Sunday, August 21, 2011

The importance of kitten play


As any feline-owned person would agree, cats make excellent pets. They are clean and relatively low-maintenance (in contrast with many other pet species), but it is very important to maintain a healthy environment for your kitty. Overall, keeping your cat indoors is best, as indoor cats tend to live longer lives. However, you want to ensure that your cat is not only living a long and healthy life, but a fulfilling one as well.
As with most mammals, playtime for kitties is an incredibly important time for learning. Toys that enable you to hide food inside them allow your kitty to use his or her body and mind to solve a puzzle. Additionally, if your cat is generally inactive food is a great motivator. Interactive toys such as fishing poles or laser pointers allow you to enjoy playtime with your kitty, which strengthens your bond. Cat nip can be used in conjunction with play time to further motivate any lazy felines.
Indoor cats, lacking an outdoor hunting ground, tend to get bored or inactive which can lead to health problems. Therefore, they need a lot of environment enrichment. Environment enrichment is the process of creating an atmosphere for your kitty that meets his or her needs, with many stimulating toys to play with or places to explore or hide.
One of your kitties needs is to scratch and claw at things. This behavior may seem destructive, but serves to keep your cat’s claws sharp, as well as to stretch muscles or mark territory. If you would like to ensure that your cat does not make a habit of clawing at your furniture, you should provide him or her with a few options - a variety of locations and textures to scratch on will peak your kitties curiosity, as well as make him or her more likely to comply with the furniture being off-limits. Rubbing catnip over the area where you would like your cat to scratch will help to further motivate them.
In conclusion, you can easily create a fulfilling life and environment for your feline friend by following the above simple tips. Acknowledging all of the above needs is important in order to create a happy life for your kitty. If you need a cat sitter, please visit our website at www.dogsgowalking.com

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