Indoor cats need environmental enrichment to express natural hunting and exploratory behaviours. Evidence-based enrichment prevents boredom, obesity, and stress-related illness.
Indoor cats face significant welfare challenges when their environment fails to meet their behavioural needs. Boredom, frustration, and lack of exercise contribute to obesity, chronic stress, and associated health problems including lower urinary tract disease and overgrooming. Evidence-based enrichment includes daily interactive play with wand toys simulating prey movement, puzzle feeders for foraging, multiple feeding stations, vertical territory, and hiding places. Rotating enrichment items maintains novelty. Multi-cat households require additional resources to prevent competition and social conflict, which are major sources of chronic stress.