Engaging with our kitties

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I’ve had cats my entire adult life, and Sprout is my current lovebug. I adore her. I pet, brush, and feed her. Although she likes scrunched-up, brightly colored pipe cleaners, her favorite toy is a little mouselike being with a bell that she loves to carry around the house. But it wasn’t until I spoke with Karen Ogden that I realized we could do much more.

“I think cats tend sometimes to get pushed off as secondary subjects in the house,” she tells me. “We put out food and change their litter box, say hi to them, give them a little pet. But basically, they’re just sort of this small entity that moves around like a furry Roomba. We don’t tend to interact with them to the same extent we do a dog.”

Ogden continues, “I think sometimes people overlook our animals’ mental wellness. Cats, in particular, I think, get the short end of the stick, because they are a very different animal. They can be social with people. Some are certainly a little less so. And cats very much have a concept of their own personal space, and they are quick to let you know if you are exceeding it.”

Sprout is an indoor kitty, and Ogden reminds me that sometimes cats are stuck looking out the window at activities they can’t do: “We’ve taken this little mini predator, we’ve put it inside, and then we’re basically saying to them, We really don’t like when you do your natural biological behaviors, like scratching and digging, or when you’re outside murdering birds.” But when we stifle their natural tendencies and then don’t give them any outlets for their instincts, it can manifest in what we consider inappropriate behaviors, like scratching furniture or rugs.

Clawing is a natural behavior for cats, so giving them scratching posts with material they like is essential: “Be proactive, rather than complaining after the fact, before your cat tears up your favorite couch.” But enriching our cats’ lives is more than that: “It’s about providing them with outlets for enrichment that tap into those normal behaviors, engaging them with interactive toys that they can chase and bat around. They tend to be ‘pawsy.’”

Having left kittenhood well behind, Sprout doesn’t seem all that interested in her existing playthings other than those I’ve mentioned. However, she’ll do just about anything for food or a treat. So after Ogden told me about them, I went looking at snuffle mats. These mats have tendrils, flaps, and crevices where you can bury dry food or treats that allow your pet to root around to find them. Snuffle mats provide physical and mental enrichment, while engaging a kitty’s innate foraging behavior.

Looking up “food toys,” I saw all sorts of additional choices. I bought one shaped like a plastic Easter egg with holes, so that little bits of kibble fall out when she bats it around. Other food enrichment toys have slots where you put dry food, and the cat digs it out, instead of your plopping down a plate of food for them, which is not what would happen in the wild. “They are very capable of learning and problem-solving,” says Ogden.

“I find that people often tend not to train cats, but just to exist with them. I think they enjoy some kind of additional mental stimulation, which deepens the bond between humans and cats. You can also train them to do tricks.”

Ogden explains that we should hold a little toy just a bit out of reach, so they must reach up to bat it. Then you give them the toy. “Essentially, you are doing mark and reward training. You are paying attention to the behavior and providing a consequence immediately following, so the animal goes, ‘That was kind of cool. I like that. How can I do that again?’ It’s about building behaviors through interaction.”

Having worked in a kitten nursery and fostered litters, I know how critical it is to handle kittens early in their development, including getting them used to being picked up and handled. “We tend to do a ‘swoop and scoop’ with small animals,” Ogden observes. “They may not see this coming, and the cat goes, ‘Oh, I don’t think I enjoyed that too much,’ and the claws come out.” She suggests first picking your cat up and putting them down briefly before they have a meltdown, and immediately giving a small treat. Next pick them up, walk a few steps, put them down, and give them the treat. You can build to picking them up, walking over to a table, placing them on top, putting them down, and ending with another treat right after. “Their association with the food will color what came right before, reinforcing the behavior you want.”

Ogden also suggests using a similar method to help make a trip to the vet go well: “Start early. From small beginnings, you can have great outcomes. Pick them up, handle their ears and head, ruffle their fur, touch their paws, and then give them a reward of a toy or treat. You want to get them used to it, so going to the vet becomes less stressful.” Having just gone through a round of eye, ear, and oral medication, I’m mighty glad I started with Sprout when she was young.

Ogden says, “I suspect that if your average cat were the size of your average dog, we’d probably do a little bit more work with them. Since most cats are under 10 pounds, people tend to feel they can do a lot of stuff with them, which can overwhelm them. It’s about working with them, which in turn helps deepen our relationship and enrich the cat’s life.”