Box mountain hide and pounce for cats: how to play

Build a low hill from cardboard boxes and a small cat tent, then hide treats and move a toy so your cat climbs, hides and pounces in and out of it.

Time: 8 min
Energy: Medium
Space: Small room

You'll need

cardboard boxes
small cat tent or box with a door hole
soft bed
treats
wand toy

Set up

Put a few sturdy cardboard boxes and a small cat tent together on the floor in a room where the family spends time, loosely stacked into a low hill with gaps to hide in. Put a soft bed on the highest flat box as a top spot. Keep treats and a wand toy ready.

How to play

Build the hill. Arrange a few sturdy cardboard boxes and a small cat tent into a low, stable hill with gaps and entrances your cat can hide in. Keep it in a room where you spend time, not a back room.
Make a top spot. Put a soft bed on the highest flat box so your cat has a high place to rest and watch from.
Lure your cat in. Drop a treat or drag a toy into one of the boxes or the tent, then let your cat go in and come out at its own pace.
Stalk over the hill. Move a wand toy across and around the boxes so your cat can stalk, pounce and bat at it from the top and from the sides.
End with a catch and a rest. Let your cat catch and grab the toy, then give a treat and let it settle. Short bursts followed by rest are normal for cats.

House rules

Use only boxes and a tent that stay steady when your cat jumps on or off them.
Hands and feet are never toys. Keep play on the wand and the boxes.
Let your cat catch and grab the toy at the end of the game.
Never force your cat to play. If it walks away, the game is over.
Put wand toys and anything with string away after play.

Make it easier: Start with one box and the tent side by side, and use food lures only. Let your cat explore with no toy at all.
Make it harder: Add more boxes at different heights and hide a treat in two or three of them so your cat has to search each one.

Signs it's having fun

Stalking, pouncing, batting and grabbing at the toy, and going in and out of the boxes and tent on its own.

Stop if you see

Your cat loses interest or wanders off. Cats play in short bursts and then rest, so end the session and let it settle.

Safety

Do not stack boxes high or in a way that can topple onto your cat. Keep the hill low and check it before each game.
Tidy wand toys and string away after play, out of reach, so your cat cannot get tangled or swallow pieces.
Check boxes and the tent for staples, tape and torn edges before your cat goes in.
Stop if the boxes shift or slide while your cat is on them.

Sources

Written from these sources and checked against vet and trainer guidance. General guidance, not veterinary advice.

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