Pet enrichment

[Cloud]

How do you keep your cats/dogs entertained?

I worry about this a bit, since I'm gone from the house most of the day. Oh, I know they sleep most of the time. But I worry about pet owners who just leave their animals without toys or new things to be interested in.

I recently talked to a friend who complained that her dogs made mud pies in their water dishes. I suggested they were bored (they're in a dog run all day) and she provide toys or ramps or something for them, and she just dismissed that as a stupid idea.

I like to build box structures so cats can play hide and seek in them.

They also like it when I put a food dish in an unexpected place. They can "hunt" for it.

[ZenGum]

I have made "box castles" for cats a few times. I reckon the cats enjoy it almost as much as I enjoy watching/playing with them.
One good sized box, a few holes big enough to fit through, a few small holes they can get a paw through, some dangling toys .... hours of fun, and then a nap.
Oh to be a cat ....

[Cloud]

Yeah, I even have some fancy "box rivets" that you can use to put together box castles for kids and stuff.

[DanaC]

Generally speaking vets advise not to leave too many toys and bones and so on for your dog. Most toys and chewbones have "for supervised use" on the labels.

I'm pretty sure Pilau just entertains himself. He's a fairly self sufficient beastie in that way. Of course, once I am home he feels he has a right to my attention and a little structured play, which he sometimes, but not always gets. Mainly I entertain him with three or four country walks a week and a regular supply of biscuits....

[Mockingbird]

Originally Posted by Cloud

They also like it when I put a food dish in an unexpected place. They can "hunt" for it.

That's an awesome idea. My cat is a big hunter so he would probably get a kick out of that. Just the other day I saw him prying open cabinets with his paws trying to find where I hid his food bag so he won't rip into the bottom and eat it all.... again.

[DanaC]

My bro has a Rhodesian ridgeback called Amber (aka Fat Lass) who has a penchant for raw carrots. They've had to put child locks on the cupboards to stop her raiding the veg stores.


Actually she has a penchant for food in a general sense...this one time (at band camp....hang on, no, wrong story) my bro en famille came home to find she'd managed to get her paws on a tupperware cntainer full of scones or cookies that their youngest had made at school. She'd chewed through the base of the tub and eaten every last crumb of baked goods.

[ZenGum]

Advice from a vet:
Have a variety of pet toys, but only have one or two out at a time, and put them away after a day or two and get new ones out. Change toys before the pet gets bored of the current one. Thus the toy is an interesting surprise every time it comes out.

[lookout123]

well, i have this industrial size jar of peanut butter, and when i'm bored i just rub a little...

[DanaC]

Depends on the toy type and pet play-style though zen. My dog is one of those dogs for whom 'play' means dismantle as fast as possible. I would be very wary of leaving certain types of toy out for him when I wasn't around.

[DanaC]

Lookout, I've said it before I'll say it again...., you've gone wrong, mate.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Lookout, I've said it before I'll say it again...., you've gone wrong, mate.

Depends on where he rubs it (he, right?)...
Edit: our cats LOVED vegemite ... I guess for the saltiness. and cornflakes (for the crunchiness). One liked potato peelings ... but only of they were stolen. Put them on his plate and watch the scorn.

Dana, the advice I mentioned was for cats. Your doggie appears to be entropy incarnated.

[Aliantha]

My tom cat loves climbing in boxes and even bags or suitcases if they're left on the floor.

My husband brought a new backpack home the other day and he'd just taken the plastic off it and dropped it on the floor while he looked at some other stuff and then we looked back, Shadow was all curled up on it. He's a weirdo.

Every time we buy a carton of wine we leave the box out for the cats to sit in, even though they have a perfectly good 'cat house' which is a box on top of a scratching pole. They've kind of gone off the cat house lately, but I'm sure it'll come back into vogue when one of them decides they like it again.

If my dogs get bored they start ripping stuff up in the yard including the plants. Usually we just spend a lot of time with them. Between me and Dazza and the kids (not to mention the hordes from around the neighbourhood), there's usually someone in the yard talking to them.

[Sundae]

Before I moved here and the cats could go outside I used to hide (dried) food for them. They had a cat tree but apart from chasing games the only time they used it was when I walked up to it. They were smart enough to know it meant I was hiding treats!

Anything you can do will help. With cats, boxes are a source of pleasure and the smaller the entrance hole the better. You're doing a great job Cloud.

[DanaC]

Why would your cats need a tree to climb, when they have perfectly servicable humans to climb up?:P

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Why would your cats need a tree to climb, when they have perfectly servicable humans to climb up?:P

When we brought (newly named) Gizmo home, she thought it was ok to climb up my bare legs.

Thankfully, she's learned not to do that any more.