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Tag - environment enrichment

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5 Essential Must-Haves for a Happy Chirpy Cat
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7 Tips to turn your bully cat into a team player.
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What to do on a lazy summer Sunday
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How not to grow catnip, this kitty has it all wrong!
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Battle of the kitty tunnels
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How to build a catio your cat will love

5 Essential Must-Haves for a Happy Chirpy Cat

Last updated September 15th, 2020

How to keep your cat happy

It seems that cats have it made. The internet worships them and judging by those viral Youtube Best Cat compilation videos, they rule their households with a firm furry paw. And we like it.

“Hey Mr. Dog, I need your bed if you don’t mind, thanks, you’re too kind!”

But despite this overall perception of a cat’s elevated status as Ruler of the Drooler, cats are still largely misunderstood. Cats are viewed as independent, aloof and in need of less medical and preventative care than dogs, but this could not be further from the truth.

September is Happy Cat Month, an event in its 9th year running, created by the Catalyst Council, to help promote the health and well-being of our purry felines, focusing on the different ways to ensure your cat is happy, enriched and healthy.

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7 Tips to turn your bully cat into a team player.

Last updated April 19th, 2023

When your cat goes around giving everyone in his path a powder puff for no reason, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s aggressive. When your one cat is bullying another cat things can quickly escalate into an unwanted behavioral problem. There’s one in every multi-cat household and through no fault of his own, he’s labeled the “bully cat.”

When we add more cats to an already established group, it causes a shift in the cat hierarchy. The shift may be as obvious as a stare down and a brawl with fur flying or it may be very subtle, such as blocking the pathway to a litter box. The resident high ranking cat may or may not relinquish his title as Top Cat … at first, or maybe never.

Mr. Jack, watch your back!

But that doesn’t stop the cat with ambitions to keep trying by asserting his dominance over the rest of the clan through undesirable behaviors. This could include anything from relentlessly ambushing and chasing a timid, docile cat, guarding litter boxes, taking ownership of toys, games, sun puddles and refusing to timeshare.

how to deal with a bully cat
Someday, Mr. Jack, I shall usurp the throne. Watch your back!
Right now in your multi-cat home, there is most likely a daily episode of Game of Thrones at play. Is there a cat in your home set on ruling the 7 cat kingdoms?Click To Tweet Read More

What to do on a lazy summer Sunday

Hi there I’m Mr. Jack “Jackaboo” and Sundays is one of my best days because I get to have human company with me in my catio. I feel at peace knowing that everything has its place; I can guard my tunnel entrance, Scout has her place in the middle, Charlie and Sly Pie can nap together in the vine corner and George gets the top highway condo. But best of all is the Lady Cat can join us because she doesn’t have to go to work. That’s a word that’s exclusive to humans because That is what they do; they spend up to eight hours or more at this place called “work”. I won’t berate it though because I keep hearing her say that is what “brings food in our bowls”, so I guess it’s important.

But aren’t I glad I don’t have to do “work”.

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How not to grow catnip, this kitty has it all wrong!

Last updated March 26th, 2018

Hello, friends! It’s me Sly Pie. You might be wondering why I’m sitting here in the catnip basket. Well, my friend Ollie told me that if I sit in the basket long enough, I will incubate the catnip seeds so that it will germinate quickly! I’m not quite sure about that but it’s worth a try. I’ll do anything for catnip!

happy easter catnip basket

 

Easter time is exciting for us because we know that very soon we will have our colorful kitty jungle in the catio. The Big Lady Cat always talks about how catnip can enrich your cat’s life and let me tell you, I couldn’t agree more! In my cat thesaurus, cat environment enrichment is two beautiful words:  Nepeta Cataria. Catnip lifts me up into a euphoric frenzy that’s hard to explain, it feels so good! I wish you could try it but I heard that catnip has a more sedative and calming effect on humans. Catnip tea anyone?

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Battle of the kitty tunnels

Last updated May 9th, 2019

When we completed our catio is was a 12’x10′ area with ramps, perches and a cascading vine surrounding it. We wanted to add more ‘places of interest’ for the cats to explore without modifying the layout completely and doing minimal adjustments to the catio.

Building cat tunnels is the perfect solution to extending an existing structure. We added a ground tunnel which eventually became the ‘catnip tunnel’ where cat-safe nasturtiums and catnip form a canopy of shade in late Summer. You can imagine this is the most sought-after hangout!

Our elevated tunnel leads to two other secondary catios and meets at the ‘central station’ which is off limits to the humans. Anyway, we now know that what happens in the central station, stays in the central station!

Sly Pie waits at his ‘pretend’ ticket booth at the entrance to the ground tunnel and he takes his job quite seriously. Anyone who tries to pass without paying the fee gets a powder puff.

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How to build a catio your cat will love

Last updated April 20th, 2022

Building a catio or cat enclosure for your cat is a great way to provide environmental enrichment, reducing stress in multi-cat homes and creating a safe space for your cats to enact their natural behaviors.

Building a catio or outdoor enclosure is one of the best gifts you can give your cat to keep him safe from harm. The idea of creating the perfect safe haven for our indoor cats to explore and experience a piece of their natural habitat seemed like the natural thing to do. So what is the best way of merging the two worlds of a cat, indoors and outdoors? By building an outdoor catio space in which they can thrive and be happy, where our cats can feel free to roam, protected from outside hazards.

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