not all interactive toys include the use of edible rewards and need not be expensive. Examples include chasing a ping-pong ball around in a dry bath empty of water or chasing feathers on the end of a piece of elastic attached to a stick. An empty cardboard box into which you have made various “entrances” can be very entertaining and believe it or not, there are also numerous videos on the internet these days, purely to be used to stimulate cats, such as those of birds flying around, or squirrels at a feeder.

If you have stairs in your home, you can encourage more activity/exercise, by hiding toys or a few treats in different areas and levels of the house; this also helps to mentally stimulate cats as it allows for the expression of normal behaviours such as exploring, hunting, and pouncing.

All Cats Are Different to Each Other

Remember that not all cats have the same characteristics, and whilst some may be confident and bold, others may be shyer and need more quiet spaces to retreat to. This may be particularly important in households where there is more than one cat and where a “pecking order” develops. The more confident cat may well intimidate or bully the shy one, causing the under-cat (as opposed to under-dog) to feel stressed, and stress in indoor cats can be a big problem, leading to inappropriate toileting behaviour (i.e. not in the litter tray), and even stress-induced urinary tract infections.

Providing several litter trays (ideally one per cat) can help, along with allowing safe spaces for more anxious cats to hide away if they feel the need.

Designated Toilet Areas for your Cat

Talking of such “unwanted behaviours” as inappropriate toileting, it is important to provide suitable scratch posts around the house, particularly if you want to discourage the clawing of carpets and sofas.

Concluding Thoughts

PocketVet vet Dr Rachel Louise Keane (BVSc BSc MRCVS) says that disparagers of indoor cats may be advised not to criticise too hastily, for there are often very valid reasons for a cat having little access to the outside world, which may not be immediately obvious. Aside from keeping them safe from harm, it may also be a case of protecting other cats from your cat, if, for example, he or she is temperamental and regularly gets into fights - this is even more crucial if your cat is a carrier of the FIV or FeLV viruses, and due to the fact these viruses are readily spread between cats, your duty as a responsible owner is to keep your cat indoors, preventing the passing on of the disease from your cat to others.