As I shared in , Tristan is still a challenge. Only now, at three years old, it’s mental activity that he wants. And, being an Alpha, he wants lots of it!

The answer, for both himself and our other cats, has been Cat TV.

Our apartment is too small for traditional Cat TV like fishtanks or caged animals, and our present cats have never shown too much interest in what’s on human television.

But all that changed when I was watching video on a laptop, flipped it over to be screen-side down, and accidentally wound up with it .

He’s been fascinated ever since. The other cats, wondering what they might be missing, have become entranced as well.

Since so much of a cat’s daily routine in the wild would be parking themselves somewhere and watching prey routines, this is actually part of a cat’s instinctive repertoire.

Window watching is something most cats love to do, and RJ is our champ.

He’s been known to run from window to window to keep track of a single squirrel, so giving him a window in every room is an important part of our cat care.

But it’s winter now, and a lot of the critters RJ likes to watch have flown south or are taking a hibernation nap.

Since placement turned out to be so pivotal for Tristan, I’ve been using my Chromebook to see if our cats have different preferences. And… of course they do!

While the key for Tristan was tucking it under his chin, RJ turned out to love some distance, whether he’s perched on a chair or watching from the other end of the couch.

James likes to pretend he’s not watching at all.

As always, his favorite thing is planning an ambush. This is so enjoyable he rarely gets around to the actual ambush.

His field agent days are behind him, anyway.

I don’t know why flipping the device screen-side down, like a tablet, has worked such transformative magic in my cats’ minds. Perhaps it’s connected to the cat’s habit of acquiring a high vantage point, and thus, looking down on the landscape.

The funny part is that watching upside down does not seem to bother them at all. Then again, a high vantage point makes such orientation changes less obvious.

As I write this, Tristan just mewed at me. I look over and see that his video has ended. Time for a new one!

Whether it’s the thrilling action sequel Winter Birds II, the arthouse favorite Saltwater Fishtank, or the comedy of Ducks Running Everywhere, I’ve found a new toy for all of my cats.

A big Thank You to commenter Meret for tipping me off about this . Learn more about the concept of . Got here from a Link or Search? There’s more ways to care for our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on .

Thanks for stopping by! . To get my monthly eNewsletter, to get my FREE eBook, Ten Cat Tricks (Every Human Should Know.)