Cat sensory area ideas?

[whisperedthing]

Hey! I have two lovely and playful kittens - approximately seven months old, bonded siblings. I want to start a new project for them and I'm looking for ideas! I live in a decent sized apartment - I have this nice entry way table, pretty tall with a lot of open space below. Currently I keep their cat tunnel there (though it always finds it's way...everywhere else lol) but I'm actually thinking of creating a sensory experience for them. I was thinking of a small aquarium tank with 'robo alive' fish they could watch and swat at, some cat safe plants like catnip and cat grass, a small live grass patch for them to lounge in and play - but does anyone have any other suggestions? I just want them to live a very full and enriched life. I've had cats my entire life and I feel as though we didn't really invest in enriching their environment a lot and now that I have my own little babies, I wanna spoil them and give them a taste of outdoors and natural life.

(Please do not suggest me allowing them outdoors. I live right in front of a very busy main road and I get alerts for missing cats that just don't come home, unfortunately.)

 

[Furballsmom]

This isn't so much for the taste of the outdoors, but for their senses in general - Cat Music, self warming beds, tall cat trees, scratchers both flat and upright, rabbit fur mice toys, purr toys, kibble treat toys

 

[Norachan]

I'm glad you're keeping them indoors, it's way too dangerous for cats to be allowed to roam.

I suggest you make them plenty of cat trees and a cat highway, so they can get around as much of your apartment as possible without touching the floor. Cats love vertical space.

I've seen some really nice cat trees made from dried branches, you can even put tubs of cat grass up at higher levels for them to make it more interesting. A few pics I found on pinterest.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

Different scratching surfaces! Wrapped sisal, woven sisal, cardboard,carpet and bare wood are all wonderful. Places to hide like boxes, tunnels, or paper bags. Soft beds and or fuzzy blankets for resting. And don't forget a chair for their human!

 

[Alldara]

Loving all these orange cat photos

Those are lovely ideas. You can put ping pong balls on the surface of the water as well.

Our cats love tissue paper and brown paper. We put them in boxes or spread out on the floor. They go under and over them, rolling and loads of things. A favourite toy is honestly an empty paper towel roll with the ends "frayed" with scissors. They also love paper straws.

A bird feeder at the window for "cat tv".

They also love that we have plants. We have some ferns, African violets and other cat safe plants that are not necessarily for chewing but sometimes get taste tested. Calcifer is particularly fond of my moth orchid (only cat safe ones). He sniffs the flowers, not sure what he's smelling but he's happy). We also have some herbs inside like sage, thyme, catnip and oregano. Each cat has their favourite. Cal has a green paw, "his" plants always do best.

The Dharma cat toys are a big hit and they have stolen a woolen dryer ball from me as a kicker toy.

 

[whisperedthing]

This isn't so much for the taste of the outdoors, but for their senses in general - Cat Music, self warming beds, tall cat trees, scratchers both flat and upright, rabbit fur mice toys, purr toys, kibble treat toys

Love that idea! I've never heard of cat music - I occasionally have cat videos on television for them to watch, especially on rainy and cloudy days. I also love the idea of self-warming beds since winter's here and they can't sleep with us at night (hopefully once they're older and less prone to zoomies at 3am lol)

 

[whisperedthing]

I'm glad you're keeping them indoors, it's way too dangerous for cats to be allowed to roam.

I suggest you make them plenty of cat trees and a cat highway, so they can get around as much of your apartment as possible without touching the floor. Cats love vertical space.

I've seen some really nice cat trees made from dried branches, you can even put tubs of cat grass up at higher levels for them to make it more interesting. A few pics I found on pinterest.

View attachment 438837 View attachment 438838 View attachment 438839

Ooooh, those are beautiful. I especially love the first and third. I'm definitely looking to get another cat tower for them and am definitely looking into more ways to give them that vertical space! They are especially interested in our bookshelf, so I've cleared off two shelves for them, but I think I may need to get them a cat ladder for them to climb it easier!

 

[whisperedthing]

Different scratching surfaces! Wrapped sisal, woven sisal, cardboard,carpet and bare wood are all wonderful. Places to hide like boxes, tunnels, or paper bags. Soft beds and or fuzzy blankets for resting. And don't forget a chair for their human!

Agreed! I definitely need to get them some more vertical scratchers. Right now they have two horizontal scratchers which they love, but I need to get a taller scratching post for them because they've grown like weeds since kittenhood! I'm thinking paper bags would be especially loved by them. I might get another tunnel for them - they have one and they were obsessed with it for months, but now it seems like...background to them? And I'll definitely be placing their favorite bed and basket near - a chair for me would be great! I could watch and give them attention pretty much all day, I find them to be very funny and calming.

 

[whisperedthing]

Loving all these orange cat photos

Those are lovely ideas. You can put ping pong balls on the surface of the water as well.

Our cats love tissue paper and brown paper. We put them in boxes or spread out on the floor. They go under and over them, rolling and loads of things. A favourite toy is honestly an empty paper towel roll with the ends "frayed" with scissors. They also love paper straws.

A bird feeder at the window for "cat tv".

They also love that we have plants. We have some ferns, African violets and other cat safe plants that are not necessarily for chewing but sometimes get taste tested. Calcifer is particularly fond of my moth orchid (only cat safe ones). He sniffs the flowers, not sure what he's smelling but he's happy). We also have some herbs inside like sage, thyme, catnip and oregano. Each cat has their favourite. Cal has a green paw, "his" plants always do best.

The Dharma cat toys are a big hit and they have stolen a woolen dryer ball from me as a kicker toy.

Yesss, orange babies are just the best!

And ooo, ping pong balls would be a hit! They love stealing the balls from their cat ball tower and rolling it around! I often have to play rescue because they always end up under the dishwasher lol.

Paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls are big hits in our house too. We have chewers lol and they love tearing them up.

Bird feeder is a great idea! I was looking at a few on Amazon and will likely be purchasing one soon.

Yes, when we got rid of them we got rid of the one toxic plant we had. Right now we only have two live plants - ZZ plants which aren't toxic but not the best for them digestion. Sometimes they bite at one of them, but not often. I just love the idea of having plants in the house without having to worry about their health. I definitely wanna get a spider plant or two because of their air filtering capabilities! And I love the idea of having herbs - I bet your house smells lovely!

 

[Furballsmom]

Thay are lucky to have you

 

[Alldara]

Yesss, orange babies are just the best!

And ooo, ping pong balls would be a hit! They love stealing the balls from their cat ball tower and rolling it around! I often have to play rescue because they always end up under the dishwasher lol.

Paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls are big hits in our house too. We have chewers lol and they love tearing them up.

Bird feeder is a great idea! I was looking at a few on Amazon and will likely be purchasing one soon.

Yes, when we got rid of them we got rid of the one toxic plant we had. Right now we only have two live plants - ZZ plants which aren't toxic but not the best for them digestion. Sometimes they bite at one of them, but not often. I just love the idea of having plants in the house without having to worry about their health. I definitely wanna get a spider plant or two because of their air filtering capabilities! And I love the idea of having herbs - I bet your house smells lovely!

Oh yes we have chewers here too! Good for their teeth long term, as chewing toys and things keeps the teeth cleaner. I really recommend silvervine sticks as well then.

Ours also like to have a ping pong in the bathtub, but since we rent a townhouse we are cautious that that won't bug our neighbours and only do it at certain times.

Just as an FYI - though not harmful, spider plants are an opiate for cats. We do limit our cats access to them for this reason I don't know if that will affect pain medication they might be prescribed in the future. I know for humans that over time a higher dose of opiates is needed.


I love having plants in the home. Nobel used to like the reading nook. He'd sit on my rocking chair. We had a fern and palm there. Unfortunately, we had a bad spidermite infestation during 2020 that took out many of our plants.

 

[Norachan]

Sounds like you've got lots of ideas for them. We'd love to see some pictures of it all when you're done.

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

I have had success with this bird feeder:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YSU3WG2/?tag=thecatsite

And then I have this shelf on the other side of the window (though I only have one cat, so no fighting for it):

https://www.chewy.com/kh-pet-products-ez-mount-window/dp/148503

 

[Caspers Human]

Our cats love tissue paper and brown paper. We put them in boxes or spread out on the floor.

That's one of Casper's favorites!

We buy packages of plain newsprint (often used for packing dishes, etc.) from Walmart or any of the other usual suspects. Take a couple-three sheets and just put them on the floor in the cat's play area.

They're crinkly and make noise when the cat walks or lays on them. Casper likes to dig his claws into them but he likes it best when you put one of his toys under the paper so he can attack it.

Then, when the paper gets too torn up, throw it away and put out some more. If they aren't too torn up, you can use them when you clean out the cat's litter box to wrap up small amounts of used litter before you throw it away.

You can also use old newspapers when you are done reading them but, if you do, be sure to check to be sure that the ink doesn't smear before giving to your cat. Smeared newsprint ink probably won't hurt your cat but it certainly can cause a mess if you don't watch out.
For that reason, we just buy plain newsprint paper. We only use old newspapers, occasionally, after checking them for smearing. Most are okay but we still get smeary ones from time to time.

 

[danteshuman]

Besides a catio?

Change up the sensory items. I like to switch it up every month but giving my hyper boy a play area helps a lot! So he gets a large cardboard box or giant jumbo gift bag or a little Christmas tree hut. Fill the box/bag/large storage tub with tissue paper, some jingly balls, some crinkle balls, maybe a chirping bird or some mice etc... and sometimes catnip. You can change up the small toys once a week and the bigger box/bag once a month to keep it fresh. I have put packing paper in his 3 way tunnel or tissue paper in his pop up play house, cat safe paper Easter grass in his tub before to. I like to buy my boy a new cardboard scratcher house every few months to.

The fish would be better if they can bat at them. If you have hardwood floors I suggest hexabug cat toys.... just not in the kitchen.

 

[Caspers Human]

Yeah, we rotate Casper’s toys, too.

When his papers get torn up, we get rid of them and put out some his other toys. Then, when he gets done with those, more paper.

Casper has a basket full of toys and he often goes there to get out different ones when he wants them. We often find his toy basket tipped over with toys scattered all around.

Casper certainly knows where HIS toys are!

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

Tissue paper is a very excellent toy in Neko-chan's world. I get odd looks sometimes for folding up and saving the tissue paper from gift bags instead of throwing it out.

 

[Caspers Human]

I get odd looks sometimes for folding up and saving the tissue paper from gift bags instead of throwing it out.

"It's for the cat! Honest!"