How to Keep an Indoor Cat Entertained: Simple Games to Try

The cat can spend most of her life at home. Although it has a comfortable bed, a full bowl and a favorite place by the window, it also needs opportunities to move, hunt and discover.

The good news is, to entertain a cat at home may not mean buying constantly new toysOften work simple games that use her natural curiosity and Hunting behavior.

Let the cat catch something

A game that mimics hunting is one of the easiest ways to entertain a cat at home.

You can use the wand toy or any other toy you lead on the ground. Instead of waving fast in front of the cat, try to mimic the movement of the prey: move for a while, then hide behind the corner of the sofa or under the blanket and reappear slowly.

Let the cat's toy actually catch it. A game where prey never catches up can be less satisfying.

Just a few shorter games during the day. You don't have to entertain a cat for half an hour straight.

Hide the toy in the box

A simple cardboard box can offer surprisingly many options.

Cut out several sufficiently large holes and insert a ball or a favourite toy inside. The cat can look for her with a paw, move her and try to pull her out.

The easier option is to leave the box open and hide the toy under crumpled paper.

Before use remove the clips, tapes, strings or other parts that the cat might swallow.

Make the search a treat game

If the cat gets treats, you don't always have to hand them to her directly.

You can put one in an easy-to-reach location and the other one in turn to hide so that it has to look for them. Start simply - for example, next to the foot of the table or behind an open box - and increase the difficulty only according to how the cat understands the game.

Similarly, part of the normal dose of granules may be used instead of adding additional treats.

The search for food employs both sense of smell and head and may be more interesting for some cats than the food given each time in the same bowl.

Use paper

A crumpled piece of plain paper can be more interesting to a cat than the toy you carefully selected for it.

You can turn it into a light ball and let it slide on the floor. Some cats will chase him, others will take care of him.

Use clean paper without clips and other small parts. If the cat starts tearing it up and eating it, end the game.

Let the toy disappear

Cats are often more interested in what they don't see right now than the object laid right in front of them.

Move the toy under the light blanket or make it disappear around the corner. The cat can track the movement, wait and then attack.

You can use the same principle with a ball, a plush toy or a pipe.

Don't use your hands and fingers like prey. A cat can learn that biting and catching people's hands is a normal part of the game.

Create a simple route around the apartment

The game doesn't have to be on the floor.

If the cat has safe access to stable furniture, windowsill or wall rest, you can lead the toy between different places and encourage it to move.

You don't have to create a complicated obstacle course. A seat, chairs, boxes and one elevated place can be enough to give a new dimension to a normal game.

Make sure that the surfaces are stable and that the jumps match the cat's abilities.

Don't just switch games. Change your toys

If the cat has ten toys constantly on the floor, they can gradually become a normal part of the environment.

Try to leave a few outside and clean up the others for a few days. If you pull them out later, they can be more interesting to the cat without having to buy new ones.

It is also worth following preferences. One cat will be thrilled to chase the ball, the other will be waiting around the corner for the line, and the third will be the most peaceful with the cardboard box.

The goal is not to invent as many activities as possible. Just find out what games your cat really enjoys, and regularly offer her the opportunity to use them.