Is your cat bouncing off the walls, climbing curtains, counter surfing or meowing non-stop? Your cat may be bored. In the wild, cats spend a good majority of their time hunting for prey. As domesticated pets, they no longer need to hunt so they may find other things to do with their time that.

So how can we offer some excitement in their lives and curb unwanted behaviours?

Play time! 

While some cats have no problem playing with toys on their own, it's never as much fun as interactive toys with you. Interactive toys could include long wand-type toys with feathers or string on the end. The goal of these toys is that you can move them around more erratically and like prey.

When using wand toys, try moving them slowly along the floor, around corners and wiggling them under blankets or towels so your cat can stalk and pounce on it.

One of the most popular wand toys is Da Bird that has a variety of attachments you can use.

Playing doesn't have to be time consuming. Try setting aside 10 minutes a day to play with your cat and help burn off some excess energy. 

Scratching behaviour serves multiple purposes for cats including visual marking, stretching, maintaining the claws and scent marking through glands on their paws. Offer plenty of places for your cat to scratch to help alleviate stress and tension.

Keep in mind that some cats have preferences for catching vertically or horizontally.