Nose work and Enrichment for Cats

Did you know cats can benefit from nose work? Nose work is when an animal uses the sense of smell to find food, odors, toys, or objects for fun. It is also great enrichment, stimulating your cat's mind and cognitive skills.

Doing nose work with your cat is fun, easy, and doesn't need previous training or skills. You can also get creative!

For cats, using their nose comes naturally. Although more natural for dogs, cats also have a great sense of smell. Even though they are naturally able to use smell, cats may need to be shown or encouraged to sniff out their treats. Using treat and food puzzles is a great way to introduce the concept of using smell to find food.

To do nose work with your cat all you need to do is hide a treat that your cat is motivated to find inside an object like a cardboard box. You can use paper towel rolls, egg cartons, and yogurt containers. At first, make it super easy and slowly increase the difficulty as your cat starts to understand and improve. You can use decoys (empty boxes and containers) to increase the difficulty.

Observing how your cat thinks and acts is a great way to get to know your cat and their personality.

For more details about enrichment for cats, and tips and tricks to do nose work with cats, watch the video below.