enrichmentforpets

[enrichmentforpets]

would love a list of low energy enrichment activities to try with cats. im always looking for more ways to be involved with my cat but she is 3 and very high energy and after a long day i often dont have the spoons to chase her around with a toy while she finds new exciting hiding spots to look at it from. this makes me sad :( i dont want her to be understimulated

Food-based enrichment:

Feeder toys are a favorite! But these carry the drawback of requiring cleaning afterwards, so calculate that into your spoons. Some of them are machine washable, so that may be an option if you've got a dishwasher.

Snuffle mats - another favorite, these also require the occasional clean but don't need to be cleaned every time you use them. You can make your own pretty easily. Or, hell, just grab a very cheap bath mat from a dollar store. Your cat won't know the difference.

Scatter feeding - literally just. Throw a handful of treats or kibble on the floor or down the stairs. Literally, that's it. Calculate clean-up into your spoons because cats aren't reliable vacuums. But it keeps them busy for a few minutes.

Toy based enrichment:

Get a cardboard box. Crinkle up some brown wrapping paper or whatever cheap paper you've got on hand and put it in the box. Congrats, you've now combined your cats two favorite things in the world: boxes and paper. For extra fun, add catnip (or silvervine or whatever your cat's drug of choice is), toys, or treats.

Ripple Rug: this is actually a specific product. It's literally a square of carpet or rug with velcro on the bottom that attaches to ANOTHER square of carpet or rug. It's fairly stiff. The idea is that cats can dive into it and make their own little tunnels. My cats LOVE it. You can probably recreate it quite cheaply using cheap rugs or carpet, tbh.

Cat crinkle mats: again, this is something fairly easily made at home. You get some cheap crinkly plastic and sew it into two old washclothes or something similar. Congrats. You now have a little mat your cats can sit on, bat around, and crinkle. You can also just buy them in multiple sizes. Many have catnip in them too.

Paper bags: cats just love paper bags. Be sure you remove the handles to make sure no one gets their head stuck. Most cats entertain themselves pretty well with bags.

Cat springs: those little plastic springs are a favorite, and so are those cheap rabbit-fur covered mouse toys.

Cat race track toys: another favorite.

Cardboard cat scratchers: the cardboard ones require MORE cleaning because they leave little bits of cardboard all over the place, but it is kind of nice that you can just throw them out when your cat is done. Any scratcher is good, though. I've listed cardboard for ease of clean-up and because it's a very popular material for cats.

Cat tunnels: like bags and boxes, cats just love tunnels.

I'm not a big fan of laser pointers or robotic toys. I haven't seen many cases of light chasing disorders in cats compared to dogs, but it's an issue enough that I don't readily recommend them. I also don't really recommend robotic toys because a lot of them make noises that cats don't like. If your cat enjoys these things, congrats; I just don't find them universally popular enough to really recommend. But I had to mention them, because if I didn't, my notes would be full of 'but what about Product X!!".

I've tried to keep this list to low cost toys and activities. There are other things you can do, like installing wall shelves or getting a big cat tree, but these things are more likely to be expensive, either in terms of money, time, or energy. I wanted to focus on low cost activities that I felt were more accessible to disabled folks.

[enrichmentforpets]

Specific toy enrichment — name, price + how it works

I will add the difficulty level once my brain figures it out.

All prices are from Chewy.

- Catit Treat Ball, 9$. Treats go inside the ball, pet has to roll the ball to get them out. There's 2 levels of difficulty. It's designed for cats, I think, but I've seen dogs and rabbits use it.

- Bob-a-lot, 17-25$. Treats go through the top or the side, pet has to push the toy around to get them out.

- Buggin Out Puzzle by Nina Ottoson, 22$. Treats are placed in hidden comparements, pet has to move the "lids" to get them. Every pet I gave it to liked this one.

[enrichmentforpets]

Day 4. I found a puzzle toy I forgot I had and gave it to each pet, they were happy! I also rolled up a paper powel roll for Bean, she had a lot of fun and it seemed like hard word!

I don't know if this is going to last at all, I due to limited supplies, but I'm going to try to give Bean a new enrichment every day (or so) outside of her daily ones, for fun!

Day 1. Sniffari.

Day 2. Scatter feeding in the grass + ball made out of paper w/ kibble inside.

[enrichmentforpets]

Day 3. (So far.) I switched the pets' daily puzzles (Nelly got Bean's, etc.) + Nelly got some food scatter in a tunnel, which Bean sniffed out afterwards.

I don't know if this is going to last at all, I due to limited supplies, but I'm going to try to give Bean a new enrichment every day (or so) outside of her daily ones, for fun!

Day 1. Sniffari.

Day 2. Scatter feeding in the grass + ball made out of paper w/ kibble inside.

[enrichmentforpets]

I don't know if this is going to last at all, I due to limited supplies, but I'm going to try to give Bean a new enrichment every day (or so) outside of her daily ones, for fun!

Day 1. Sniffari.

Day 2. Scatter feeding in the grass + ball made out of paper w/ kibble inside.

[enrichmentforpets]

I made another 'please stop destroying my house' toy

[enrichmentforpets]

http://denkspellenvoorjehond.jouwweb.nl/spellen1

[enrichmentforpets]

I think I added all the suggestions to the list! If I forgot any, don't hesitate to let me know, I really appreciate the help ❤️

[enrichmentforpets]

Unknown level enrichment — dogs

1. DIY flirt pole. [in progress]

2. Scent garden. Plant animal safe plants and herbs for them to smell.

[enrichmentforpets]

Medium enrichment – dogs

1. Kong filling. Soak kibble in water for 5 minutes. Fill kong with kibble, freeze. Bonus: Top with peanut butter or pumpkin puree. (There are other fillings for kongs, I will write a separate post.)

2. Blow bubbles. Get pet friendly bubbles and have fun.

3. Box stack. 3 boxes each stacked into each other. Put treats in the smallest box. Close the boxes.

4. Search. Hide treats throughout your house. Let animal find them.

5. Sniffari. Take your dog out somewhere new on a logline, let animal sniff to their heart's content.

6. Supervised shredding. Let your dogs shred cardboard or eye free stuffed animals from the thrift store.

7. Soda bottle. Empty and clean the bottle. Poke holes in the sides. Put treats inside.

8. Snuffle mat. Get a snuffle mat, hide treats inside.

9. 101 things with a box. Click and reward for any interaction with the box.

10. For the fun of it. Under supervision, with safe items: give your dog things that they can unfold, trade or open for the fun of it.

11. Teach low impact tricks (touch, shake, sit, chin rest).

12. Cabbage. If safe, give your dog a cabbage to shred.

[enrichmentforpets]

Easy enrichment — dogs and cats

1. Empty paper rolls. Hide treats in roll, roll said paper.

2. Towel. Lay towel, spread treats on the towel. Roll towel.

3. Muffin tin. Put treats in each section. On top of the treats, add crumbled paper. If available, you can use balls or toys instead of paper.

4. Scattered feeding. Scatter treats on the floor or in the grass.

5. Crumbled paper with treats hidden inside.

6. Box party. Put anything safe you can find inside a cardboard box (plastic bottles, packing paper, toys, etc.). Add treats to the mix.

7. Egg carton. Put treats in the empty egg carton. If you want, you can add items on top.

8. Cup game. Put high value treats under 3 cups. Let your animal find them. You can raise the difficulty by adding more cups and/or hiding treats under only a few cups.

9. Frozen carrot. Freeze carrot, give to pet.

10. Ice tray. Put treats/kibble in an empty ice tray and give to your pet. You can also add water or safe broth and freeze.

[enrichmentforpets]

I created this blog (intro here) and I'm looking at enrichment ideas: ideally easy, for dogs, cats and other animals.

You can see the current list of enrichment ideas for dogs here.

Thank you for your help!

You can reblog this post!

[enrichmentforpets]

This is a blog by me (@ringchollyandfriends) created to gather all enrichment resources in one space.

I'm going to sort enrichments by species and difficulty level. The difficulty levels are according to myself.

1. Easy requires one item generally found in a home + kibble or treats.

2. Medium requires two or more items + kibble or treats, plus possible transport or training. Medium might also require movement for the owner. Contains items you need to built or buy.

3. Hard is anything above medium requirements.

Please supervise your pets and make sure what you use is safe for them.