Is your cat lying around the house, or napping on the couch much of the day? Do you feel like you’re his servant; picking up his cat toys, cleaning his litter box and preparing his evening meals?  Maybe it’s about time your cat gets a job!

If your cat is a couch potato, it may be that he is bored.  Cats need to feel useful, too and without an adequate amount of mental and physical stimulation, they can become lethargic and unengaged. 

How do you know if your cat is bored to tears?  Here are a few warning signs:

• He’s become aggressive toward other animals or people in the house.
• He’s been over-grooming, sometimes to the point of hair loss or skin irritation.
• He’s exhibiting mischievous and annoying behaviors such as getting into the trash, knocking over knick-knacks, tearing or chewing things that don’t belong to him.
• He’s overeating and looking a bit portly.

First, be sure to rule out any underlying health conditions or allergies. Also, make sure you are feeding your cat a healthy, balanced and preferably holistic cat diet.  Look for an all-natural cat food that is meat-rich, and made with no artificial flavors, colors or fillers. Viand offers a bio-available, micro-nutrient cat food that can be fed to any breed of cat at any stage of life. You can order a sample size of Viand’s high quality pet food  here for just $5.00.

 If your cat is healthy but bored, you will need to give him some meaningful “jobs” to do each day to keep him busy and productive.  A good start would be to make him work for his food.  Let your cat know that nothing in life is free! Place a few bits of his food in a small container and let him try to figure out how to get to it. Pieces of kibble in a cardboard egg carton would make a fun cat puzzle for him to solve.  In the wild, cats usually eat small portions of food throughout the day as they catch their prey. Indoor cats have their prey fed to them more or less on a silver platter. This is not always in your cat’s best interest. Your cat needs to get off that couch and bring home the bacon! He’ll thank you later!

Cats also like a good chase. It makes them feel wild and free!  So toss a few pieces of dry food across the room and let him imagine he’s on a great hunt as he chases after his prey. The added exercise will be good for him, mentally and physically. 

Don’t always put his food in the same location.  Let him look around for it.  This will ignite his curiosity and nourish his need to search and capture his prey.

Give your cat some responsibility and watch him thrive and become more active and attentive.  Feed him the best holistic cat food on the market topped with lots of love, and you will have a happy, healthy and productive feline friend for many years to come.