Want to know how to make a cat tired? Or how to make a kitten tired perhaps? See this can be especially useful if you want to tire your cat out so they then sleep when you’re out. It helps to beat loneliness.
You may also want to know how to make a cat tired so that they better sleep through the night. Yup, there certainly are many benefits to knowing how to make a cat tired. Benefits for both you and your cat!
The thing is – how do you do it? How do you make a cat tired? After all, it’s not the same as being able to read bedtime stories for children. Nope. Cats don’t quite work like that!
So what are the core foundations, which work even when your cat is FULL of energy or seemingly in one of their “crazy” moods? Well, let’s break it all down, shall we?
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How To Make a Kitten Tired
Before we look at how to make a cat tired, let’s look at how to make a kitten tired.
See, to make a kitten tired, you want to follow the exact same steps to make a cat tired, which is shortly to follow. However, you also want to bear in mind that, how much your kitten sleeps, depends on their age.
Typically, newborn kittens sleep close to 24 hours a day, while older kittens in the 8-to-12-week range tend to sleep closer to 18 – 20 hours a day.
As they get older, this reduces… and then increases again as they reach senior age, as kittens and older cats tend to sleep more than the average-aged adult cat.
So if you have a young kitten, yes – they’re going to have a lot of energy, and they’re likely to want to play A LOT when they are awake. But they’re also going to get tired easier, as ultimately – they need more sleep anyway.
Sleep is important for all cats, but it is especially important that kittens get the sleep they need as sleep helps their core development and growth.
You therefore want to fully support and encourage their sleep, which is another reason why it’s good to be able to know how to make a kitten tired!
How To Make a Cat Tired
So, how do you make a cat tired? Well, unsurprisingly, the biggest factor is keeping them active, and the best way to do this is through play. So:
1) Play Games That Get Them Moving Around!
There’s so many different games you can play with your cat and fun & different cat challenges to try, too. From the classic feather toy chaser, to “football” or, fetch and ball games. (And yes, cats really can and do, play fetch!)
However, if you want to make a cat tired, choose games that are going to get them moving around the most! Choose the higher energy games as opposed to the ones that allow them to play in one place.
Whats more, when you do play these high energy games with your cat – direct it so that you get them running around faster, or jumping up and down more. This is a key strategy when it comes to exercising your cat to tire them out.
Think of it like a little workout. In most cases, it’ll also be a bit of a one for you too as it also gets you moving!
2) Play Games That Stimulate Them Mentally
Alongside physical games, it’s also good to get your cat thinking as tiring them out through mental stimulation is also effective alongside it.
So the classic Whack a Mole Cat Game works well for this reason – as they have to try to work out where the mole is going to show up next!
Similarly, getting your cat to learn tricks or doing some training with them, will also help to get them concentrating and therefore tire them out in a different way to physical activity.
In fact, there’s plenty of fun (& fairly easy!) tricks to teach your cat, to keep the two of you entertained, whilst tiring your furry friend out.
Then – of course – there’s cat brain stimulation toys, usually in the form of interactive treat puzzles.
All of these are worth giving a go, and it’s good to mix things up on a daily basis.
3) Keep Them Occupied When You’re Away or Busy
Now in many cases, you’re probably googling how to make a cat tired, as you want to wear them out before you go out, but don’t forget – there are electronic cat toys that are safe to leave your cat with when you’re not there.
These are activated by touch (when your cat taps them), or scheduled on a timer. And they’re always designed to be safe for them to play with, without supervision. So you don’t have to worry too much about cat boredom when you’re gone. They can still occupy themselves.
Similarly, if you’re looking to make your cat tired as you’re working from home – you can instead keep them busy with these toys cats can play with by themselves.
By having these, it means you can make your cat tired, without you actually doing a thing. So it certainly comes in handy. Just don’t forget – cats still need love and attention so you won’t want to rely on these 24-7 (of course!) On a similar note…
4) Interact With Them To Keep Them Playing For Longer
Your cat can have all the toys in the world, but if they’re just lying there, doing nothing – they’re useless.
Playing with your cat little and often, or doing small things to get them playing with the toys themselves, therefore makes a major difference in keeping them active, playful and happy – which all in turn, helps to tire them out throughout the day!
It could be little things like – throwing a cat spring so that they run off and catch it. Then throwing it again if they bring it back! This takes no time at all for you, but keeps them engaged.
5) Take Them Outside
Now there’s only so much they can do in the walls of your house or apartment, which is why we highly recommend taking your cat outside if they’re an indoor cat, or going out with them to encourage them outdoors, if they are allowed out on their own.
See even just by being outside, it makes a cat more tired as they’re having to use all of their senses – being alert, being aware. There’s also a lot going in; new sounds, new smells. There’s a lot to take in.
For this reason, experiences outside certainly help to tire a cat out, whilst also significantly enhancing their life!
If you have an indoor cat, you can get your cat used to a harness, then start to teach them how to walk on a leash. You can even reach the point where you can take your cat for a walk.
After adventures like these, your cat is sure to be ready to sleep when they get back in.
I mean, look at Cody’s first time outside (in the video above!) When he got back in, he was ZONKED! But it’s amazing for him, and it will be for your cat / kitten too!
How To Make a Cat Tired
Now if you keep your cat active, and are thinking, “why is my cat still not tired?!”, it may be that there’s just still too much going on for them to be able to switch off and calm down.
For this reason, some final tips for making your cat tired, include:
6) Create The Right Environment
When I want Cody to settle down, I’ll pick him up, stroke him until he starts purring, then settle him down – either on my chest, on the sofa, on the bed, or in his cat bed.
It works a treat when I know – really – he should be tired after all of the playing / adventures anyway!
The right environment for a cat to become tired, is free from noise and distractions, so try to have a space that you can cat settle down that isn’t scattered with toys, or blasting with music / lots of conversation.
Cats also love to be warm. They crave warm and cozy spots, so if you’d got a tiny wood stove and comfy cat chair, snuggling up in the living room is also an easy place to get them settled down near you!
7) Use Cat Calming Products
I also highly recommend FELIWAY Classic Calming Diffuser or (a similar brand): Relaxivet. Both of these are widely used and highly recommended, by both vets and cat owners themselves.
They emit calming pheromone, which helps to relax your cat, calming them down so that they’re able to feel tired. (Genius!)
They also have additional benefits, helping to ease anxiety or solve behavioural issues, so are multi-purpose and well worth checking out!
That’s All For This One
So there we have it – the 7 step formula for how to make a cat tired.
Try to use a combination of these tools / tactics – if not all. And remember, the same applies for how to make a kitten tired too. Hope this helps!
Thanks for reading. Be sure to browse our articles for more!
