hey friends it's jess and jericho and to keep cats entertained we need to provide
mental stimulation and enrichment cats need to play hunt climb scratch perch
hide and rest these are all natural behaviors of all cats so we need to provide all of this
enrichment and mental stimulation to keep our cats entertained indoors
the best way to keep your cat entertained especially when you're not home is get a
window perch or you could put your cat's condo or tree next to the window window is basically
like tv for cats it serves endless entertainment even if your view stinks cats love looking outside
they like to watch the birds maybe there's a bug on the window or there's people walking by
cats love to be by the window so people watch watch over their territory and they also like
to catch a nap in the sun jericho loves his window perch he naps on it every single day
he spends some time in the sun and then he also watches all of the birds fly around this video
is not sponsored but i've included affiliate links to these products in the description below i like
this window perch the most because there are no power tools required i live in an apartment
so i can't really install anything that requires nails or screws this window perch comes with
a soft memory foam pad and a washable cover it attaches to the windowsill with hook loop
fasteners and these metal legs and i also put the ledge on jericho's condo for added support
clients and friends have told me that their cats didn't really like the hammock suction cup
looking type window perches they said their cats didn't use it i believe it's because cats prefer
to walk on a hard stable flat surface so if it kind of moves around and it's a little unstable
when your cat walks on it he's not going to be comfortable using it and therefore he's not
going to use it but this window perch is flat and there's a hard stable surface of wood underneath
the memory foam and again i rested the ledge on the condos so that it has extra support as well
as those metal legs and of course i checked the sturdiness of it weekly because jericho likes to
jump from the window perch all the way to the top of his ladder he's a very rambunctious boy
cat furniture is amazing for entertainment enrichment and mental stimulation trying to
buy cat furniture that satisfies multiple needs especially if you live in a small space that way
you spend your money on one thing and that one thing can provide a lot of entertainment
to your cat for example we have the cat ladder i put it up against the windows so there's one
form of entertainment right there plus jericho climbs scratches perches naps and even plays
on the ladder i put toys on the different stair levels so that he can paw around at them and play
and then i also hide treats on his ladder when he goes hunting for them so this one piece of
furniture satisfies six different enrichment needs and it doesn't take up a lot of space
another great furniture piece to have is a private bed for your cat cats like to cuddle
up and they like to be warm this is actually a two in one bed so right now the top part is
folded down but i can open that up and then it becomes a little secluded cave so you see what i
mean it has more than one function it can do more than one thing so that's going to help when your
cat gets bored or if you want to change it up and i always have this next to me while i work jericho
likes to to be with me i also put it next to the window so you can catch some sun and even though
jericho sleeps in bed with me every night even though he naps with me i still have little private
beds for him because they like to cuddle up and be cozy and get into that safe and secure place
so he can rest in this and then he can also use it as a hiding spot if i have it opened and having
private secluded beds is another great way to keep your cat entertained when you're not home so maybe
your cat wants to snuggle up you're not home he can go to his nice warm cozy bed another must-have
cat furniture piece is a scratching post all cats scratch this is a natural behavior a scratch to
shed dead layers of the claws they also scratch to relieve stress and they also do it to mark their
territory and they scratch when they're excited all cats scratch so of course you need to provide
proper scratching areas teach your cat how to use it and that's going to save your furniture from
claw marks and please please please never declaw your cat this is a serious amputation of the toe
not just the nail a human version of declawing would be like losing the tip of your finger
so again this is an amputation of not just the claw they also take a portion of your cat's toe
in the process some of my cat sitting clients they adopted a cat they were already declawed my mother
adopted a cat he was already declawed they still want to scratch this is a natural instinct that
all cats have so now imagine what it's like for a cat he wants to relieve some stress so he goes to
scratch but he can't because there's there's nothing for him to use to scratch talk about
stress and this can also create behavioral issues you know they have a lot of pent-up stress that
they can't release so again please do not declaw your cat get proper scratching areas teach your
cat how to use it and trim those claws regularly another fun piece of cat furniture that jericho
loves is his tunnel his specific one is super long and sturdy jericho loves to run through it while
we're playing you can toss toys through the tunnel or alongside the tunnel for your cat to run this
will encourage him to run around and become more active and thus will keep him more entertained
mine and jericho's favorite activity center is the ripple rug we play on this
every single day jericho plays on the ripple rug by himself and he also plays on ripple rug with me
you can hide toys and treats inside the ripples to simulate the hunting experience and you can tease
wand toys around the ripples as well this is great for mental stimulation and for keeping your cat
entertained and an excellent way to get your cat to play the ripple rug is designed specifically
for cats so your cat can scratch hide rest hunt and play on these rugs you can machine wash them
and it's easy to roll up if you need to save some space put it away when you're done playing
hunting for treats is a really fun way to keep your cat entertained indoors this is another
wonderful way to simulate the hunting experience indoors so we have to take a little bit of your
cats wild side bring it indoors that's how you can keep him entertained and happy so jericho
looks forward to his hunting for treats routine every day i break up some freeze-dried minnows
hide them on glass jar lids around the apartment as i mentioned inside the ripple rug on top of
condos inside of his beds really anywhere they fit so your guy has to use his senses you know
sniff out the treats and then look around for them maybe do some pawing action and then he's
rewarded for his hard work you can also use puzzle toys or foraging mats to hide treats
so again your cat will have to do a little nose work pawing around working for his reward that's
great entertainment and mental stimulation you can buy puzzle toys or treat release toys or you
can make your own with toilet paper rolls just find a fun way for your cat to work for his food
or treats and that's going to provide a lot of mental stimulation and keep your cat entertained
and of course playing with your cat is a great way to keep your cat entertained
it's great for bonding it's healthy exercise so it's really good for both of you to play
with your cat playing with your cat also simulates the hunting experience indoors the
indoor version of hunting is playing i've tested hundreds of cat toys and found that cats prefer
toys made with natural materials like wool cotton hemp fur feathers soft natural materials
like that mimic prey in appearance and texture we know it's a toy but your cat sees it as prey
and again the indoor version of hunting is playing and if you're someone that says my
cat doesn't like to play i've heard this so many times just give it some time patience dedication
make it a routine and use the right tools you can check out this video right over meow for
the exact steps of how i get jericho to play with me every single day thanks for watching