Snuffle mats are a great way to keep your cat mentally stimulated by encouraging them to solve a puzzle using their impressive sense of smell.
National pet charity Blue Cross has put together a video and step-by-step guide you can follow to make a snuffle mat for your cat.
You can watch the video below or follow the step by step guide below.
The idea is nice and simple; you hide your cat’s favourite dry treats under the various pieces of fabric and they then have to find them by sniffing them out. Depending on how many treats you have hidden, this can keep them focused on a task for quite some time, helping to satisfy their curious minds and engage their natural instinct to hunt.
What you need:
- Rubber bath mat (with holes in it)
- Fleece fabric cut into strips (Width: one inch/ Length: six to eight inches)
- Scissors (ideally fabric scissors)
- One hour of your time
TIP: You can cut up an old fleece blanket that you no longer need or hit the charity shops to find some nice fleece fabric. Be sure to wash the fleece before you use it and cut off any seams around the edge to avoid choking hazards for cats.
How to make a snuffle mat
Step one: Get your piece of fabric and your scissors and cut up your fabric into one-inch-wide strips and roughly six to eight inches in length. Please ensure that children are always supervised by an adult if they are helping you.
Step two: Take one strip of fabric, with your rubber mat in front of you, and thread this through a hole in your mat
Step three: Tie the two ends together that you’ve passed through the mat
Step four: Repeat until you have a full snuffle mat with material covering all gaps
It really is as simple as that!
How to train your cat to use a snuffle mat
So you’ve got your snuffle mat ready to go. Now, how do you encourage your cat to use it?
Most importantly, you should always monitor your cat when they are using their mat to ensure that they don’t start to chew the fleece bits (remember that the fleece will begin to smell like food after it has been used a few times).
Follow these simple steps to train your cat on how to use their new toy.
Step one: Start by placing your snuffle mat on the floor and letting your cat have a sniff and explore
Step two: Get your cat’s favourite dry treats and place a couple on the top of the fabric, letting your cat sniff and take them. This will allow them to build an understanding that the mat is used for rewards.
Step three: Once your cat begins to associate the mat with treats you can start hiding them a little deeper under the surface of the fabric. This then encourages your cat to use their heightened sense of smell to sniff the treats out and keeps them mentally stimulated by problem solving.
For more information on Blue Cross pet charity visit www.bluecross.org.uk
I used to hide dog treats everywhere in the house and under blankets for mom’s dog, but I had not thought to do this for a cat.
They love hunting those as much as dogs if not more. 🙂