Cats may nap for hours on end, but once they're ready to play, they can really show their energetic potential! Enrichment is a great, passive way to offer appropriate outlets for that energy, and the options are limitless!

Hide and seek with treats

Cats are natural hunters! A lot of our play with cats allows them to practice stalking and pouncing on their toys, but hiding their food can allow them to tap into their sense of smell. You can hide treats that your cat loves in spots around your house or a specific room. At first you’ll want to pick easy spots so your cat is successful, but you can gradually increase the difficulty as they improve their ability to search for treats. Hiding treats up high on places your cat can jump to safely, or in spots that require them to use their paws to fish out the treats are exciting ways to make the game more difficult - and fun - for them!

Need a treat to make hide and seek a breeze? Bocce’s makes an easy, low-calorie treat that’s excellent for hide and seek games. 

DIY cat agility course

Activities that allow your cat to demonstrate their athletic abilities can be a lot of fun for both of you! They are also great at giving your cat an appropriate outlet for some of their pent-up energy. 

While a normal play session with toys would involve them running and jumping after toys, you can enhance this by adding obstacles for your cat to maneuver around. These obstacles don’t need to be fancy- they can be regular household items turned into jumps or makeshift tunnels. 

Start with an easy course using things you can find around your house. For example, set up a row of throw pillows for them to jump over, and a foot stool or chair for them to jump onto. Once they complete the course, they earn their reward which could be a tasty treat or a favorite toy. 

DIY puzzle toys 

Buying puzzle toys from the store is one way to add enrichment to your cat’s life, but you can also make your own enrichment toys using things you have at home. Usually cardboard boxes and empty toilet paper rolls are the best option for this! 

Depending on your own creativity, you can also make simple toys by hiding a few treats in an empty toilet paper roll and folding the ends up. Your cat will need to use problem solving skills to get their treats out. 

If you’re up for more of a challenge on your end, you can save larger boxes and cut holes into the sides big enough for their paws to fit and hide treats and toys inside. They’ll need to fish out the contents with their paws! You can also tie plastic gallon caps to strings from inside the box for your cat to paw at. Cardboard boxes work great as DIY enrichment items because you have so many options and variations of toys you can incorporate without having to spend money on a new toy each time!