5 APARTMENT CAT TIPS! (tips for enriching your cat's environment).

Hey everyone! I'm Dr. B. Today I'm going to be talking to you about a few ways that you can enrich your indoor cat's life. A lot of people don't really appreciate or understand the notion that indoor cats can have a really really boring life. It's really important if you want to help prevent certain forms of diseases and behavioral problems to try and educate yourself in the ways that you can help your cat lead a bit more of a rich life if you will. I really want to stress the fact that I'm not advocating for cats to live an outdoor life. Some cats probably do end up being happier outside. Then again you risk the potential issues with encounters with wild animals, having an animal be hit by a car or all kinds of you know falls and other kinds of traumas. So if people end up choosing to keep their cat indoors and I don't think there's anything majorly wrong about that but you just have to be careful especially when living in like a small apartment. There are ways which you can use to make the environment mimic what the cat's normal behavior in nature would be. So let's get right into it. Number one, perching. This is my cat Phoebe. You can see her here resting in her cat hammock. It's a little cat bed that attaches to the window via small suction cups that you can see here. I got this at Bed Bath and Beyond if I remember well and it was one of those as seen on TV things. She loves spending most of the day in there. Gives her a chance to see some sunshine, have a view of the city, some birds once in a while. Definitely one of her favorite spots in the apartment and it's surprisingly sturdy. This is another type of cat perch which a lot of people like to call a cat tree because that's kind of what it resembles. This one has a couple compartments, an upper and a lower one. Phoebe definitely prefers the higher one for perching and there's a little cat toy attached to it. There's also a couple of scratching posts at the bottom which I think is great when you put that right next to a couch to try and deter the cat from scratching the couch instead. Number two, toys. This is a great toy. It's obviously a laser pointer. Most cats do like to play with laser pointers. It's worth a try because definitely provides them with much needed exercise when they're indoors. Gives them a chance to chase things, hunt things. They do get bored with it after a little while but you can tell how engaged Phoebe is in her hunting behavior right now. This is another example of a cat toy that is Phoebe's very favorite toy actually. I've had it since the day I got her and it's really just made of cardboard at each end of a wire which basically I think simulates an insect flying around or a small bird and I suspect cats don't really visualize the wire itself. They just kind of are interested in the little object that's moving around. I've given this toy to several friends in the past and all of their cats have been obsessed with it ever since. It's called the cat dancer and I've repurchased this like probably four or five times since I had Phoebe and she doesn't get bored with it ever. It's not the prettiest cat toy but truthfully cats don't care. Number three. Feeders. This is the feeding station that I own for Phoebe. It has several levels. It's called the Cat Maze and it's by the brand Cat It. I'm by all means not endorsing this brand but I just thought I'd mention it because they make cool little devices that are making feeding times a little bit more interesting and playful for cats. It also will help cats that have a tendency to eat too fast slow down a bit and eat in a more healthy way. You can probably make your own feeding station if you're crafty using cardboard or toilet paper rolls and that sort of thing. And if you have an overweight cat it can be a great way of helping you control his portions. Number four. Balcony access. I love letting my cat go onto the balcony because I think it's a huge part of her life in the summer and it's super interesting for her to be able to hear all the city noises, birds and such and feel the wind on her face. But I do take care in making sure she always wears a harness nowadays because some cats definitely have a tendency of exploring a little bit further than they should, want to jump on the ledge and that can lead to disastrous consequences. Don't be fooled into thinking that cats have a concept of how high they are. They don't and they'll certainly jump if given the occasion. And number five. Tricks. It works every time. So I taught my cat to do tricks a long time ago just basically reinforcing behaviors as she was naturally doing such as reaching for my hand when I had a treat in it and making that into a high five as you can see. And I also taught her to sit on command that was pretty easy to do as well. She only knows two tricks but you can definitely teach your cat more tricks and it's a great way to interact with them, bond with them and stimulate them. And there you have it. I hope you guys all learned something and I'll see you next week.