All cats are different. Some like to stay cuddled up in a plush spot for most of their day, others enjoy following their pet parents around the home like a little shadow, and then there are some cats that have more energy than others. Their mind is always going, and they love, love, love playtime. 

Keeping up with a high energy cat can be a lot of fun for pet parents with tons of playtime. But if your cat’s energy is not expended properly, your cat may become frustrated and bored which can lead your cat to start pouncing on you at unwelcomed times, engaging in play that is too rough, becoming destructive around the house, and / or overgrooming themselves. 

The best way to keep your cat happy is to provide them with tons of mental and physical stimulation. Here are a few suggestions on how you can keep your high energy cat occupied.  

Enrich Your Home

For cats with extra energy, ensuring your home is organized with their needs in mind is extra important. Supply your cat with multiple elevated surfaces to climb and jump on, as well as sensory stimuli for them to investigate, such as putting bird feeders near windows and providing catnip for them to sniff out.  

Playtime

Play is a healthy behaviour that helps to keep cats physically fit, mentally sharp, decrease their stress, and prevent them from exhibiting unwanted behaviours. It is also a lot of fun and a terrific way to bond with your pet! 

Solitary Play: Try cycling through various types of toys. Novelty in toys can be very important to cats – and remember that cat toys do not need to be expensive. Start with items around the house like paper bags, cardboard boxes, paper towels, or hair bands. They also enjoy sensor toys that mimic prey movement. This will help keep their interest, as some cats tire of solo play quickly. 

Interactive Play: Cats thrive on routine, so try to schedule a playdate with your cat every day. Start with toys such as wand toys, strings, and long feathers. If your cat is a natural at playing games, try clicker training. This technique uses positive reinforcement and gives the cat a feeling of control over the interaction, which is very important to cats! It also engages both their mind and body, which will help tire them out.  

Whenever your pet is done playing with toys that they could potentially swallow, like hair bands, strings, and feathers from their toys, please remove them from your cat. They could be hazardous if your pet swallows them, and sometimes fatal.

Feeding  

In the wild, cats spend an enormous amount of their waking hours engaged in hunting and eating. Most pet parents feed their cat from a bowl once or twice a day. This leaves a large amount of their day free to get into trouble. To help make your cat’s meals more mentally and physically engaging, try: 

• Splitting your cat’s daily food ration into two or more meals throughout the day.
• Feeding at least one of their meals in a puzzle feeder – this will increase the amount of time meals take and will challenge them mentally. This should help to burn off some of your cat’s extra energy! We recommend Catit Senses 2.0 Digger for dry food, and an ice cube tray for wet.
• Using one of their meals (or a special treat if this isn’t motivating enough) as the reward in your training sessions. 

Need Training Assistance? We Can Help

Through humane, compassionate, trust-building exercises, our certified training professionals work to strengthen the bond you have with your animal. We offer virtual training assistance to provide you and your cat with the tools needed to live your best life together. Visit our Training and Behaviour page to get started.