Signs your indoor cat is bored, and what to do about it
An indoor cat has its food handed over and nothing to hunt. Boredom in cats does not look like sulking — it looks like behaviour problems.
Seven signs
- Sleeping far more than usual — cats sleep a lot, but a bored cat sleeps to pass time rather than to recover.
- Over-grooming, especially the belly or inner legs, sometimes to bald patches. Worth a vet check too, since allergies look similar.
- Eating too fast, or begging constantly — food becomes the only event of the day.
- The 4am sprint. Energy has to come out somewhere and night is when the flat is interesting.
- Attention-seeking that ignores the word "no" — knocking things off surfaces, pawing at you during calls.
- Rough play with hands and ankles, because there is nothing else to hunt.
- Loss of interest in toys left permanently on the floor — a toy that is always available stops being prey.
Five-minute setups from things you already have
- The muffin tin. A few biscuits in the cups, ping-pong balls on top.
- Toilet roll tubes. Fold one end, drop treats in, fold the other. Or stand six upright in a shoebox with food at the bottom of some.
- The box with holes. Cut paw-sized holes in a cardboard box lid, put treats and a ball inside. This is the cheapest puzzle feeder there is.
- Scatter feeding. Stop using the bowl for one meal a day. Hide portions around a room and let the cat find them.
- Paper bag, handles removed. Cats do the rest.
Rotate. A puzzle that is out permanently becomes furniture within a week. Three toys out, the rest in a cupboard, swapped weekly, feels like new toys every time.
Play the way a cat hunts
Most people play wrong: waving a toy in the cat's face, letting it "lose", and stopping when the cat is still wound up. A hunt has a shape, and following it is what makes play satisfying.
- Stalk. Move the wand toy away from the cat and behind things. Prey flees; it does not charge at the hunter.
- Chase. Short bursts with pauses. Let the cat reset.
- Catch. Let it win, several times. A hunt that never ends in a catch is frustrating.
- Kill. A final catch it can bunny-kick and hold.
- Eat. Feed straight after. This is what converts play into settling — and it is the trick behind fixing the 4am sprint.
Two sessions of ten minutes a day changes most bored-cat behaviour within a fortnight.
Never play with hands
A kitten that learns hands are prey becomes an adult cat that ambushes ankles, and it is very hard to undo. Always a toy between your hand and the teeth.
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