Have a bored cat? You may have a cat with behavior problems if you do! Providing a stimulating environment for your cat benefits not just them, but you as well.
Of course, when people say “enrichment” it can sound complex, intimidating, or expensive. It can be all those things, but it doesn’t need to be. There is a lot of enrichment you can add to your cat’s life with supplies you already have at home. DIY enrichment for cats is about getting creative and understanding what cats find enjoyable.
I’ll share a few ideas to get you started, but build off these ideas based on what your cats like. Your cat will tell you what’s enriching for them. Listen!
Make A Toy
Let’s start with a few simple ideas for DIY enrichment for cats focused on play and hunting. Most of these use recycled materials so start saving those large boxes and paper towel tubes.
Create Food Puzzles
While not all enrichment for cats has to involve food, making food puzzles is a fairly easy project to start with. Give the following a try:
- Take a paper towel or toilet paper tube and cut slits in the end. Fold the flaps of one end in. Cut small holes slightly bigger than your cat’s kibble or favorite crunchy treats. Fill the tube with a snack for your cat and fold then end in. Set it on a hard surface to let your cat push it around until the treats fall out.
- Take a cardboard box or large paper bag (just snip any handles to keep your cat safe). Fill it loosely with crinkled newspaper or butcher paper. Toss in a handful of your cat’s favorite treats or kibble.
- Bonus tip: If you want a bit of an extra boost, consider a catnip infused play bag. These are very popular around here.
- Find some small dishes or shot glasses (or get yourself these colorful cat face pinch bowls) and fill them each with a small amount of kibble or treats. If you place them in easy to find locations, wet food or Churu is also an option. Place them in different hiding spots so your cat gets to forage for their snacks.
- Add some kibble or treats to an ice cube tray. Some food puzzles require next to zero effort!
- Making a snuffle mat isn’t that difficult to do. I have a video guide on my YouTube channel with how to.
Make A Water Game
If your cat enjoys playing with water (like my sweet Poutine, who often is found playing with his water fountain) you can create water based enrichment for your cat. Set them up in a sink or bathtub to reduce the splish splash of your cat’s playtime from turning into a mess for you to clean.
For this activity, you’ll need the following:
- A waterproof pan or casserole dish, ideally glass or ceramic, though metal can work. Alternatively, you can use a large plastic seed starting tray or even a hard plastic children’s pool.
- Ping pong balls
- Ice cubes
- Water
Set up the pan/tray/whatever you use in the location you want your cat to play. Toss the ice cubes in alone or add just a bit of water prior to tossing them to so they slide around a bit. Alternatively, you can add at least a 1/2 inch of water and toss some ping pong balls in. The ping pong balls should float so add more water if they’re not.
You can remix this same combo of items in a many different ways to see what your cat likes. Try a small amount of water, ice, AND ping pong balls. Adding ice cubes and ping pong balls without water? That could be a good time, too.
Regardless of which combination of fun your cat prefers, the ice will create a trail of water as it melts that it will slide around on. Your cat will bat at the ice as it slips around and it will move a bit on its own after it melts. You can add a bit of catnip to entice them to play to help get them in the mood if needed!
Use Their Nose
Cats have powerful senses of smell. You can use that sense of smell in a variety of DIY enrichment for cats. If you’re looking for a whole course on scent based enrichment, I cannot recommend the Nosework Cats course enough.
You can start using scent using catnip, silver vine, or valerian root powder to get your cat engaged with a toy you already have on hand. Try sprinkling some of the cat drugs in different places to attract your cats into a box for play or onto a cat tower they may not have used a ton. Take advantage of the things you already have!
Growing Things To Sniff
If you are a cat and plant person, try growing your own catnip at home. If you have a brown thumb, fear not! Try growing the ‘nip in an indoor herb garden using catnip pods to take most work out of it. Valerian is also pretty easy to grow from seed.
Even if you don’t go the “fun plant” route, bring in some cat safe plants to create interesting smells for your cat. Your cat may try to nibble on them so screen your plants and ask a veterinarian if any plants you plan to try are cat safe before bringing home anything new.
Need some suggestions? I’m a fan of spider plants and hoyas. I’ve even used spider plants with clients whose cats like nibbling on plants as a “sacrificial plant” to redirect their munching.
No Gardening Required
Don’t want to grow anything? Nature already took care of it for you! Bring the outdoors inside to give your cat their own sniffari. Grab some leaves from trees you know haven’t been treated with chemicals and know they are cat safe and some twigs. Put them in a box for your cat to sniff.
If you’re short on time or not sure where to start with scent work, consider getting a scent enrichment kit. That isn’t exactly DIY enrichment for cats, but how you use it is where you can get creative.
Create An Obstacle Course
While agility is associated with dogs, it can be just as fun for the right cats. One way to do agility involves teaching your cat to follow a target using clicker training. If you want to try clicker training your cat, you can either learn how to do it yourself, grab a book on training cats, or get a clicker training kit. I can also help with clicker training lessons if you want individualized help.
Once your cat has learned to follow a target stick, start simple by leading them around obstacles in your home. A few ideas:
- Toss some pillows on the floor
- Create tunnels with boxes
- Have them weave between a series of objects or your furniture
- Jump over a short and then gradually taller barrier
- You can even use your own body as an obstacle by having them move around your legs in a figure 8
While my main focus is on things you can do at home, if you get really into agility, there are special agility kits you can buy that can supplement what you have around home. Most are made for dogs, but many can work for cats. Start with something simple involving cones and a jump.
Enrichment For Cats Using A Play Based Obstacle Course
Of course, you don’t have to do clicker training to create a fun obstacle course for your cat. You can also toss some pillows or boxes on the floor to create an interesting play session. The obstacles allow your cat to hide as they stalk a wand toy. This creates a good, satisfying hunt for your cat so their need to play will be satisfied.
Speaking of play…
Change How You Play
Are you playing with your cat correctly? If you are just tossing toys on the floor, chances are you aren’t getting the maximum benefit out of playing with your cat. One way to enhance both play and provide some extra enrichment is to change up how you play with your cat. A few ways to mix up play using things you have around home:
- Grab a towel or blanket and move a wand toy around under it. Just make sure you don’t use your hands or feet as the toy!
- Take a box and cut a hole in it that’s somewhat small. Stick a wand toy in and move the wand around inside the box, occasionally lightly hitting the side of the box to create some noise. Bonus idea: combine this with butcher paper, newspaper, ping pong balls, or even other small toys.
- Take a string-based toy like the Cat Charmer and tie a knot into the end. It may seem like a small change, but your cat may find the knot more exciting to hunt.
- Some cats like playing under doors. Consider sticking a wand toy under a door and moving it back and forth.
DIY Enrichment For Cats Doesn’t Have To Be Hard
Hopefully by now, you’re inspired to try using what you have around home (or a few extra supplies) to get your cat thinking. Cats are funny creatures and their interests can sometimes seem strange to us. That means things that may not see exciting are potential toys for your kitty.
Regardless of what you try, safety matters: Make sure everything you use is under direct supervision and that your cat can’t ingest anything you’re using that you don’t want them to ingest. Treats? Totally okay for your cat to eat those, but it’s not very enriching for your cat to end up at the emergency vet.
And if you’re really not sure what to try with your cat? Throw on some videos of birds for a while to distract your cat. Just follow up with an actual play session later.
