12 Easy Ways to Enrich Your Cat's Life

1. Rearrange Furniture

Your cat can jump higher thanks to furniture that is put in just the right places. Consider the agility required to move from the ground to the back of a chair to a shelf in a bookshelf to the very top of the breakfront!

2. Share (Nontoxic!) Kitchen Herbs

Basil, dill, and rosemary are safe for your cat to munch. If they're amenable to sharing, you can also use these herbs for cooking!

3. Make a Fort for Kitty

When you make the bed, fluff the blankets and sheets to make sure your kitty is comfortably covered. You'll come to enjoy this task just as much as Kitty does.

4. Leave Out Boxes

Shopping online? Leave the delivery box out for a few days before you recycle it—kitties are drawn to confined places where they can hide or sleep.

5. Take a Nature Break

Bring in something from outside, such as a branch, a rock, or fresh leaves (only nontoxic and pet-friendly plants, please!). Cats read the outside world when they sniff something new and earthy.

6. Play Hide and Seek

Another great cat enrichment activity is to lay an opened magazine or newspaper on the floor and make a cat toy dart under it, then back out again, to simulate the way small prey animals dart in and out of the grass.

7. Create a Scratcher Adventure Course

Buy or build vertical and horizontal scratchers for your feline. Make sure the vertical ones stand at least 3 feet tall and the horizontal ones are at least 1 foot wide for easy scratching.

8. Go Fishing

Fill a large mixing bowl with water and add a rubber duck or small wind-up toy. Place the bowl on a towel or tray on the floor and enjoy watching your cat splash.

9. Have Some Snuffle Mat Fun

Here's a simple DIY cat enrichment tip: Fold up a towel, hide some treats among the folds, and place it inside a box or big paper bag for your cat to explore.

10. Birdwatching

Set up an outdoor bird feeder just outside the window to create a cat TV, guaranteed to get good ratings! 

11. Chase the Treats

If you feed your cat dry food, ditch the bowl and add some excitement to feeding time by throwing pieces for kitty to chase.

12. Clicker Training

Clicker training is a wonderful bonding activity. Many kitties are quite good at it, and yours might amaze you with how many tricks she learns.