How to occupy your cat and improve his well-being : how to increase the available space to your cat ?

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Here is the last part of what we want to share with you after the training followed by Claire two weeks ago (part 1 : how to put food available in a way which increases the cat’s level of activity ? ; part 2 : which games and activities offer to your cat ?).

Reminder : according to a study of Bonnie Beaver (Feline Behavior, 2003), the approximate time dedicated to various activities by a free cat is the following one : sleeping 9 hours, resting 4-5 hours, bathing 3-4 hours, hunting 4 à 9 hours, moving and feeding 1 hour, other activities (game, marking, elimination) 1 hour. Numerous indoor cats are sub-occupied and spend their days sleeping to pass the time.

How to increase the available space to your cat ?

In an apartment, the available space is 10 to 50 times as small as the space that a cat would occupy in nature. Thus it’s necessary to increase it at the most by using the vertical space in various places of the house, by multiplying the accessible locations in height for the cat as well as the observation posts on the outside.
Pixie on the ladder
You can do it by adapting your existing furniture : summits of shelves or cupboard cleared, furnish near windows, wall shelves reserved for your cat, …

You can also invest in one or several cat trees placed in places where there is something interesting to observe.
Zorro on the cat tree
An old or overweight cat will need additional landings, a banister, or a staircase to reach the various points in height, but will be very happy being able to do it thanks to these arrangements.

A free access to an edge of window, or even better, to a terrace or a balcony, is also ideal, provided that the window or the balcony is secured.
Pixie acrobate

  • No, a cat doesn’t have a perfect sense of balance.
  • Yes, he risks to have a fall, even if he is skillful.
  • No, a cat doesn’t always come out from a fall unscathed : he is in a state of shock, he can break itself the members, but he can especially suffer from sometimes fatal internal injuries: bleeding, fracture of the palate (palatine crack), pneumothorax, bladder break, diaphragm break, heart and lungs compression, …

Thus it is strongly recommended to install or to make install a anti-falls net.

We live in paradise : we have a home designed for us, and a secured garden. If you want ideas, “Catification” from Jackson Galaxy is Claire’s favorite book : he is abundantly illustrated, and presents many easily practicable ideas for catifying your home.
cover Catification by Jackson Galaxy
You can also find other ideas here if you like Ikea.

19 thoughts on “How to occupy your cat and improve his well-being : how to increase the available space to your cat ?

  1. Frimousse

    I, Frimousse, have my big house and my garden. It’s okay for me. Yesterday I spent some time in my lime tree, jumping from branches to branches. Great fun!
    As far as my friend RouXy is concerned, my Master would rather restrict his space! That is what he does everyday, following RouXy wherever he goes…

  2. Sammy

    Well my time is mostly spent sleeping instead of playing or exploring these days…….but this is wonderful advice and ideas for those who are a bit younger than me!

    Hugs, Sammy

  3. da tabbies o trout towne

    pixie & zorro…..eye try ta climb everee ladder eye see N haz done sew sinz eye waz a wee one……thanx for sharin thiz post coz now eye am gonna show de food servizz peepulz that

    YEZ LADDERS CAN COME IN SIDE DE HOUZ !!!!!!!! 😉

    butter lover boomer o cat

    happee fryday & heerz two a zebra tilapia kinda week oh end ~~~~~~~~ ♥♥♥

  4. Mark's Mews

    We are pretty lucky. We get outside time, which is always stimulating. We get called inside every few hours for small meals, which is a lot like the natural 6 mice a day that cats are supposed to need, and we get a variety of food flavors and textures. TBT plays with us several times a day, with different stuff (there is a big difference between a rattley mouse, a bouncy ball, and a flying toy). We have lots of neat places to nap. And we get to sleep with TBT almost all night. We are probably more active than most house cats.

  5. The Daily Pip

    We have always had vertical spaces for our kitties. Strangely, Rosie and Moo Shu don’t seem interested in climbing up high. Maybe Ruby, our dog, is influencing them.

    Love Jackson Galaxy, too.

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