Comfort and joy for the pets in your life

Lion enrichment at Ensessa Kotteh (c) Peter Ndung’u

If you’ve been following our Christmas Comfort & Joy appeal, you will know that providing specially designed, species-appropriate activities for the rescued animals in our care is vital for keeping them physically and mentally active as they recover from trauma. 

Tenagne Teshome grown herbs at Ensessa Kotteh

At Ensessa Kotteh, our rescue centre in Ethiopia, our expert team goes to great lengths to ensure that the animals we care for – which include lions, cheetahs, hyenas and primates – stay happy and stimulated through regular (and often home-grown) enrichment.

At the sanctuary, land care expert, Tenagne Teshome, cultivates a variety of fragrant local herbs, which are gathered fresh and tied-up with string, or used to fill sewn-up hessian sacks along with straw – both of which are a huge hit with our seven rescued lions who love to grab, pounce on and roll around with their treats, displaying similar behaviour to a domestic cat with catnip!

Meanwhile, the resident hyenas (which resemble dogs despite being more closely related to cats), adore playing with specially prepared cardboard boxes, filled with meat and straw and tied up with raffia string – just like a Christmas present!

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to create fun and cost-effective enrichment for the pet in your life – read on for some ideas inspired by their wild cousins.

Treat your dog!

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  (c) Zacharias Abubeker

  Hide strong-smelling treats (like cheese or cocktail sausages) in the garden and allow your dog to use their nose to find them

• Make your own toys by filling a cardboard box with different textured paper (scrunched up or shredded), and some treats too, and enjoy watching your dog rip into it (apologies in advance for the mess)
• Take your pup on a new walk to encourage their natural explorer instincts as you discover a new area together
• Treat your dog with a puzzle feeder or Kong – fill it with something tasty like dog-friendly peanut butter and sit back as they enjoy a new snack (these can even be frozen to make the treat last longer

Treat your cat!

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  (c) Peter Ndung’u

  Get creative and make your own fishing rod toys – use a garden cane and attach feathers, leaves and material scraps to an elastic thread to get your cat jumping with joy

• Scatter catnip around your cat’s bed or hide some under textured blankets to encourage them to roll around in sheer bliss
• Got loads of empty cardboard boxes after Christmas? Why not leave one in your cat’s favourite spot, filled with scrunchy paper, for them to leap into and explore
• Create a new sleeping spot for your cat, next to a sunny window so they can watch the world go by as they snooze – just like a lion would