Animal games and fun

How to Make a Cat Tired

 
Josie F. Turner
By Josie F. Turner, Journalist specialized in Animal Welfare. Updated: August 28, 2024
How to Make a Cat Tired
Cats

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Does your cat sleep a lot during the day and become a relentless adventurer at dawn? In part, it is important to understand that felines developed predominantly nocturnal habits during their evolution; and their senses (mainly their vision) allow them to perform better under dimmer lights, ensuring successful hunting.

But this does not mean that we should open our hands to our necessary rest to provide well-being for our cats. It is possible to reduce the nocturnal activity of our domestic felines by proposing a more stimulating routine during the day and positively enriching their environment. And to help you in this mission, AnimalWised invites you to get to know some ways to make a cat tired through play.

You may also be interested in: Games to Stimulate Your Cat Mentally at Home
Contents
  1. Benefits of playing with your cat
  2. How to make a cat tired through play?
  3. How to tire your cat out when they are alone
  4. Have you though about giving your cat a brother or sister?
  5. Care when offering your cat toys and accessories

Benefits of playing with your cat

Cats are owners of an active and curious character, like most wild cats. But when they are not properly stimulated in their homely life, they can be hyperactive, stressed or bored, developing numerous health and behavioral problems. In fact, most aggressive behavioral issues come from cats who experience sedentary routines in environments that arouse little interest. Therefore, if we want to provide a healthier and happier day to day life for our cats, we will need to stimulate them to waste energy and release tension. How? By playing!

Games are an excellent physical activity option to tire your cat and they also offer the following benefits to their body:

  • Stimulate their cognitive abilities.
  • Contribute to strengthening their muscles and bones.
  • Help balance their weight, metabolism and cardiorespiratory rhythm.
  • To prevent pathologies and behavioral problems associated with the accumulation of tension, stress and boredom.
  • It favors socialization (mainly in homes with more than one cat).

All with the added benefit of providing better sleep nights for their carers,as they won't wake you up in the morning!

How to Make a Cat Tired - Benefits of playing with your cat

How to make a cat tired through play?

The games we suggest below are excellent alternatives for stimulating, entertaining and tiring your cat out. But they also allow moments of coexistence to be enjoyed together, strengthening the bonds of friendship and affection between tutor and feline. What are you waiting for to start having fun with your cat?

"The magic wand"

This exercise simulates hunting a bird, and cats just love it! We'll need a wand shaped toy with colorful feathers on its tip. There are several options on the market and you can also make one easily at home, using a wooden stick, a strong string, some colorful feathers and lots of creativity. As we shake the wand, we imitate the flight of a small bird and awaken the hunting instinct of our domestic felines.

Playing ball

This is probably the simplest and cheapest game on our list. To carry out this activity we will only need a ball and a lot of disposition to have fun with our cat. Ideally, you should choose a ball suitable for animals and avoid those that have bells or decoys and make a lot of noise.

To begin with, all you have to do is throw the ball and watch as our cat makes it fly through the air while making really acrobatic pirouettes. You have no idea how much fun it'll be for both of you!

Shall we go fishing?

This idea is similar to the "magic wand", but simulates a fishing adventure. We will need a strong string or thread long enough and a toy that is to our cat's liking. We tie the toy to the thread and just throw it as if it were a hook to awaken the curiosity of our cat. The most interesting thing is to throw it over a door or other similar surface, making our cat stretch, jump and exercise to catch the tip of the rod.

Shall we play hide-and-seek?

Not only do children have fun playing hide-and-seek, our pets also enjoy this activity a lot. For starters, call your cat until they come to your call (logically, from a place where they can't see you). Then, you can switch rooms while you keep calling them. It is very important to start with an easier level so that you don't frustrate your cat, and reward them once they finds you.

In addition to stimulating the body and mind of your cat, hiding is an excellent activity to train them to answer your calls. And the best thing is that you can start it today, without needing any additional toys or objects.

Did you like these cat games? Then to keep discovering other fun activity options to tire your cat, read our article "10 games to entertain my cat".

How to Make a Cat Tired - How to make a cat tired through play?

How to tire your cat out when they are alone

Many times, our work doesn't allow enough time to play with our cats during the day. And with so much time alone at home, the animal is more likely to become bored, sleep many hours during the day, and want to play at night. Therefore, you may be asking yourself the following question:"How can I tire my cat if I'm not at home all day? Then the best thing is to enrich their environment with toys and accessories that allow you to entertain yourself on your own.

How to enrich the environment for your cat? A practical and effective option is to give them a scratching post with different floors and accessories, which acts as a real amusement park for cats. You can even make yourself a "Homemade scratching post for cats" easily.

To further exercise your creativity and encourage your cat's curiosity, we recommend making mazes out of cardboard boxes, where a reward awaits you at the end of the road. And you can also use economical and creative options like these 6 homemade cat toys, using simple and recycled materials to stimulate and make your cat tired while you're gone.

Have you though about giving your cat a brother or sister?

"What if my cat gets tired of playing alone and I work all day long?" In these cases, it is best to consider giving a little brother or sister to your cat. In this way, by enriching their environment with toys and accessories, they will be able to spend their energy together during the day and rest at night. However, before making this important decision, know your cat and act according to their needs. If he is not a sociable feline, you should look for another alternative, such as asking someone you trust to spend time with him.

If you finally think it is the best option, it is important to prepare the cat for the arrival of a new family member. We must not forget that felines are very territorial animals and can show certain aggressive behaviors when faced with the entry of an unknown animal into their environment. To ensure that your cats get along, be sure to read our tips on socializing an adult cat and, above all, on how to introduce the new cat to your cat.

How to Make a Cat Tired - Have you though about giving your cat a brother or sister?

Care when offering your cat toys and accessories

The most important care when increasing the environment of our cat is to ensure their safety. It is not recommended to offer very small toys or accessories containing tiny objects and ornaments that can be easily released. These elements can get stuck in the animal's throat, creating a serious risk of suffocation.

Toys containing strings or long threads should not be left within the cat's reach when we are not present, to prevent the animal from swallowing or getting tangled with them. It is also recommended to avoid toys and activities that may cause frustration or irritability in the feline. Ideally, you should prefer more object games that allow the animal to positively exercise their hunting instinct and enjoy the success of catching their prey.

If you choose to present your cat with intelligence games, such as hiding places with caves (or holes) and puzzles, it is important to choose a proposal that is appropriate to the animal's age. If we propose an excessively complex game to a very young cat, for example, we can frustrate their will by exposing them to repeated failed attempts.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Make a Cat Tired, we recommend you visit our Animal games and fun category.

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How to Make a Cat Tired