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. 2010 Dec;32(12):E4.

Environmental enrichment for indoor cats

Affiliations

Environmental enrichment for indoor cats

Meghan E Herron et al. Compend Contin Educ Vet. 2010 Dec.

Abstract

Recommendations to cat owners to house their cats indoors confer the responsibility to provide conditions that ensure good health and welfare. Cats maintain their natural behaviors, such as scratching, chewing, and elimination, while living indoors, and they may develop health and behavior problems when deprived of appropriate environmental outlets for these behaviors. This article divides the environment into five basic "systems" to enable identification of features that may benefit from improvement. It also addresses practical means of meeting cats' needs in each of these systems.

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