How to Provide Enrichment for Indoor Cats

July 18 2025, 2 min reading time

Providing enrichment activities for indoor cats is essential to satisfy their natural instincts and keep them mentally and physically stimulated. Here’s how you can enhance your feline friend’s environment by focusing on five key instincts: exploring, hiding, hunting, learning, and adapting.

Cats are naturally curious animals. This curiosity helps them hunt, explore, and stay alert to their surroundings in the outdoor world. Indoor cats need additional stimulation to keep them engaged and prevent boredom, which can lead to destructive behaviour. Who doesn’t want to save their furniture?

Exploring

Cats love to explore new environments, which stems from their instinct to assess their surroundings for prey and potential threats. You can encourage this by:

Introducing new textures and objects for them to investigate.
Setting up an outdoor cat run or catio where they can safely explore the outside world.
Hiding treats or food in different areas to encourage their
natural foraging behaviour.

Adapting

Cats thrive in routine but also benefit from small changes that challenge their ability to adapt to new situations. Keep their environment dynamic by:

Rotating or rearranging their cat furniture, scratching posts, or play areas.
Introducing new cardboard boxes, paper bags, or tunnels to create novelty.
Why not move their food bowl to encourage adaptability?

Hiding

Many cats feel safest with a secure hiding spot, especially in multi-pet households or when guests visit. To cater to this need:

Provide cat trees with hidey holes and enclosed nooks.
Offer cosy hiding spots like cat tunnels, cardboard boxes, or covered beds.
Place furniture or cat shelves at different heights to allow them to retreat and observe from a distance.

Hunting

Simulating the hunting experience is one of the best ways to provide cat enrichment indoors. Engage their predatory instincts with:

Interactive cat toys like cat toy wands to mimic chasing prey.
Treat-dispensing toys to encourage problem-solving and foraging.
Rotating toys to keep playtime exciting and prevent boredom.

Learning

Cats are intelligent and can be trained like dogs, although they often require more patience. Training provides mental stimulation for indoor cats and strengthens your bond with them. Try:

Teaching simple commands like sit, high-five, or spin using positive reinforcement training.
Using clicker training paired with small treats or affection as rewards.
Introducing cat agility courses with obstacles like tunnels and jumps.

Incorporating enrichment activities for indoor cats can keep your feline companion engaged, happy, and healthy. Providing exploration opportunities, hiding spots, hunting games, training exercises, and environmental changes will stimulate their instincts and prevent boredom. A well-enriched indoor environment leads to a content and well-balanced cat!