We're spending a lot more time with our pets these days. Dogs are getting walks galore and more playtime than they know what to do with. But what about cats? They don't typically go on walks (though a few are exceptions to this rule), so what have cat people been doing with or for their feline friends?
Building castles, for one. A recent post making the rounds on Facebook showed a number of home projects for kitty, built by cat lovers with plenty of time and cardboard boxes on hand. Castles with crenelated walls and drawbridges, clubhouses ("Dogs keep out!"), a "hissing" booth decorated with a skull and crossbones, a fort with a sniper tower, steps and ladders to elevated entries. No doubt somewhere out there is a French "cat-eau."
With shorter days, longer nights, colder weather and spiking coronavirus rates, you, too, may be looking for ways to fill your time and entertain your cat. Here are some tips on building a feline freeway or fort; where to buy cat steps and bridges if you're not handy; and other ways to entertain your cat — and yourself as you watch him explore and enjoy his new home decor.
Photographer Bob Walker and his artist wife, Frances Mooney, turned their entire house into a cat playground with overhead walkways, spiral staircases, floor-to-ceiling scratching posts and much more. You don't have to go that far, but Walker says it's easy to use found objects — those Amazon boxes that are piling up, wooden or plastic crates, or even a sturdy stepladder — to create a feline hidy-hole or gym.
When he built a catwalk, he used 2-by-6-inch pieces of wood, which allowed room for cats to turn around or pass one another. For inclines, he inset carpeting, putting carpet tape beneath it to hold it in place. That provided the cats with secure footing as they went up or down. Walker recommends referring to the Public Playground Safety Handbook to ensure that anything you build takes safety into account, especially if you have kids in the home.
His best tip? Use negative space. "Think of your house in cubic space terms, not square footage," Walker says. For instance, take advantage of unused space behind objects or furniture or high areas on walls that are otherwise bare.
If you're handy with an X-ACTO knife or box knife, you can build a cardboard kitty castle or fort that is as simple or elaborate as you please. To strengthen cardboard, especially if you have multiple levels, reinforce gaps with glue or packing or duct tape. You can also add an extra layer of cardboard in the bottom, cut to fit, or sandwich a piece of foam between two pieces of cardboard.
Find inspiration on Pinterest for cardboard or wooden structures.
For the simplest of cardboard projects, take two to four open boxes, tape them together, and fill them with plastic play balls for a moggy mosh pit. Other spaces you can fill with play balls, for impromptu cat hockey games, are bathtubs or kiddie pools.
Don't want to build anything? You can purchase attractive, high-style cat walks, climbing shelves, hanging beds, play tents, scratching towers, rope bridges, window seats, and furniture on websites such as Hauspanther, Etsy, Wayfair, Chewy, Overstock, Petco and PetSmart. Active cats may love having an exercise wheel to run on. You can find one through a number of online retailers or ask your local pet supply store to order one for you.
For the simplest play of all, make or buy puzzle toys (see foodpuzzlesforcats.com for ideas), or just hide your cat's kibble or favorite treats around the house so she can "hunt for them." Or be the goalie in a game of hall hockey with a pingpong ball. Your cat will be delighted.
