Use these quick and easy pet enrichment tips to help put the “play” back in pets’ “playtime.”
1. Spread the love with the right resources. Every house should have the number-of-cats-plus-one ratio of these resources: scratching posts, elevated spots where the cats can go and litterboxes.
2. Share cheap DIY toy enrichment ideas. Toys don’t need to be expensive. Here are a few suggestions to get started on the right paw. Get paper bags instead of plastic at the grocery store. Cut the bottoms out, tape them together and you have a cat tunnel. Before you recycle a cardboard box, leave it out for a couple of days for your cat to hide in and bat around, or hide a tasty treat in the box and let your dog or cat figure out how to get the treat out of the box.
3. Think outside the bowl when feeding pets. If given a choice, an animal prefers the food that requires effort. Try an indoor hunting feeder, hide it and cats hunt for it. You can accomplish the same concept with a toilet tube roll: fill it with kibble, twist the ends, cut a couple of holes in it and let the cat hunt.
4. Cats need enrichment to prevent behavioral problems and obesity. Bored cats are stressed cats, and stressed cats pee on beds.
5. Only leave a few toys out at a time, and rotate toys every couple of days. Pets get bored with the same old toys.
6. Look for outdoor enrichment opportunities. Interested in outdoor enrichment for house cats? You might be interested in building a catio. You could also consider Cat Fence-In, a fence accessory that is designed to keep your cats inside your fence, and other cats out.
7. Make enrichment a fun game for pet parents too. Humans enjoy the dopamine boost of playing just as much as cats and dogs do, so make a list of your favorite ways to up the ‘play’ factor through enrichment.
8. Remember to walk that dog! The most overlooked enrichment for dogs is a walk. Letting the dog out into the yard isn’t the same as going for a walk. Dogs in yards get bored and can develop reactive behavioral problems. Everyone’s encountered the dogs that rush the fence and give you a heart attack every time you walk by. Go for a walk, and if you’re on a walk for the dog’s benefit, give the dog some time to be a dog. Loose the chokehold on the leash and let them sniff.
Written by Chris MacDonald, DVM
