Owning a bengal means that you always have to think outside the box to keep him from being bored. Having a bored bengal means something will inevitably be destroyed or older kittys will be annoyed. Though my activities were initially tailored for my bengal they have generally expanded to include all of my cats.
I spent most of my early years at the zoo. It didn’t hurt that my mom also worked there. My mom worked with plants, but I was fascinated with animals. When I got old enough I started volunteering at the zoo, this us where I first came across the idea of enrichment in terms of animal husbandry. The theme kept popping up first in college and then later when I worked with laboratory animals. So of course I had to adopt the concept when I had pets of my own.
The basic idea of animal enrichment us to o add something to the animal’s environment that promotes physical and psychological well being. So for my cats I tend to focus on activities that play on their natural hunting abilities, like hiding their food.
The homemade “toy” that has been the biggest hit with all four my cats is the ice cube tray. I generally put some of their food and treats in an old ice cube tray and then watch my cats go to town. Finding the treats and determining how to extract the food from it keeps their minds sharp. Physically extracting the food helps to keep their paws dexterous. The cats all love the challenge, even my two oldest who are less driven by food.
Mara, Jasmine, Stormy & The Ice Cube Tray
Dragonflyy Is Herding Cats 