Yin’s favorite toy
Yin is easily pleased with many types of toys, but toys with fur on them rank no. 1 in her book.
Toys with fur invoke a prey- reaction, which makes them a lasting object of interest.
Yin will defend her toy as if she has got a hold of a real mouse.
I am critical when picking these toys; there shouldn’t be any part attached that could easily come off; the plastic noses and eyes of regular fur mice for instance are removed before the cats are allowed to play with them.
 

Luna’s favorite toy
Luna couldn’t be happier than when you reserve 15 mins. of interactive play time for her. Luna’s favorite toy to play with together would be a wand. This hás to be a wand with feathers then, and it would be even more fantastic if it could smell like catnip. Rattles or other loud wands don’t do it for Luna; it’s the “whooosh” sound that counts! Stalking the ‘prey’ at the end Luna will make the sharpest turns, the most idiotic jumps and fantastic somersaults –and she’ll always land on her 4 feet, off course, like a lean ladycat should. After playing together, Luna likes to get some one-on-one time with her wand and will drag it to her feeding dish or under the bed. I never leave the wands out for the cats to play with if I’m not around, especially those with string pose a potential danger (chewing and swallowing, but also getting tangled up in it). The wands would also be broken the same day; they’re not the sturdiest of toys.

Noa’s favorite toy
These hedgehog rubber balls hit bull’s-eye with Noa as soon as I brought them home.
After a day of awkwardly hitting them with his paw it dawned on him the next day: the balls where a perfect fit – in his mouth that is!
After happily running around with one of these balls in his mouth he came to the conclusion that this was rather boring after all. He dropped the ball on the couch next to me, I threw it away, he retrieved it – and his newest favorite hobby was born; retrieving!
Noa won’t be distracted from napping by pretty much anything, but this will do the trick (next to food, off course, which makes Noa highly trainable). Noa will also retrieve fur mice and catnip2toss from Petstages, but the hedgehog balls remain his favorites.
On a regular base I will find a ball like this on my pillow or in my shoe – a sign that I was passed out at a time Noa would have liked to play with me. I then must feel just as disappointed as he did!
I do always have the toys for retrieving available to my cats so they can be the ones to tell me it’s playtime, and because of this these toys have to be extra safe. The hedgehog balls are too firm and too large to fit into the mouth entirely and that would also feel unpleasant. Petstages toys are very safe in general, completely made out of fabric (and the occasional feather), not too small and lacking small parts that come off or big parts that stick out.
My cats don’t get any toy I wouldn’t also consider safe for a baby. The sponge balls that you can find in trade for instance are very unsafe (the can be chewed to pieces and swallowed and will expand when moist).

The icing on the cake....
 I made a brief reference to it before, but not just feather wands, but every toy becomes more interesting when it smells like one of the cats favorite scents.
Not all cats are sensitive to catnip, but the majority of them are.
 In small kittens it may take a while before the love of this herb develops; it might be an acquired taste.
The reaction to catnip is a state of euphoria, similar to being high in humans. In most cases it has a relaxing effect. It is absolutely harmless to cats, including kittens.
There are countless applications for catnip; the cut leaf inside toys and kicking bags, storing toys in powdered catnip or spraying scratching posts, cat beds or show curtains with catnip spray .

 And just as lovely....
Is the smell of the root of the valerian plant. For the cat that is, for humans it tends to smell a lot like wet dog. In most cases valerian will evoke an even stronger response than catnip.
Only the root of this plant is used, so it is no use planting valerian in your garden, unless you want your cats to dig it out.
Next to the use as pulverized root, a tincture is also made out of valerian and it is also used in the shape of pills. Valerian has a calming and relaxing effect, which makes it a superb herb to use on and in toys in times of stress (e.g. a cat show).
In emergencies valerian can also be given orally, although it is a relief for the cat, just be aware that it will disqualify you from entering the show ring.

 Smart toys*
It’s embedded in the cat’s nature to work for its food and to use its head while doing so; stalking birds in the branches or silently approaching a mouse in the grass...
How boring it must be to just find your food in a dish everyday, without having had to think for it, without having made any physical effort. Off course we can mimic this physical activity in interactive play, but we could also take this one step further.
The Dogsmart, Dogspinny and Dogbrick are puzzles in which food can be hidden. The cat has to think and make a physical effort to obtain its food. The puzzles stimulate the natural behavior of the cat while gathering food.
The cat will be kept busy and receives its reward for this instantly. Even though the name would make you expect otherwise, the smallest versions are very suitable for cats. The idea is, that the cat will manipulate the moving parts of the puzzle in such a manner that the food comes within reach; with the Dogsmart this is done through lifting or knocking over tiny cups that are placed over the food, with the Spinny it is done through sliding around the wooden parts until the hole that holds the treat is reached, with the Dogbrick the cat has to manipulate the sliding parts until the treat is out in the open.
Obviously, a bowl of walnuts will keep your cat occupied much in the same way too.
It makes sense to use kibble for these games, however, if you don’t like the idea of feeding your cats dry food, you could also buy dried meat. Anything unsalted or unsmoked and anything but pork should be fine.

              

Cheap toys
Cats don’t care whether you pay a fortune for a toy or nothing at all, this is probably no news. Cats can enjoy themselves for hours, playing with an empty cardboard box with a few holes in it, only one of them big enough to enter it, the others big enough to stick paws through. Fill it with some paper balls (preferably not newspaper as the ink is toxic) and the cat can tear up as much as it heart desires– Yin’s cup of tea!
Paper bags (without handles off course as cats could get caught in them and suffocate) are great to run in and out of, and the sound that makes is just awesome! Empty toilet paper rolls can be taped together and sealed at one end to create a puzzle where the cat needs to use its paws to get its treats. An empty (square) milk bottle could serve the same purpose. Make sure your cheap materials are safe though; rope, balls of wool (risk of getting caught up in them, swallowing) rubber rings from milk bottles (soft and chewable, could be ingested) tin foil and hair bands are often recommended, but very dangerous.

Drinking made fun!
In “nature” cats get most of their required moisture from prey items; mammals and birds consist of water for the largest part. It follows that cats aren’t naturally inclined to drink a lot.
In an indoor environment we seldom or never offer them entire prey, and if the diet mainly consists of dry food it may be clear that are cats are getting into trouble with their intake of moisture if they don’t compensate this lack of moisture in their food by drinking. Problems with the urinal tract are often the result. The amount of drinking our environment requires from a cat is unnatural and it thus should be made as attractive as possible.
Tap water that has been sitting in a bowl for a week is not attractive and likely not very tasty either.
But even water that has just been sitting for a day will lose its attraction on cats. This can be prevented by placing multiple bowls of water around the home, refreshing these as often as possible and creating different flavors (one bowl could hold tap water, another rain water, yet another mineral water (non-carbonated) and yet another tap water with a drop of salmon oil.)
Many a cat owner owns one of those cats which have the flower vase as their favorite watering spot. – location and taste are the key- but a vase is not a suitable drinking bowl (toxic substances from cut flowers, plant nutrients in the water, danger of knocking it over meaning shards)
Other preferences include drinking from the tap. This is obviously the ultimate choice for a cat; fresh, flowing water (rich in oxygen) and one of those two-leggers at your service to open it! Many Russian Blues control the tap in their house. But no matter how much we like to please our cats, we’re not always at home to be the tap opener and we certainly aren’t happy with the water bill at the end of the month.
This is why a drinking fountain is an ideal option. Not only can more water be stored in the tank and is the water pumped around (movement=interesting), the water is also filtered over carbon which extracts chloride, fluoride and copper particles from the water. The water runs, stays rich in oxygen (and because of that low in bacteria) making it healthier and tastier. Cat-it and Drinkwell are two brands that make suitable fountains.


Attractive litter boxes
After all that drinking and having earned al that food my Russians obviously aren’t just put outside to do their business. Nope, the Russian is a classy cat and so it needs a classy toilet. One for every cat to be precise, and ideally even one more (rule of thumb set by behavioral specialists, f.e. Vicky Halls). This will prevent any cat from claiming the sole right to a litter box, not allowing other cats on it, which could result in the other cats going to the bathroom in a place we hadn’t exactly planned for them to go in. Next to that, many cats don’t like to do no.1 and no.2 in the same place. This means that for 3 cats, you should have 4 litter boxes out, but even for 1 cat you should still own 2 litter boxes.
The boxes have to be in a secure place that can still be reached easily; not in a place where a lot of people pass each day, not next to a doorway and well distributed over the total living space. The cat must be able to keep an eye on its surroundings but still have privacy.
All litter boxes have to be large enough to accommodate the biggest cat (in adulthood) in the household; it shouldn’t have to fold itself double to turn in it (many cats actually turn a couple of times before they sit down, and there should be enough space for them to do so.) and the hood, if applicable, should be high enough to allow for a comfortable standing and sitting position when inside.
The hood preferably doesn’t have a door or this has been removed, as it slams down on the tail every time the cat enters or exits and because it traps odors inside.
This might seem pleasant from our point of view, but the cat’s sensitive nose definitely won’t agree.
The box will preferably be filled with a thick layer of fine litter that is gentle on the cat’s feet and which doesn’t contain any artificial or added perfumes. The more natural and sand-like it is the better, although there are exceptions to this rule.
Although bentonite litter with a fine grain might feel pleasant to the cat’s feet, it can be very harmful as this type of litter contains silica dust that can cause cancer when inhaled into the respiratory system.
Clay litters produce a lot of dust when a cat digs around in it and this makes it unsuitable, even if it is practical to us. Clumping clay litter is very dangerous to kittens; since they tend to taste everything, they are likely to ingest this litter and have it block their intestines. This could be life-threatening.
Silica litter is very lightweight and very practical, doesn’t spread silica dust (seems contradictory, but it’s true) and absorbs odors and moisture very well, as long as it is turned regularly and kept free of stools. It looks chemical but it really isn’t, it is biodegradable and can be composted. Downsides to this litter are that the rough type (not the pearls) can be unkind to cats’ feet (relatively sharp and large grains, which makes some cats reject this litter permanently) and that it could cause some dehydration in small kittens if ingested because it absorbs moisture so well. Wood pellets often are too large to be comfortable, but the broken pellets that are also available are soft to the feet, smell fresh and natural, absorb well and are safe for kittens. For adults you could use these or a clumping version that looks, smells and feels the same, but is made out of corncob. This type of litter can be composted or flushed. The box has to be kept free of stools and wet spots and needs to be cleaned with water and soap on a weekly base.

First Aid with Hairballs
Even if the owner helps by brushing and petting, every self respecting cat will groom itself regularly en with a thick fur coat like those of Russians it is inevitable that some hairs are ingested. These hairs can accumulate inside the digestive tract and from clots there, or hairballs, which will be in the way of the food the cat takes in.
To prevent the accumulation of hair we can offer our cats malt paste, from a tube or in snacks but not every cat is fond of the taste. Malt paste coats the hairs in a slippery layer enabling the digestive tract to rid of them smoothly.
Because not every cat enjoys the taste of malt and because we can’t judge whether the malt did its job from the outside, we offer our cats greens.
Plant material can’t be digested by cats (because the cell membranes are too thick and the digestive tract of the cat is too short to break them down) and will cause regurgitation – which is good in case hairballs are present since they’ll come out too.
Cats know this and will eat plants when their stomach is bothering them. Grass is often used for this but isn’t always the safest option. The grass that is offered in pet and garden retail isn’t always suitable for cats; umbrella grass f.i. is often offered as cat grass. This plant has long, thin and sharp leaves that can cause injury and get lodged inside the nose and throat. Surgical removal is the only option in such a case – and I’ve heard of such cases more than once.
Real cat grass is softer and is usually offered in packages to grow at home. It has to be grown out of the reach of the cats though! And while it likely won’t cause injury, the leaves could still get lodged because of their shape. Baby tears are a great alternative; the leaves are soft, small and rounded, it’s not poisonous and it’s a decorative plant.


More greens cats love
Oh well, while we’re stripping the garden centre of all their soft grass and baby tears, we might as well have a look around at other plants that will make our cats happy.
Many cats will appreciate a little herb garden, which could be in their outside enclosure but also indoors in pottery.
There are many plants that tickle a cat’s senses.
One of the obvious options is catnip (which can easily be grown indoors! Picture on the left) other options for instance are spearmint, real thyme, wild thyme, hyssop and lemon melissa.
Another advantage of offering plant material to cats is that they’re more likely to leave your other houseplants alone; they can do whatever they want to those that appeal to them most!

Creating scratching sites
Another, very important, part of cat behavior is marking territory. Cats do this in various ways of visual and scent marking; by means of their excrements, by spraying urine or by rubbing their facial scent glands along objects. Scratching belongs to this list as well. Hopefully it is clear that this behavior shouldn’t be stopped as it is such an intricate part of cat behavior, on the contrary, it should be accommodated.
We do this by putting up scratching boards in suitable locations and by setting up scratching posts. Personally, I’d rather see one good climbing tree and a number of scratching boards in a home than a number of smaller scratching posts.
Think like a cat when you place the scratching boards; where could intruders enter which immediately need to be made aware of my presence, how do I let others know these feeding and sleeping spots are mine, this room may be far from the entrance but it’s mine too, etc.


And then....Peace and Quiet
Cats spend most of their lives sleeping and so some safe, comfortable sleeping spots are in order.
It is a shame though; we can make every possible effort but cats will still choose their own spots for their naps; if the expensive bed you bought isn’t exactly in the right place, the cat will choose your comfy chair over it any time.
But there are some options that score high with my cats every time, so who knows, maybe they’ll be a hit with yours too. Ranking no.1 are radiator hammocks. Warm and soft, what more could a cat desire? Because they’re automatically placed on the outer edges of a space they give the cat overview while having its back covered at the same time. The same goes for beds in the window sills, which rank no.2; kitty can peek outside in between naps and the heater is close again! No. 3 is any type of bed in a high spot.


Safe transport
They don’t tend to like it much but still, our cats will have to endure it every now and again; trips to the vet, the show or a stud cat. Off course they have been trained to be in a car, so this shouldn’t be a problem; the next key ingredient is the transport cage or kennel.
There are a few things to pay attention to when buying a kennel and a cheap option will almost always prove more expensive in the long run. First, a kennel should be sturdy and impossible to break out of; a determined cat can be very strong and will push itself straight through the plastic door of a lower quality kennel. Second, there should be an option to open a kennel from the top; a cat that doesn’t want to come out certainly can’t be pulled out through the door in the front. Third, the kennel should be hygienic; it will go places where there are bugs, bacteria and viruses galore, and accidents could easily happen during a road trip. Finally, the cat should feel and be sheltered. Holes for ventilation shouldn’t cause a draft. Varikennels are probably the most decent kennels in retail right now.


Fitting nutrition
What’s sad about today’s society, is that consumers have a blind trust in what manufacturers tell them about their products. If you ask me, this also goes for cat food manufacturers, especially those which offer 20 different varieties of food in shiny packaging.
Dry food was introduced only some 20 years ago, which is way too short a period to say anything about its influence on our cats’ health. What we can say is that we see a lot of problems that are linked to nutrition; allergies, diabetes, tooth decay, gingivitis, problems with the acidity of urine (kidney stones) etc.
We should realize that cats are carnivores that possess digestive systems that aren’t designed to process the plant proteins and big amounts of carbohydrates which make up the largest part of today’s cat foods.
If you feed your cat in a way that approaches that what it’s built to eat (whole prey) I don’t think you can go wrong.
I’m only human though, I have limited time available to prepare my cats food and I’m not completely happy with exclusively feeding entire animals indoors. Next to that I do realize that I can’t force new cat owners to feed their cats like I do and so the cats I breed must learn to eat a range of different foods.
For these reasons I don’t offer entire mice or chicks (although Noa likes a chick every now and then) and I don’t prepare a raw recipe myself.
Instead, I choose to feed a ready, complete raw food. I feed Carnibest, a local Dutch brand, but there are others depending on your location. To keep the teeth at work and the gums healthy I regularly feed a piece of heart, chicken neck or something like that on the side. Still, my cats do occasionally get dry or canned food, although I try to feed brands that are high in meat, animal proteins and fats and/or have recognizable pieces of meat or fish.


Safe ways of going outside
We have to be honest about this; cats that can go outside to feel the wind blow through their fur or the rain on their muzzle or that can playfully run behind a butterfly or a leaf in the wind are happier cats.
Sadly, in modern times the outdoors has become really unsafe for cats. Dangers are lurking everywhere; just think of all the contagious diseases, traffic, poisons, aggressive animals and people, theft – the list keeps going. It’s in the interest of the cat’s safety to limit its freedom somewhat. The most ideal way for a cat to enjoy the outdoors would be an enclosed pen in the garden or on the balcony, which it could access through a cat flap at any moment it so desires. Off course a carefully secured garden would do nicely too, as long as it prevents unknown cats from entering. If you can’t offer either, you could still walk your cat on a harness and leash or have your cat on a harness with long line in the garden. Cats learn this quick and most of them appreciate it.


Support during stressfull situations
Sometimes you just know a coming event will have a huge impact on your cat’s life. Moving house, surgery, births and the introduction of new company are such events.
Sometimes it might not be obvious that a cat is suffering from stress until it suddenly starts to show signs – or, to be exact; until we notice the signs (stress related urinating rarely comes out of the blue, just like abnormal scratching or washing behavior and constant withdrawal). A longlasting conflict between cats may also go unnoticed.
To support animals in similar situations should they arise, I make sure to have two things ready at hand; Bach Rescue Remedy and a Feliway evaporator.
Feliway uses artificial facial pheromones and helps to make rooms smell familiar and feel safer.
Rescue Remedy provides immediate relaxation and trust.
This way, a cat can be helped to feel secure in its own environment – which is a calming notion to us as well.

 

 

* Food Enrichment for Cats