The short answer is yes, but let’s examine what science says and what we can do to improve pets’ well-being.

Having owned pets since I was a toddler, I know from experience that animals feel a broad spectrum of emotions and express them in such an obvious way to humans. One of my cats would lick my tears when I cried!

Despite that, there is one emotion I cannot decipher—boredom. How could my cats tolerate the same routine, be stuck in the same environment, and not go crazy? I would have gone bonkers long ago if I were them.

Although my cats seem attuned to their routines, the occasional zoomies and attention-seeking behaviours (e.g., our youngest cat stations at the doorstep in the afternoon to wait for us) show that they yearn for interactions to alleviate boredom.

As any reasonable pet owner, I want to determine how this situation affects their welfare and well-being. Let’s dig deep into what science says about animal boredom and make our furry friends’ lives more fulfilling.

Do animals experience boredom?

Surprisingly, animal boredom is not well-studied, with limited empirical evidence. Some even say projecting our understanding of human emotions onto animals is bad.

Many biologists and zoologists consider anthromorphism, the tendency to attribute human forms, behaviours, and emotions to non-human animals, bad science. However, opinions in the scientific community have changed in recent years.

This is a bit off-topic, but partly because of that, animals’ emotions, especially boredom, are not well-researched and lack attention.

Fortunately, I found one highly cited research article by Charlotte C. Burn on the subject matter. The paper characterises and measures animal boredom in its likely behavioural and physiological manifestations, such as perceived slow passage of time, abnormal behaviour, and sleep disruption.

Burn concluded that animals are very likely to experience boredom too, particularly in monotonous or under-stimulating environments, which sounds like most homes for pets.

How does boredom affect animals?

Reading the paper, I understood more about my cats’ zoomies and attention-seeking needs. These are signs of restlessness and a desire for novelty.

There is also a possibility of brewing depressive or belligerent moods, leading to abnormal sleep patterns and reduced physical and mental health.

Fortunately, my cats are not bored to the extent that they seek aversive stimuli, such as self-harming (e.g., biting themselves or fighting each other) and disruptive (e.g., scratching furniture) actions.

Though as the paper calmed us by saying that boredom sometimes promotes behavioural creativity and learning in animals, it’s more concerning to me that this results in reduced welfare of our animal companions.

Alas, there are ways to alleviate boredom for our furry loved ones.

What can we do to improve their well-being?

Taking measures to combat boredom in our animal companions may include giving them extra time, attention, and toys or offering them food puzzles regularly.

These are all direct remedies to address their interactive and novelty needs. Food puzzles worked wonders on my cats, especially the more food-motivated ones, as they can always try new flavours and textures. In the meantime, the interaction of feeding and trying new things together strengthened the emotional bond between the pet and the owner.

Toys and a fun, dynamic environment are good fixes if you can’t release them to explore like we do. We live in a metropolitan area that is too risky for our cats to roam around safely, so we installed climbers and nests around the flat for them to play creatively.

Our youngest walks around like Simba, inventing new routes and scouting new spots in the flat. One day, we found her dragging a little blanket into the TV cabinet to make her nap time nook more comfortable.

Not only do our cats show this kind of creativity. Wattana, an orangutan at the Ménagerie of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, created an installation of textiles and knots herself.

These show that animal boredom is real and detrimental to our furry friends, but there are ways to improve the situation. Please keep a close tag on your pet’s boredom level; there are ways to enhance their welfare!