The Chirpies always enjoy their tunnels in the catio especially when their humans are present. In between garden cleanup, I decided to keep some cuttings of the sunflowers, Swedish Ivy and Cosmos stalks. Why? Well, when you live and breathe cat enrichment ideas, you don’t pass up an opportunity to let your imagination run wild! A combination of olfactory enrichment, Halloween and a setting from the TV series, Game of Thrones.
Turn your catio into an oasis of tranquility and enrichment for the cats with cat-friendly accessories and props.
Like a parent watching their child starting their first day of school, you proudly watch your fur kits as curious paws take their first tentative steps into the wilderness! Within minutes they leap with confidence from perch to perch in their new catio. Your cats finally have a taste of freedom in a safe cat enclosure and they’re loving their newfound territory. Bravo!
But just as you furnish your house to make it a home, adding a few essential catio accents can recreate the perfect setting for the ultimate in cat enrichment. Whether it’s for long morning bug watching out in the grassland savanna or relaxing at the oasis you will have fun creating your ideal catio habitat.
Quirky cottage garden or minimalist zen? Or how about a bit of both? There are catio garden accents to suit any style, mood and space.
Catnip is a hardy perennial herb of the mint family bearing aromatic leaves attractive to cats. Follow these step-by-step instructions on growing your own and keep your cats happy and enriched!
We have a few things in common, my cats and I. We like laptops, long catnaps on a Caturday morning, and our recreational herb of choice, catnip! Of course, I don’t like catnip for the same reasons the cats do; you won’t find me head shaking and wriggling in ecstasy on the kitchen floor (well, maybe if I’m trying to fish out an old cat toy stuck under the fridge, but that’s no fun). No, instead of catnip parties, I prefer catnip in my nighttime tea blend.
Kitty Salad bar and watering hole. Executive cat lounge for exclusive members only
There are many ways in which you can keep us kitties safe and entertained but we would like to talk about our favorite cat-safe plants, grasses, and herbs. Yes, we’re obligate carnivores but there’s not a cat in town that doesn’t like to graze on greens. Experts and veterinarians are still baffled as to why we enjoy eating grass and theories abound. Some experts think we eat grass to aid in bringing up furballs, or in the wild, to aid regurgitation of undigested parts of prey such as bones and feathers. Others think it provides much-needed fiber to our diets and that grass would be a naturally occurring substance in the stomachs of prey so it would make up a small part of our diet. It may also provide trace elements of vitamins and folic acid. The Lady Cat thinks we may just like the taste and texture. But what is certain is that grass is not essential to our wellbeing, but it most certainly is a welcomed treat in any cat household.
With the start of Autumn and the cooler weather, we’re excited that the humans have begun setting up our watering hole/salad bar for winter. Essentially, this is when they bring the outdoors, indoors for the duration of the winter, during which time our catio is a blanket of white. The kitty salad bar is an area in the house where we like to lounge, groom, drink, share sun puddles and snack on our greens. There are many plants that appear on the toxic list and it seems that there are no safe alternatives for us cats. Cat grass and catnip are the most popular snacks on the menu, but I’m here to tell you that you can broaden your tastes and that there are indeed many other safe varieties of plants that us Chirpy Cats have tried and tested. Of course, our plant-eating habit comes with leaving a few recycled remnants of regurgitation on the carpet, but fret not humans. Cleaning it all up is a very small price to pay for the precious purr therapy we provide to soothe your stressful living. By creating these little kitty garden watering holes around the house, you’re stepping up your cat environment enrichment game. Below, our big lady cat explains further on greening up our living spaces and tips on keeping us out of your plants. (as if!)
Hello, it’s Ollie here and I’d like to kick off another edition of Marvelous Monday Haiku to shake off that Monday blues. We spent all weekend trying our best to stay cool. It seems the heat and humidity are back for a brief period just to remind us that we’re still very much in a transitional phase when temperatures are all over the place. Some of us spent time inside, lying on our backs, belly up under the fans, and some of us who like the heat just chilled in our catio as usual. The African Daisies are still in bloom and the bees are hard at work. We like this slow transition, we’re not is a hurry for anything to change. Let nature take its course and we will follow along. In today’s gallery, I invite you into our world and hope this week’s haiku picks will inspire you to stop and savor the moment. Do not let that mountain of work overwhelm you, just sort through it one by one and reach out for help when you need it. My paws have the healing magic touch, just so you know.
Hello there humanMy paw has the magic touchTo ease your troubles
Busy Busy beeMake honey while the sun shinesYou still have some time
I walk in beautyLike an Autumn breeze swaying leavesNot yet upon us
It's time for snooziesInertia is my best friendWake me up in Fall
Fresh petals pose brightBerry centre bleeds anewThere's no end in sight
Slow down Mr. GreyYou walk with purpose knowingThe coming of Fall
Did you say the sunWill hide its rays in AutumnI will be waiting
Clouds of fur all bright Your silver lining soothes meWill it rain tonight?
I will chew on grass Recycled for you later On your kitchen floor
Trickling of waterI see the fleeting SummerIn my fickle thoughts
Love
How do you deal with your Monday workload? Do the shorter days affect your mood? Grab your first-morning coffee and tell us in the comments below.
Hello there! It’s Scout again and I confess, I am saying goodbye to Summer with a bit of ambivalence. Yes, I said I am the Autumn girl, but I also enjoy staring at and posing next to pretty flowers. Last week in our Summer Highlights haiku, I invited you into a few of our favorite spots where we spent the lazy long days in the summer shade. In the gallery below, some of our plants look withered and forlorn. But not to worry, that’s a good sign that soon, the big Lady Cat is going to be preparing the harvest of our favorite herb – catnip. We can’t wait for that! But in the meantime, let’s just focus on the here and the now shall we?
Fall whispers to meIt's song clear but the flowersTell me otherwise
Agile paws landingIs Summer gone already?Spring into Autumn
The Summer haloGlowing shaded canopyIt's my sunset crown
Summer high in bloomFiery faces waving proudLittle bandits feast
This is my curtainWatch it turn from green to redThat is my calling
There he goes rushingIt's Summer still don't worrySunset comes too soon
Are you enjoying the cooler air? We’d like to hear from our furry friends and their humans.
Fifteen year old Ninhsy Earl Grey, also known as Puma boy, has seen some interesting things in his life. He has even been to the beautiful Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, his country of birth and has travelled in three different countries with his pal Sarabi. These days he takes it slowly and loves spending time atop his favourite perch or just teaching his humans that patience is a virtue and that every moment with loved ones is priceless.
In May he was diagnosed with CKD (chronic kidney disease) and we’re doing all we can to make him feel good and enable him to enjoy the Autumn years of his life. Below are some photos of him having a ‘sprint’ in the tunnel, in his moment of sunset ‘zoomies’. Puma Boy has never been known for speed. Even in his youth he did things in his stride. He surprised us with quite a display of athleticism that we haven’t seen in a while, as if to say “I’m not ready to give up just yet.”
Create a cat-safe garden to enrich your cat’s environment. But which plants are safe for cats to eat?
If you show your cat the grass menu and ask him what he’d like to snack on, he’d likely choose the “Sprigs of grass sprinkled with a bit of morning dew” or the simple “After hours Catnip platter”, nothing too fancy really. But what if you could offer up a kitty jungle to provide dappled shade and fragrant scents, some hiding and stalking spots from which to launch a ninja attack, or just a simple snack or two from kitty’s very own all-you-can-eat-garden buffet? Now that’s something special any cat would welcome!
