Evidence-based enrichment strategies for indoor cats that meet their predatory, territorial and cognitive needs within the home.
Indoor cats live in an environment that is safe from external threats but impoverished relative to their evolved behavioural repertoire. The wild cat spends its active period stalking, hunting and patrolling territory. The indoor cat equivalent is typically a bowl of food twice daily and a handful of familiar toys. The welfare gap between what a cat is motivated to do and what its environment allows is the root cause of boredom-related problems including over-grooming, inter-cat tension and stress-related urinary disease. Enrichment that closes this gap directly addresses this welfare deficit.