Lavish Your Cat With Our Top 5 Holiday Activities You Can Enjoy Together

So, the school holidays have arrived and suddenly you’re able to hang out 24/7 with your furry buddy at home – great! While cats have a reputation for being low-key when it comes to maintenance, cats have a special place in their hearts for their favourite human. The holidays are a great time to lavish extra attention and bonding time, and to make up for those weeks when you were busy with work or study to hang out with your favourite feline.

While there are plenty of bonding activities your cat would love to do with you, such as brushing and grooming, snuggling up together, pats and attention, or playing games like hide ‘n’ seek together, we’re going to look at some of the more novel ideas you can spoil kitty with! After all, it is the holidays and you want to do something different and fun too!

1. Put your best paw forward (#fearless)

Learn how to walk your cat – it’s easier than you think! Once you get kitty used to a leash, and discover the enjoyment of being outdoors together, your kitty will be loving their newfound adventures. You can then take your newly leash trained cat to the park and explore. You’ll get plenty of pats and attention along the way! (You can purchase a “cat and kitten body harness with leash” here – this will help prevent your kitty from escaping a normal leash and running away while you’re out and about – certainly not a fun activity for anybody).

2. Get Insta-famous with the purrfect photo

If you haven’t already done it, you’ve definitely thought about it. After all, dressing up our pets in adorable costumes is the cutest thing in the world! Whether your cat loves the attention of a full dress-up costume, or prefers a more subtle (and dapper!) accessory like a charming bow-tie, there’s bound to be some show-stopping opportunities there. Just keep in mind that not all cats like the fussing that comes with wearing accessories or tiny, adorable, cat clothes though – so take it slowly and make sure your cat is having fun too!

If your kitty loves being the centre of attention, take it a step further and create an Instagram account for your pet to share their personality with the world. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out ‘Cats of New York’ – New York Kitties, one meow at a time. Or, there’s always Grumpy Cat memes.

3. Unleash your creativity and lap up the gratitude

Take on a DIY project to create something for kitty to enjoy long after your holidays are over. Depending on how handy you are and the materials you have at hand, here’s some really cool ideas to get crafty with.

Try building an indoor playground including a cardboard-box fort, hide ‘n’ seek bags, and a tray of cat grass for your cat to lounge in.
If you have an indoor cat, hang a bird feeder outside one of the windows to create a cat-TV. They can spend hours just watching the birds, and your local wildlife will be safe – bonus!

Or, if you want to make something a bit more challenging, you can try your hand at one of the following:

A ventilated kitty litter tray (convenient!)
Face recognition software for a cat door (it only opens for your cat’s face – but not if kitty is carrying a mouse in its mouth)
A catio – like a patio, but for your cat! It can be as basic or as trendy as you like, and is the perfect way to ensure your cat can enjoy the outdoors, without having to worry about them escaping or being stolen.

4. Catnip Bubbles! Guaranteed to make any cat feel like a kitten again

I think this is the cutest idea! Imagine blowing catnip flavoured bubbles and seeing your cat go wild… Bubbles are fun to make and play with, and taps into your cat’s natural curiosity and hunting instincts. You can purchase ready-made catnip bubble solutions or make your own, by adding a few drops of catnip essential oil to a small bottle of non-toxic bubble solution. Try adding a few drops and testing the bubbles with your cat to see how they react. If it gets their attention, your recipe is complete! If not, try adding a few more drops to the solution until your feline friend responds.

5. Homemade = made with love

Ever noticed how eating a home-cooked meal makes you feel? Surely your kitty will feel the same amount of affection after lapping up your lovingly prepared snacks, so why not have a baking session to stock up on your own homemade cat treats.

Our dedicated staff at West Coast have put together our favourite tried and tested cat-friendly treat recipes, you can download them here.

Hide tiny pieces of your treat to create a hide ‘n’ seek game for your cat, or make your own puzzle. You could hide the treat under some shredded paper, or inside a box, so your kitty must hunt it out.

6. Teach Your Cats Some Cool Tricks

Ok, so I know we said our top FIVE…. but because you’ve been such great readers so far, we are going to give you a bonus activity that will keep you both entertained long after the holidays have passed. Just like dogs, cats can be trained to do all sorts of tricks (although in most cases, it may take a bit longer to train up a feline than it would to train a canine). Using similar principles, a clicker and lots of treats (plus a pile of patience), you can train your cat to do many tricks including:

Come on command (for when your lap isn’t going to warm itself!)
Shake hands or high five (incredibly adorable, and one of the easier tricks to teach)
Use the toilet (can you imagine not having to deal with a litter tray ever again?! This takes longer and you will need to work your way up to this, but it will definitely be worth the effort)
Play dead (because.. why not?)
Plus more! The possibilities are endless (only ended by your cat if they prove to be untrainable… but you won’t know until you try).

Check out some more training ideas in this video below.