The Indoor Cat

Outdoor cats can be found running, climbing, and hunting prey, but they can also be found fighting, escaping harm, and the possibility of being trapped in surrounding buildings. Life is an adventure for outdoor cats, but it is not always safe for them. Cats have the instinctual behaviour whether indoors or outdoors to run, stock, and hunt. To enrich an indoor cats life, it is good to find out if they are tree climbers, or cave dwellers. Does your cat love to be up high, or hide under the beds and couches? If you have a tree climber, put tall perches, window sill seats, and areas in the house for your cat to jump up to and look down on their surroundings. If your cat is a cave dweller, offer safe cozy places for them to hide in, and to feel the security of being lower to the ground. Cave dwellers usually enjoy sleeping in tents, under furniture, or anywhere they can “hide.” Tree climbers tend to enjoy flat high surfaces because their safety comes from seeing down from above.

Hunting is a natural form of play for cats. Cat’s instincts take over and they will stock, prowl, and pounce on anything that they think they can tackle or hunt. It is fun to play and interact with your cat. While there are many toys for interactive play, there are many out there that encourage individual play too. If your cat seems bored with their toys, take them away for a while, and marinate them in some catnip to create the new feeling in these older toys again. Small toys that your cat can carry in their mouth, to larger toys that they can tackle and kick are great to keep your furry friend enriched indoors.

Indoor cats can go outside. Cats can walk on a leash and hike long trails with you. Cats can go anywhere you want to enjoy their company. Cats are versatile creatures, and they too can be wonderful companions on adventures.

There are different options when it comes to feeding your cat. A raw diet, a soft food diet, and a kibble and soft food combined diet are feeding options. You can feed your cat scheduled meals, you can free feed, or you can offer both options as in free feeding one kind of food and offering another type at meal times. There is no hard and fast rule when feeding your cat, it has to work for both you and your furry friend. All options have their advantages, but they do have disadvantages as well. Free feeding can lead to overeating and weight gain in your cat, scheduled feeding can have very vocal cats when it comes to meal time, and the mixture of free feeding and meals, can be hard to monitor what exactly your cat is eating.

Whether you have questions about feeding your cat, exercising with your cat, or want to know how to help enrich their indoor lives, we are here to answer any questions, help you make an informed decision, and we always treat your pets like ours.