5 Tips to Reduce Health and Behaviour Problems in Indoor Cats

I have always loved cats. When I was young we lived in the countryside and my cats lived outdoors. They hunted and played naturally so I put little thought into enriching their environment.

With increased city dwelling a large proportion of pet cats are indoors. On a plus side our indoor cats are kept safe from road accidents and fighting with other animals. However we see more health and behaviour problems if indoor cats are not allowed to express normal behaviours (climbing, exploring, roaming their territory and communicating with other cats). Also indoor environments can become predictable, leading to boredom, stress, inactivity and obesity

The behavioural problems mainly show as destructive scratching or inappropriate elimination (litter box problems). Health problems include obesity, digestive problems, urinary tract problems.


Rather than medically treating each of these conditions as cat owners we would like to prevent them.

One simple and effective way to avoid a lot of these problems is to provide an outlet for your cats normal behaviours. Below are my top 5 ways to reduce problems of Indoor Cats.

1. Provide height and and somewhere to hide. Cat towers can be bought or made.
2. Provide lots of opportunity for your cat to scratch
3. Provide a variety of toys, for your cat including air toys and floor toys
5. Ensure that your cat has to work for his food.
5. Spend time with your cat! Playing and grooming time is quality time for you and your cat.


Cats are kind of weird, thats one of the reasons that we love them! By trying to understand their natural behaviours and needs better we can provide the best environment for them and reduce health and behavioural problems.