What I’ve Noticed In My Cat Since Moving Into A House with Reptiles
It’s common knowledge that without certain stimulation, cats can become bored, which can then lead to depression. One important factor in preventing boredom in cats is allowing access to windows, which allows them to watch “cat TV.” As a dedicated pet owner, I’ve done my best to take good care of my cat, Mimi, and prevent boredom where I can, whether that be through window time or play time. However, as a busy adult with my own responsibilities, there are times when I simply don’t have the time to play with my cat as much as she’d like. Before I moved, this had rather immediate consequences. I used to affectionately say Mimi was, “the neediest cat known to man,” as she wouldn’t want to leave my side even as I was hard at work and couldn’t afford to give her all of the attention she craved. This changed when I moved into a house with several reptiles.
A few months ago, I moved in with two of my closest friends, both avid animal lovers. As well as having two cats of their own, my friends own two fish tanks, a shrimp tank, a ball python, a leopard gecko, and a crested gecko, with plans to eventually get a few frogs to round out the family. While we were all careful about introducing the three cats to each other and made sure to take our time to get them adjusted to each other, the reptiles, of course, remained in their tanks in the common areas where anyone could enjoy looking at them. Within a few weeks of moving, I noticed a change in my cat.
Before we moved, as soon as I sat down at my desk to work, Mimi would be right by my side all day, occasionally reaching out and meowing for attention. This was such a regular occurrence that she even had her own chair right next to my desk for an easy nap spot. However, after a few weeks of living in our new home, I looked up one day and realized that she had not exhibited this behavior in a while. Deciding to get up and investigate, I eventually found her sitting in front of the tank of the crested gecko, Minnick. She was watching the gecko very intently, making no moves to attack, simply observing. Over the course of the next week, I caught her doing this more and more with all of the tank animals in the house, seemingly patrolling every day to watch the snake, the geckos, the fish, and the shrimp. It was as if she suddenly had her own personal zoo to enjoy every day. Each tank was like a separate TV just for her.
Although I had always allowed Mimi access to windows and occasionally even put “cat TV” on the TV for her, it didn’t truly occur to me until that moment how much more exciting watching a tank animal would be for her. With this additional stimulation, she was no longer the “neediest cat known to man,” instead becoming far more independent. Of course, she is still an extremely affectionate cat, but the benefits of her not begging for attention at all times during the work day are immense.
Over time, as she was slowly introduced to the other cats, all three cats were able to keep each other occupied throughout the day as well, an outcome that I had originally hoped for and somewhat expected with how social cats secretly are so long as they’re introduced properly. However, in the time between the initial move and when all the cats could freely roam together without supervision, it surprised me how much of a difference there was just with the addition of tank animals in her environment.
Environmental enrichment is very important for cats to keep them happy and keep behavioral issues down, but I had not considered until then that Mimi’s constant want of attention could be categorized as a “behavioral issue,” as I simply took it to be part of her personality. Although it is true that she remains a rather needy cat, always waiting for me outside the bathroom door and following me around the house as I go about my day, since moving, this behavior is no longer disruptive. With the addition of tank animals in our environment, I’m able to work in peace and Mimi is mostly able to keep herself entertained all day.
Although the addition of “enrichment pets” has been incredibly useful for curbing some of Mimi’s boredom, this isn’t to say that everyone with a needy cat should go out and adopt a reptile right this instant. As with any pets, reptiles require specific and dedicated care, from making sure their tanks are properly set up and maintained to feeding them whatever their diet requires at specific intervals. They can also be a far longer time commitment than many people realize, including myself. I was shocked to find out that the beautiful ball python in my living room was expected to live twenty to thirty years!
While I’m sure every cat owner would love to be able to spend as much time with their cat as their cat wants, unfortunately, for many this is simply unrealistic between work, school, or any other responsibilities you might have. If you happen to have an exceptionally needy cat like Mimi once was, it may be helpful to consider that your cat might just be bored, and to make more of an effort to make sure they are entertained throughout the day so that you can get whatever you need to done before you can spend some quality time with your fluffy friend. If this means the addition of a scaly friend in a pretty tank, I’m sure your cat would appreciate getting their own personal zoo just like Mimi did. Now that she lives alongside other cats, the other cats in the household also help keep Mimi occupied throughout the day. Although the process to get them properly introduced did take a while, the end result was more than worth it. Ultimately, it turns out that cats enjoy lots of companionship as well as environmental enrichment. Increasing your cat’s daily companions in general may also help cure their boredom, but if this is impossible, increasing their environmental enrichment through more cat TV time in whatever form is most approachable can do wonders.
