13 Ways to Refresh Your Cat’s Routine and Keep Them Thriving

The start of a new year is a pretty great time to rethink the habits you want to build with your cat, especially the ones that keep them mentally sharp and happy. Cats are often misunderstood as being low-maintenance pets who don’t need much care. But anyone who actually lives with one knows the truth: they’re also highly intelligent, active, and social animals who need daily exercise, interactions, and enrichment to thrive.

So if you’re ready to kick off the year with habits that support your cat’s curiosity — from environmental upgrades to toys that actually engage them — you’re in the right place. Let’s break down what they need and how to make it part of your everyday rhythm.

Make enrichment a daily habit to keep your cat engaged

Although boredom with cats may not be as obvious to pet parents as it is with dogs, cats do get bored. In the wild, they spend hours each day hunting, climbing, and interacting with their environment. Without opportunities to engage their instincts, housecats can develop a range of behavioral issues, mental health consequences, and even physical health problems.

Some signs of boredom in your kitty can include pacing or restlessness, destructive chewing behavior, excessive meowing, changes in their sleeping patterns, or even over-grooming. Of course, these signs may also indicate an underlying health issue. So if these behaviors continue even after increasing enrichment time, set up a wellness check with your vet.

Indoor cats, in particular, rely on us to provide engaging environments that meet their emotional, social, and exercise needs. Mental enrichment shouldn’t be thought of as a treat for your cat, but as a requirement for their care. The good news is that providing enrichment activities doesn’t have to be costly and is a great way to bond with your cat.

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As with people, cats can lose interest even in the best toys or activities over time and be bored with the same ol’ routine.

The good news? You can build healthy enrichment habits that keep your cat engaged day after day. Rotate toys every few days, switch up challenges, and introduce new activities to keep them mentally sharp. Having a variety of toys and activities on rotation not only satisfies their hunting instincts and senses, but it also makes enrichment part of a daily rhythm that supports both their physical and emotional well-being.

Fresh ways to upgrade your cat’s environment

Environmental enrichment makes your cat’s living space interactive, fun, and supportive of their species-specific needs. Make your home cat-friendly with additions — such as tunnels, scratching posts, boxes, hideaways, walkways, cat beds, perches, and catios — to support their need for hiding, climbing, scratching, stalking, and observing their territory.

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Boxes

Of the simplest, most budget-friendly enrichment items you can give your cat is a cardboard box. It’s super-effective for offering a safe, cozy place to hide and play. Try cutting holes in the boxes for ambush games and observing. Stack them like a multileveled house for vertical enrichment. Or add soft bedding to it, and place it in a quiet area for a cozy place to nap.

Hides

Cats need space to retreat and feel safe, especially in active households with multiple cats or other pets. Providing hideouts, like covered beds, boxes with blankets over them, or repurposed baskets or drawers, can help support their mental health. Set up the hiding spots at different heights and in quiet corners of your home to give your kitty multiple options.

Tunnels

Tunnels are excellent for hiding, stalking, and ambushing toys, other unsuspecting household pets, or your ankles. They appeal to your cat’s predatory instincts, which they use heavily in play. You can set up tunnels permanently around your home, but collapsible versions are available and easily stored. To add to their enrichment, switch up tunnel locations around your home. You can also add peepholes, place toys inside, and create multiple entry points for added fun and variety.

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Window perches

Windows are great sources of entertainment for cats, so installing a window-mounted perch or positioning a cat tree nearby can create a perfect lookout post. Observing birds, insects, squirrels, or pedestrians through the window is like cat TV for your feline friend. Plus, many cats love to nap and rest in sunny locations, so adding a comfy place for them in front of a window can double as a warm snooze spot. 

Beds

The average adult housecat sleeps 12 to 16 hours per day, so providing several comfortable resting areas is crucial. You can place a variety of different beds near windows, in sunny locations, in a boxed-in perch, and tucked away in quiet areas of the home. In addition to repurposing boxes, drawers, or baskets with comfy blankets and cushions, you can also get pre-manufactured high-sided (bolster) beds, covered/cave beds, tunnel beds, and even cat hammocks. Many cat trees also come with enclosed areas that serve as sleeping spaces.

Leah Flores / Stocksy/

Catio

Enclosed outdoor spaces are game changers for many cats, because catios provide safe access to fresh air, sunshine, and more immersive experiences of the natural world. If you have the space, it’s ideal to include multiple levels in your catio for lounging, climbing, playing, and hiding. You’ll also want to make sure there’s a shaded, weather-protected area. 

Wall walkways

Having access to vertical space is essential for many cats. They tend to love being up high, and cat shelves or wall-mounted perches allow them to climb, explore, and observe from above. These walkways not only satisfy their climbing instincts, but also reduce territorial tension in multi-cat homes by expanding the space and freedom of movement. With walkways, the possibilities are endless: You can go with a simple line of high-mounted shelves that they access from staggered perches, get a cat tree, or create an entire walkway system that includes ramps, posts, bridges, perches, and platforms.

Enrichment toys worth adding to your cat’s daily routine

Play sessions and interactive toys provide cats with the ability to safely express hunting behaviors and to exercise. Having a variety of toys in rotation will keep your kitty physically and mentally engaged during playtime. 

Courtesy of RiverNCats/

Scratching posts

For our feline friends, scratching does more than just sharpen their claws. It’s also how cats stretch their muscles, mark territory, and relieve stress. To make sure they’re getting the most out of scratching, offer a variety of surfaces, including posts, flat pads, and slanted boards. Use different materials such as sisal rope, corrugated cardboard, and carpet. To encourage frequent use, you can set up the scratching posts near their favorite perches, high-traffic areas of the home, and sleeping spots. If you haven’t already, consider training your cat to use a scratching post to help protect your furniture.

Interactive toys

To get your cat up and moving, try interactive cat toys. These toys are designed to engage your cat’s hunting senses, encouraging them to stalk, chase, bat, and pounce. Examples include motorized balls, spring toys that move erratically, mice on wheels, and automated feather wands that spin and change directions. These types of toys are great for supporting solo entertainment when you aren’t able to engage with your cat.

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Puzzle feeders

Using treat-dispensing toys is a great way to provide mental and food enrichment for your feline friend. Puzzle feeders challenge your cat to solve problems and engage with the feeder to get treats, which is great for keeping their mind active. It also makes accessing their food extra-rewarding. They’re likewise useful for slowing down cats who tend to gulp their food, which can increase the risk of choking, vomiting, or bloating.

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Snuffle mats

If your kitty enjoys rummaging in your shoes or sniffing out treats, they’ll probably love a snuffle mat. Made from layers of fleece or felt strips attached to a rubber pad, these mats are wonderful for hiding treats and small toys. To introduce the snuffle mat, let your cat watch you hide treats and little toys throughout the fabric, and then encourage them to use their nose and paws to sniff and search to uncover their little rewards. 

Balls

Although your cat may not want to leap in the air and catch a ball in their mouth, they can still have a lot of fun playing with balls in their own kitty way. To keep them interested, provide a variety of ball types for your feline pal to pounce on, bat around, and zoom after. Toy balls for cats include soft and plush, motion-activated, treat-dispensing, crinkle, or jingle balls.

Feather wands

The fluttering motion of this toy mimics small prey, such as insects, and encourages your cat to chase, leap, and pounce after it. Feather wands are especially useful for keeping your cat healthy as they run, stretch, and leap after the feathers or strings attached to the wand. If you have a cat tree, platforms, or kitty walkways, you can integrate these with the feather wand to create a fun, challenging chase course that encourages your cat to climb, jump, and sprint. Make sure to always allow your kitty to intermittently catch the feathers, so they can feel the satisfaction of completing the “hunt.” 

Commonly asked questions

What are enrichment activities for senior cats?

Enrichment activities for senior cats can include more low-key experiences, such as window-watching on a cozy, soft perch, finding little treats in a snuffle mat, and exploring a cat tree, tunnel, or hideaway. 

What are some enrichment ideas for cats who are not food-motivated?

If your cat is not food motivated, for enrichment, consider leaning heavily on toys, such as feather wands or jingle balls. Also incorporate lots of environmental enrichment, such as letting them hang out in a catio, setting up elevated perches and walkways, and providing them with various scratching posts.

Are there alternative DIY cat enrichment activities?

DIY cat enrichment activities include making cardboard-box tunnels, houses, and hideaways for them to explore, crafting your own snuffle mats, making frozen treat cubes, and setting up obstacle courses around the house (with items and furniture) for feather-wand chasing.

References

Langworthy, M. (2025, February 13). The importance of cat enrichment. Humane Society of Utah. www.utahhumane.org/blog/the-importance-of-cat-enrichment.

Resting Areas | Indoor Pet Initiative. (n.d.). indoorpet.osu.edu/cats/basic-indoor-cat-needs/resting-areas.