4 Ways to Spoil Your Cat on Global Cat Day

October 16th is Global Cat Day! This special day was created by the Bethesda, MD-based non-profit Alley Cat Allies to promote the protection of all felines, including community cats who live outside. In addition to advocating for the well-being of every cat in your community, you can celebrate this day by doing something furbulous for your own feline companion. Here are four ways to spoil your cat on Global Cat Day 2021!

What better way to spoil your cat than with treats that you made yourself? This recipe is very easy to make and you only need three ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 can of tuna or salmon in spring water (no salt added), undrained
• 1 egg, beaten
• 210 grams of plain or whole wheat flour

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Add the tuna or salmon including the liquid and the beaten egg in a bowl. Blend until smooth using a hand blender. Then add the flour to form a dough.
3. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out the treats using a cookie cutter. You can use whatever shape you like, but ideally it should be bite-sized. 
4. Place the treats on a lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven once they’re crunchy and golden brown. 
5. Let the treats cool completely before feeding to your cat. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. 
   

Related: 10 of Our Favorite Cat Treat Recipes for 2022

Now that you have some treats, why not hide them in a food puzzle? Cats are natural hunters who love a mental challenge—despite their seemingly lazy demeanor, they actually prefer to work for their food rather than having it served in a bowl. 

In the wild, cats use their energy to stalk and chase prey. House cats don’t really have the opportunity to do that, so the lack of mental and physical stimulation can result in boredom and behavioral problems, such as destroying furniture and starting fights with other pets. 

By giving your cat a mental and physical workout, food puzzles can help prevent such issues. These interactive toys come in a variety of formats and can be bought online or from your favorite pet store. You can also get crafty and DIY your own! 

Cats love to explore. But predators, cars, and other factors make the outside world a dangerous place for your feline friend. If you want to let your cat experience the outdoors, then a catio is a purrfect solution. 

A portmanteau of “cat” and “patio,” a catio is an outdoor enclosure that lets your kitty enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, and more in a protected environment. A catio can be as simple as a small box that extends from your window, or it can be an elaborate structure outfitted with shelves, ramps, tunnels, ladders, climbing poles, and floating beds. 

If you don’t have the time or carpentry skills to build a catio, see if you can find a local catio builder in your area. You can also purchase prefab kits that you can connect to an exterior door or window. For apartment dwellers, a window perch would be the next best thing to treat your cat to the pawfect view of the great outdoors.

Agility is often associated with dogs, but why should canines have all the fun? Cats can be trained to do agility too, and they can be very good at it. 

Agility is a great way to help your feline friend beat boredom, increase confidence, and get the exercise and enrichment they need. It’s a rewarding activity for both you and your cat, and since you’re spending more time together, it improves your relationship with each other as well. 

You don’t need a lot of space or fancy equipment to teach your cat agility. You can purchase dog agility kits online, but you can also turn ordinary household items such as toilet paper rolls, plungers, chairs, and cardboard boxes into an obstacle course with jumps and tunnels. You can even use yourself as a training prop and teach your cat to circle around you. 

How do you normally plan to spoil your cat on Global Cat Day? Share photos of your feline friend in the comments or on social media—we’d love to see them! Be sure to tag #wagwalking or @wag on Instagram for a chance to be featured!