Tips to Keep Your Cat Healthy and Active This Winter

A couple weeks back, we featured Tim from Saratoga Dog Walker who was kind enough to give us a great post on how to keep your dogs happy and healthy this winter. Well, as a sequel to our canine friendly post here are our top tips for keeping your feline companions happy and healthy this winter season.

siberian

Give Your Cat Some Company

While it’s true that some cats prefer to be the only fur love of your life, many do enjoy having a companion (read: minion) to play with. This should be done slowly and carefully, to make the experience the most pleasant for all residents, humans included. While most cats are aloof and seem less emotional than humans, it doesn’t mean that they don’t get lonely.

Make Mealtime Fun For Your Cat

If your cat’s routine is eat a lot and then sleep, and proceeds to repeat that cycle all day, that is a quick path to having a Garfield level roly-poly. To avoid this, you can try hiding food around the house/apartment or in feeding toys. This will help increase your cat’s activity and help hone their hunting instincts. Additionally, the game will make them more interactive with you, and studies show that animals enjoy their food more when they have to work for it.

Don’t Forget Treat Time Also!

Try playing a game of hide and seek with a catnip or treat toy. Start off by showing them where it is and placing it somewhere the cat can see. When they get to the toy, give them a treat (or let them get the treat out of the toy), and then start the game again, as they begin to understand the game more, you can proceed to make it more difficult for them to find.

Schedule Some Playtime!

One thing that should come intuitively is playing with your cat. While tossing the catnip toy can get them going for a little bit, if you devote some time to some serious play, you’re sure to give your cat (and maybe yourself) a good workout! Try taking 10 minutes out from your evening and get on the floor with some of your cat’s favorite toys and have some fun!

 Try Teaching Them Some Tricks

Just like dogs, cats can learn some tricks as well. Simple tricks such as come, sit, fetch and stay (contrary to the cat’s opinion and personality)! Start with a treat that your cat loves and practice for around fifteen minutes a day. You may need to break up the treat into small pieces, just to limit the cat’s treat intake. Once your cat performs the desired action reward them as soon as the action is done so that they associate the reward with the command.

It’s A Jungle In There!

Another great way to keep your cat active is to pick up a cat tree for them. Cats love climbing so that they can survey their kingdom (read: your home) better. Cat trees give cats new nooks to explore and places to relax in.

Cat in cat tree

Walking Your Cat, Yes You Can Do That

As crazy as it sounds, you can actually leash train your cat. Cats love exploring and can learn to walk comfortably with a harness and leash on. It can be a long and arduous process, and you’ll have to be more stubborn than the cat to teach them, but, if your cat is curious about the outdoors, this could be a great way to introduce them to it. Just remember, if you’re cold, then they certainly are. Make sure the strolls are simple and enjoyable for the both of you. However, be prepared to get them back into warmth quickly if need be.

Lisa Podwirny is the owner of Ketchum Mfg. Connect with her on !

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