Seven Tips to Keeping Your Cat Happy

With several pets of his own at home, Dakota has plenty of experience under
his belt when it comes to caring for animals.

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How to Keep Your Cat Happy

Cats have been beloved pets for many households for thousands of years, giving
us so much joy. These wonderful animals also deserve the same amount of
happiness they give their owners.

Cats do receive a lot of bad press, however, primarily because of these fur
balls’ general, meme-inspired devilish nature. While most cats do shower their
owners with claw-scratches, it doesn’t change the fact that they’re an
excellent snuggling partner.

If you’ve recently become a cat parent or are planning to bring a feline home,
there are many things you can do to keep your cat happy and satisfied from the
very first day! With that in mind, we’ve put together seven tips on keeping
your cat happy in this article.

Let’s dig in so you and your fur baby can bond like you’re supposed to!

Photo by Piotr Musioł on Unsplash

1. Keep Your Cats Active

Cats are natural athletes, and they tend to keep moving. However, you should
always try to prevent cats from escaping your home and roaming around –
especially if they’re male. They’ll get into trouble with other cats in the
neighborhood, and it’ll worry you till your stomach turns.

That’s why it’s essential to keep them active indoors. While doing so is not
exactly a piece of cake, you can always keep them busy with cat treats and
build their routine around a few healthy activities. For instance, get a few
toys; toys with flashing lights and sound, laser pointers, or maybe cat toys
with string and toys that move.

Also, if you live in a quiet and accommodating neighborhood, you can get a
harness and a leash and train your cat to take walks with you. It might sound
a bit unusual, but this is the most responsible way to allow your cats to take
a walk. This is easiest to do when your cat is young – and always remember to
treat them after good behavior! It doesn’t work as well as it does for dogs,
but it surely helps shape up their routine!

2. Help Your Cat Hunt

Cats are also natural hunters and curious creatures. If you are not
stimulating them in the same way, they will want to go outside.

You can do this by hiding their favorite treats, so they have to “hunt” for
the treats. You can also use toys that can be controlled to move to exercise
your kitty’s hunting instincts.

Photo by Kelly on Unsplash

3. Get Your Cat a Companion

It has been shown that indoor cats are happier when they have another
companion to play with. This is especially important if you cannot be home all
day with your cats. You can easily do this by adopting another cat from a
shelter.

If you cannot take up the responsibility for another cat at the moment, you
can also set up playdates with other cat owners. Cats love company; it is a
sure way to make them happy.

4. Get a Bird Station

So, in case you’re new to the concept – your cat can actually become a good
partner for your pet birds if you have any. Especially if they’ve grown up
together, your cat will act as a guardian for your pigeons and hens and keep
the neighborhood cats away for good.

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However, we don’t actually advise leaving your cat with your birds
unmonitored. Instead, we suggest getting a bird station, maybe a couple of
pigeons, and your cat will love observing them from afar.

Photo by Chewy on Unsplash

5. Bring the Outdoors In

If you have a cat, then you probably know that they love to climb. You might
have noticed they try to get on every piece of furniture. Naturally, they love
climbing trees to sit and also look for prey. To keep a cat happy, you can
help nurture this climbing instinct.

Cat trees are an amazing way to do this. You can easily buy one or make your
own. You can also add cat shelves to all the rooms in the house or to your
cat’s favorite rooms so they can exercise and climb for as long as they want.

Also, if you’ve got ample space indoors, you can also plant cat grass indoors
– preferably in a pot or two, so they can graze. If you don’t know it already,
cats eat grass if they have an upset stomach.

6. Use Fences

If you can afford to go down that road, install a screened porch for your cat
so they can enjoy the outdoors safely.

If you’ve got a sunroom, it can be an excellent way to help your cat relax in
winter, given that they’re not already used to roaming outdoors. You can also
come up with an enclosure around your window (the size of an air-conditioned
unit); this will help your cat have a sense of outdoors, and it’ll be a good
space where your kitty can hang out happily.

Photo by Oleg Ivanov on Unsplash

7. Show Them Love

At the end of the day, this simple step is the most effective for keeping your
cat happy. Domesticated cats need attention from their owners, and they crave
it when it is not there – they’re just a little more subtle about it than dogs
are.

Give your cat attention every day. Pet your cat regularly. Sit down for a
snuggle, and spend time with your cat. Dedicate time to play and keep your cat
active, and do not leave it all up to the toys alone.

Loving your cat goes a long way to keeping your cat happy and delighted all
the time!

Keep Your Cat Happy!

It is clear that a cat’s owner determines how happy a cat’s life will be.
Owning a cat is a significant responsibility, and you need to give them the
proper attention to keep them happy.

Aside from the above, it goes without saying that cat owners also need to meet
their basic needs, such as making sure they are safe, well-fed, healthy, and
in a clean environment. As long as you’re taking care of them well, you can
rest assured that they’ll be happy and satisfied!

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and
is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a
qualified professional.