Banish Boredom the Feline Way

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Highly intelligent creatures, cats spend many of their waking hours looking for ways to entertain themselves. We silly humans think they’re just “doing what cats do,” but those smarty-pants felines are way more creative than that. Cats stave off that pesky boredom in these five clawesome ways.

Play With Food

Many cats find boredom relief by toying with their food. You know, pulling individual kibble pieces out of their bowls and batting them around a bit before eating them? You’ve seen the show. Sometimes our cats enjoy a nice round of “I loved this type of food yesterday, but today it’s the absolute worst thing you’ve ever tried to feed me. You must not love me anymore.” This is probably a good time to mention that cats enjoy enhancing any boredom-busting activity with a heavy dose of drama

©Jana Richter | Getty Images

Create Toys

Who of us hasn’t spent a small fortune on traditional cat toys only to watch our kitties swat ballpoint pens or attack a bathrobe belt? Or even play with the toy’s packaging? They laugh at our attempts at defining a “cat toy” and instead make us feel silly spending good money on what eventually gets tossed into the trash bin or is forever forgotten underneath a major kitchen appliance. It takes brainpower to be such a mastermind. Who could possibly get bored with that? Obviously not cats.

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Keep House Safe From Intruders

In case you weren’t aware, our homes are constantly under attack from outside forces such as birds, squirrels, flies, moths and other beasts of the wild. Cats consider it their responsibility — nay, their duty — to protect us from such onslaughts. On guard at the window, their laser-focused eyes track every foreign wing flap and tail twitch. Although sometimes distracted by falling leaves and surprise shadows, their feline hearts stay true in their loyalty to keep us alive and well — mostly because we fill their food bowls. Kidding. Maybe.

©Charlie Zimmerman | Getty Images

Help With Chores

Can you imagine attempting to fold laundry without the help of a cat? Sweep a floor? Organize a closet? Change bed sheets? In the quest to avoid monotony, cats put their best paws forward to offer support while we perform our mundane household chores. Somehow, they’re even more eager to help with sheets and laundry when they’re fresh from the dryer. One might think there’s an ulterior motive to this eager assistance. Cats? Selfish? What a notion!

©Oksana Osypenko | Getty Images

Assist at Work

Since many of us have been working from home, we’ve suddenly gained personal assistants we don’t remember hiring. These “helpers” act as paper shufflers, keyboard warmers and office supply monitors who require a multitude of breaks — and sometimes even steal our lunch! As if these tasks alone don’t keep them busy enough, cats hijack Zoom meetings just to show our coworkers who the boss really is. As if there were ever any question.

©VidorHsu | Getty Images

About the Author

Angie Bailey
Angie Bailey

Angie Bailey, an award-winning writer, podcaster, and humorist, is the author of Texts from Mittens and Whiskerslist: The Kitty Classifieds. She’s written cat humor for over a decade, and lives in Minneapolis with her fiancé and two cats — Phoebe, a sassy senior and Janet, a teenage kitty with tons of tortitude.

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