Brain Games for Cats

^#1 Let them puzzle it out with Catit’s Play Treat Puzzle! This smart toy is, in essence, a slow feeder that offers six fun activities that stimulate your cat to work for their food. Made of BPA-free materials, the treat tubs, pyramid forest, treat cave, bubbles, tunnels, and food spiral will keep your cat busy! $33, catit.ca

^#2 Bring the outdoors in by providing your cat with fresh greens to nibble! Oat grass is proven to help freshen cat’s breath and alleviate digestive problems associated with hairballs. Plus, most cats love to nibble on greens, as evidenced by their attraction to house plants. Give them a healthy outlet with the Van Ness Oat Garden Kit, which lets you provide fresh oat grass, especially for cats. Growing it couldn’t be easier. The kit comes with seeds, peat moss, and a growing dish so you can grow fresh oat grass indoors any time of year. $4, vannesspets.com

^#3 Play to your cat’s natural instincts. The Tiger Diner ceramic food dish from Pioneer Pet is designed to allow your cat or kitten to “catch” their food, appealing to their natural instinct to use their paws to capture their dinner. The easy-to-fill funnel-shaped bowl automatically distributes food as needed, providing a challenging activity that appeals to cats’ natural love of hunting and provides mental and physical stimulation by bringing out natural predatory behaviours. Bonus: it also makes cats eat at a healthier speed. $27, pioneerpet.com

^#4 Provide out-of-this-world fun. What to get for the cat who has everything?
The sun, moon, and stars! This Yeowww! Catnip toy set provides a whole galaxy of fun in a small package. The set of three toys features shapes and textures to delight your cat, including a crinkly solar corona. Made with durable cotton twill and 100% organically grown catnip, no fillers and no chemicals, it will keep your catnip-obsessed kitty entertained for hours. $15, duckyworld.com

If your cat doesn’t respond to catnip, no worries—they simply don’t have the “catnip gene.” Catnip receptivity doesn’t emerge until a cat is between three and six months old; until then, a kitten will not have a response. Sensitivity to this herb is hereditary—an estimated 50 percent of cats have no reaction, states the Humane Society of the United States.

For cats that are ‘meh’ about catnip or if you’d just like to mix it up a bit, try a plant called silvervine. This potent alternative to catnip generates an ecstatic response. Try Eco-Kitty’s Silver Vine Activity Balls, made of 100% Shredded Silver Vine held together with natural gum. Its potent fragrance stimulates and excites cats. $17, defineplanet.com

^#5 The ultimate enrichment: Safely allow your cat access to the outdoors with the Kitty Corral Cat Fence Kit from Easy Pet Fence. Controlled outdoor access is the ultimate gift you can give your indoor cat. Kitty Corral enclosures are made with quality poly-fence mesh material in heights of 6 or 7.5 feet. Suitable for cats of any age, they effectively keep your cat in the yard by combining an unsteady feel with an impassable overhang to make cats apprehensive and unable to climb the cat fence. (Relative) freedom is pretty darn sweet! From $699, easypetfence.com

This article originally appeared in the award-winning Modern Cat magazine. Subscribe today!