Dear Critter Corner: My one-year-old cat is super smart and needs to be kept busy throughout the day, or else he sometimes gets into places/things that he’s not supposed to. Luckily, I do work from home and am able to spend quite a bit of time tiring him out during our rigorous play sessions but am interested in integrating more enrichment into our daily routine. Would you be able to provide me with a couple of ideas of where to start with enrichment?
Enrichment can be as simple as providing various environmental stimulus to allow our cats to express their natural instincts in a positive way. Having multiple different outlets for our cat to express normal “cat behaviors” promotes the psychological, physical, and emotional well-being of our furry friends. For example, you can add more vertical and horizontal places for your cat to climb. You can place treat puzzles in various places for mental stimulation.
Clicker training is another great tool that you can use as enrichment! To begin clicker training, you will need to begin creating the association that every click signals that a treat or reward is coming. Once your cat begins to have a strong association between the clicker and receiving a treat, you can then begin working on target training initially by using successive approximation. For example, to train your cat to touch the clicker with their nose on command, start by having the target close to their face and whenever they move in the direction of the clicker, reward them with a click then treat. When your cat understands the game and begins touching the target on their own, you can then begin moving the target farther away from them. Once this step is mastered, you can then make the target move while asking them to touch it or perform a desired action (i.e. sit, spin, etc.).
Adding different enrichment to your cat’s daily routine can be very beneficial for reducing stress and boredom. It is important to remember that all cats have different preferences for what they like, and it would be great to try multiple types of enrichment!