Ice, Ice Baby

Many cats are fascinated by ice cubes and will happily engage themselves with a cube or two, batting them around and licking at them, which is especially wonderful if you have trouble getting your cat to consume enough water. Float a few cubes in your cat’s water dish or fountain for her to play with or go ahead and freeze a whole second dish of water for your cat to investigate and lick at. Or blenderize a handful of ice cubes with a bit of water to make a kitty snow cone! Amp up the fun by pouring a bit of tuna water over the top, or create a delicious “cat food slurry topping” (yum) by mixing your cat’s favourite wet food with a bit of water to create a thin gravy, then drizzle atop the iced treat.

You can also take a page from zookeepers, who make frozen treats for the big cats; for your house cat, fill your ice cube tray with water then put a bit of dry food inside each cube compartment before freezing to make a lickable plaything with a treat inside. Melty fun with a reward at the center!