Cats have a wide range of emotions much as we do. They can feel sad, experience depression, be happy, lonely, and so much more. Today we will be covering boredom. Boredom in your cat can lead to weight gain, depression, and troublesome behavior. So how can we combat boredom? How can you tell your cat is bored?

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This post will discuss ways to recognize boredom and offer suggestions on how you can help your furbaby from getting bored. So, the big question is how to identify that your cat is bored? With the way cats can spend up to 15 hours sleeping it can be hard to spot boredom especially with everyday life, work, and family chaos happening. Some of the signs to look for that your kitty (or kitties if you are like us) are bored is:

1. They are moping around the house. If you notice your cat(s) just mindlessly wandering around with no interest insight, that may be a sign they are bored. Our cats, when they walk around the house, always look like they are on a mission or they have a purpose in the direction they are moving.

2. Overeating. Overeating is not always a sign of boredom. You could have a cat like our Cadabra that just LOVES FOOD and eating. But if your cat was not a normal overeater and becomes an overeater this is a good sign of boredom. We as humans are guilty of this as well with boredom eating.

3. Over-grooming or under-grooming. How can you tell your cat is over/under-grooming? Some helpful hints are you will notice bald spots on your furbaby where they are over licking. Under grooming is kind of a self-explanation. Your cat will start looking pretty rough with matted hair.

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4. Lack of normal curiosity. Cats are curious by nature. They must explore and investigate everything. So, if you are doing something or you moved something and your cat is not wanting to investigate; this is a good sign your cat is bored.

5. Chasing or fighting other animals. In our house, it’s hard not having a spat or small fight over territory spots. But if your cat is chasing and bullying your other cat, or even the dog it is a good sign they are bored and they are creating their own form of entertainment. We encourage you to redirect this energy to other places before it gets out of hand.

So how do we help? There is a lot we can do to help our furbabies. The big thing is to provide them with more mental and physical stimulation. The best way to do this is to introduce a more enriching environment for your cat. Providing a combination of interactive toys, plenty of high places to climb, scratching posts and horizontal scratchers, and perches in front of secure windows to let your cat view the outside world. All can go a long way in helping to entertain your cat and keep your cat stimulated in the right way.

Below we will go over a list of toys, scratching posts, and more to keep your furbaby happy and healthy. We will provide some links to the list below.

1. Cat Tunnels. A big item our cats like is cat tunnels. Even our Corgi, Maggie loves the tunnel. We have short tunnels, long tunnels, and cats love them. Their favorite tunnel is the PAWZ Road Cat Toys Collapsible Tunnel.

2. Cat Scratching posts. Cats love to scratch and the action helps them remove old material from their claws. They also get to mark territory with scent glands in their paws. Since we do not want them to do this on our furniture we feel the scratching posts really help to deter that. The more the better. We have a cardboard scratching post and wood ones with rope. We even have (for a lack of a better term) a wavy one. Our furbabies love the flat and curved scratching post and a lot of time they sleep on them as well. For us, more than one scratching post is a MUST HAVE with multiple cats.

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3. Toys. Cats are like forever toddlers, and with that, they need toys to entertain them. They need interactive toys such as Petstages Cat Tracks Cat Toy – Fun Levels of Interactive Play (Dad note: at the time of writing about this toy Aria is playing with it now. All the cats seem to really enjoy this toy a lot.) Next, a great toy is a laser pointer. This is truly the best toy/exercise for them. We found a cat toy that is going on their Christmas list this year and we are excited to try it out. It’s the Yvelife Cat Laser Toy Automatic. Another toy we would like to try for them is Potaroma Electric Flopping Fish. But, of course, the standard cat toys like a feather or mouse on a string or plastic cat balls are fantastic toys. Something that will help is to not put all the toys out at once and introduce them slowly so it’s like something new all the time. Another great idea that we do often is to take back one of their toys when they get a new one and reintroduce their old toy a few weeks later. BAM! It is new again. Of course, boxes are always a great toy and you can get them free all the time from local stores, and they make great adventures for the furbabies.

4. Cat window perch. Cats love to look outside mostly because the movement keeps them entertained. But what if you do not have furniture by a window? Not a problem. This cat window perch is great, and the cats love it especially on sunny days so they can rest in the sun. It even holds our heaviest cat Cadabra. And some fold up so you can close your window blinds, or shades, or both at night.

We personally thank you the reader for being here with us today. We hope we were able to help and enlighten you on ways to battle cat boredom. Please be sure to sign up for our Kittystead newsletter for upcoming blogs, tips, and so much more. Thank you again and have a great day.

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