If you’re discussing cats with a dog lover, chances are you’ll hear the words ‘independent’ and ‘aloof’ thrown around.

And yes, there is an element of truth to this. Cats tend to be a little more self-sufficient than their canine counterparts. But while your whiskered friend may seem content with a life full of tasty food, snoozing and cuddles on the couch, they can get a little bored living this life of luxury. Lack of stimulation can be a real issue for many house cats, particularly if they live indoors (which we highly recommend).

With a little effort and a little creativity, you can vastly improve your cat’s quality of life. By following these three steps, we guarantee you will have a happier, healthier and more confident kitty on your hands.

Expand their kingdom

Studies have found that cats spend up to five hours a day looking out the window. But if you’ve got a cat, this fact will be of little surprise to you. A window provides the perfect vantage point for a kitty to look over their kingdom; to watch the world go past, meow bravely at the birds in the garden and get some warm rays on their fur.
Your cat may have access to lots of windows in your home, or not many at all. Either way you can step it up a level with a window mounted cat bed. These nifty contraptions use suction power to attach a cat bed onto a window of your choice. Regularly moving this bed around the house, and placing it at different heights of the window, gives your cat some diversity in their window watching habits, helping to keep things interesting in the world around them.

Get those noses twitching

Scent work isn’t just for dogs. Your cat’s sense of smell is 40 times stronger than your own, which is why your cat will smell their favourite tuna before you’ve even opened the tin! And just like dogs, cats get satisfaction from using one of their most powerful senses to find a tasty reward.

If you’ve ever opened a bag of cat treats, you’ll know how smelly they can be. Spend a little time each week with your cat and their favourite bag of treats playing some good old fashioned hide n’ seek. Start slowly first, placing the treat only a metre away from them. Over time you can build up to more ingenious hiding places like on windowsills, under carboard boxes or even inside shoes! Your cat will feel very clever and smart upon finding the snack, giving them an ego boost (that they probably don’t need…).

Buy a new cat bowl

Yes, seriously, it is that easy. Deep bowls with long sides, the traditional design, are actually not the best for your kitty’s sensitive whiskers and may induce whisker stress.

Whiskers allow cats to make sense of their world. They are deeply rooted and rich in blood vessels and nerve endings that are finely tuned into their environment. Think of whisker stress as information overload for your cat. It is a persistent stimulation of the whiskers that results in an uncomfortable or unpleasant feeling.

Consider purchasing a shallow or flat cat bowl that doesn’t brush up against your cat’s whiskers when they try to eat. If you’ve got a fussy eater on your hands, you may find this improves their consistency of eating when it comes to dinner time.

RSPCA Victoria is having 15% off cat products throughout October.

Whether it’s toys, scratching posts, harnesses or bowls, you’ll find many of products on our online store that will help enrich your cat’s life. You can feel even better knowing that every dollar you spend will go to helping RSPCA Victoria continue to care for homeless, abandoned and neglected cats and help them find a forever home.