January is a month filled with resolutions: new gym memberships, diets, and goal setting. While most of these resolutions are focused on self-improvement, there’s no reason you can’t extend these resolutions to the most important members of your household: your cats!
This is a great time of your year to make a few small changes to improve your cat’s life. And really, improving your cat’s life will improve your own. You’ll have a happier, more affectionate cat who has less unwanted behavior. It’s a win-win for all involved!
How Can You Make Your Cat Happier In The New Year?
So what are some small changes you can make to improve your relationship with your cat in 2023? (Or really any year you’re reading this, honestly) It doesn’t need to be that much work. There are a few easy steps you can take to get your cat purring away as the ball drops in Times Square.
Respect Their Boundaries
If your cat doesn’t like being picked up or petted for long periods of time, don’t try to force affection on them. It may feel like you’re being doting, but they probably aren’t enjoying it. You can show your affection to cats in other ways. Consider adding more cat-specific resources to your home or more enrichment to their lives. Hey, speaking of which…
Play With Your Cat
Boredom is a real problem with cats. Playing with your cat for 10-15 minutes two or three times per day will improve your cat’s life and reduce boredom-related behavior concerns. A favorite among many cats is the Cat Dancer. It’s inexpensive and cats go bananas for it!
If you want to learn more about how to properly play with your cat, consider picking up a copy of Play With Your Cat by Mikel Delgado. It’s packed with great information about how cats like to play and why play is so important. Your cat will appreciate the newly acquired information and you’ll achieve your own new year resolution to learn something new. Wins all around!
Get Your Cat A Cat Tower
Yes, you need furniture for your cats. Cats like climbing and vertical space in particular. A tall tower is a much better choice than a small, lower-to-the-ground tower for most cats. You can even find towers that aren’t covered in carpet and have wood or other nice-looking finishes. In addition to a tower, somewhere to hide and some scratching posts will keep your cat purring all year!
Looking for a guide on picking out a great cat tower? I’ve got you covered.
Scoop The Litter Box Daily
Yes, daily. Even better is scooping it twice per day (or, if you’re like me, you scoop basically whenever your cat uses the box). Get some compostable or plant based poop bags to scoop the waste into and chuck it in the trash. You can also try a Litter Genie so you can just seal away the odor after scooping. Proper litter box maintenance will result in your cat being more likely to use their box and it will keep the smell down.
Drugs
Get your cat some silver vine, valerian, or catnip from Meowy Janes. They’re perfectly safe herbs that will put your cat in a blissful mood. Want to try all three? Meowy Janes has a special sample pack available so you can give them all a go!
Train Your Cat
Cat training is fun for all species involved. I’m here to help if you want some professional cat training tips. Otherwise, there are some great books out there on cat training. You can also get a clicker training kit.
Learn About Cats And Cat Behavior
Cats are fascinating and by learning more about why they do what they do, you’ll have a better relationship with them. My blog is a great source of information on cat behavior in my humble and unbiased opinion. A great starting point is my cheeky blog on gay cats. Otherwise, you can check out Purr by Zazie Todd or The Complete Guide to Adopting a Cat by Laura Cassiday for some great general information on cats. For information on cat body language specifically, check out Kitty Language.
Make Your Cat’s New Year Bright
No matter which of these ideas you start with, your cat will be happier to have more of their mental and environmental needs met. These ideas are simple and won’t take you much time to start. You can continue them all through the year and even into 2024! Try a few or try them all.
On that note, I just want to say thank you for another fabulous year of helping your cats. I’ve gotten to meet some fantastic people and help their cats behave their best again this year and I appreciate your support. I have big things planned for next year! I’m looking forward to what 2023 has in store.
Happy New Year from Class Act Cats!
