Adventures in Cat Enrichment

I know I love attention (some say it’s a little much...I say it’s just right. How could you not want me front and center all the time? I’m adorable!). But I’m a reasonable pup, so I thought it would be nice to let my cat siblings shine in the blog for once.

Lately, my human sister Penelope has been making toys for the cats called enrichment puzzles. The puzzles hide food that the cats have to work to get to (everyone knows the only reliable way to get a cat to do something is with food).

The first puzzle was a toilet paper roll with the ends folded in and a hole cut in it. It was very easy to make, and the best part was that it reused things that would normally be thrown away. On an island with limited resources, we learn to be creative with what we have. Plus, I think the whole world could benefit from being a bit eco-friendlier.

The cat enrichment puzzles were GREAT! The cats even let me (I’ll use “let me” loosely here) solve one. While they spent time carefully extracting treats with their nimble paws, I did a full excavation and ripped it open. Apparently, that’s not the intended method… but it worked well for me. I’m pretty clever!

My sister LunaLu is clever too. Actually, the first puzzle was a little too easy for her. She usually solves the puzzles before the other cats even get a chance to try. For example, when a puzzle required rolling it around until treats fell out, LunaLu did the hard work releasing them. Then, the other cats, Shawanda and Lynx, swooped in to feast (classic younger sibling behavior). Some puzzles can be made more challenging by using a bigger box. Puzzles like that can take the cats longer to solve. It's fun for me to watch their problem-solving skills in action. Despite the complexity, Lynx, LunaLu, and Shawanda always seem to figure it out eventually.

Not every puzzle was a success, though. Penelope’s final design was an “epic fail” (her words, not mine). She taped toilet paper rolls together in a pyramid, put treats in the middle of each tube, and covered one end so the cats would have to figure out how to reach in and pull the treats out. Unfortunately, she only glued the outer rolls. So, instead of pulling out the treats with their little paws, the cats pulled out the entire inner layer of tubes with their sharp claws. Treats spilled out everywhere!

Although Penelope called it an epic failure, from where I was sitting, it looked like a perfect first try. She learned from what happened and was able to redesign. Plus, the cats certainly didn’t mind the treat explosion!

Overall, I’d say the cat enrichment puzzles were a success. The cats are lucky to have such creative humans around them. I think they're also lucky to have a brother like me who is willing to help...even if my paws aren’t quite cat puzzle compatible.