Now that shelter-in-place and PUSD school dismissal have been officially extended until May 1st, there are only so many things one can do, especially when it comes to spending time with your animals.  If you’re tired of walking your dog or playing with the cat string over and over, here are 10 fun ways you can pass the time with your pet while stuck in quarantine.

1. Play tic tac toe

As long as you have treats as a motivator, playing a game of tic tac toe with your pet is a simple, fun way to spend your quarantine.

2. See how many things you can balance on their head

This activity is successful depending on the temperment of your pets.  Here is an example with some of my pets:

3. Make them a hat

Not only does this give you something to do, but in the meantime you can make your pet look cuter.  Below are 2 ways you can make your pet a hat depending on their size:

4. Get them a fun outfit or accessory

If you’re not in the mood to put in the effort to hand-make something, you can always use your extra to buy them something.  Not only do you get to enjoy the fun of browsing through vicarious photos of animals in weird outfits, but once your item has shipped you can then set up a photo shoot of your animal in a goofy hat/costume.  

If you need some inspiration, check out some options under $20 that Amazon offers.

5. “Put it in a bun”

All you need are a bunch of scrunchies and a camera, then you’re good to go.

6. Doodle them

There are a variety of memes around the web that compare pictures of animals in a weird angle and with a doodle of said picture.  If you find your pet in an interesting position, you can very easily recreate these type memes. The best part is that you don’t have to be good at drawing to do this activity; in fact, the worse you are, the better quality your meme will become.

7. Vamp up Arts and Crafts

However, if you are an artist, you can easily include your animal by having them help you create something.  This activity works best with paint. It is recommended that you hold a paint brush in your pet’s paw and let them guide the way with the direction of the paint.  Or you can spice up your art by dipping your pet’s paws in paint and letting them walk on the canvas; keep in mind that this method would require that you take extra precautions and put more effort in keeping your work area clean.

I personally am not very artistically inclined, but here is a great example of this activity by tik tok user, lyfeillustration.

@lyfeillustrationChameleon painter?Watch till the end, my son deserves it? ##fyp##happyathome##talent##painter##artistcheck##watercolor##petsoftiktok##art##artist##painting##4u

♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依

8. Recreate the “B*tch I’m a Boss” Tik Tok Starring your Animals

One tik tok trend that has been popular lately includes the slow-motion footage from the Glambot at red carpet events including this year’s Grammys and Oscars award.  By following the steps below, you can easily follow this trend while featuring your pets.  Since I — like many teens — have become addicted to tik tok and had to delete the app, here is how I made my video without using tik tok.

1. Go to the camera on your smartphone and select “slow-motion” (this option is available on iPhone and Android cameras)

2. Get an action shot of your pet.  Try to keep the clip around 3-4 seconds.  If you want some wiggle room to edit, I would recommend making your clip 10 seconds maximum.

3. Go into your photos, find your video, and tap “edit”.  In this setting, you can crop your clip to the length you want it to be.

4. Go into Snapchat and press on the 2 rectangles below the large clear circle to access your camera roll.  

5. Click on your clip, tap on the 3 dots in the upper right corner, then press edit.  Once you’re in editing mode, you can add your pet’s name and a caption about them.

6. To save your edited clip, press the open square with an arrow that is at the bottom left corner and tap “Save Video”.

7. Email the clips to yourself so you can have access to them on your computer

8. Use iMovie or any other film editing application to compile the clips together and add your audio

Here is how my version of the tik tok turned out:

9. Try the disappearing blanket trick.

Since many animals lack object permanence, holding up a blanket, dropping it,  and then running away can bring out some interesting reactions from your pets.  Here are how my pets handled the challenge:

10. Build a obstacle course

If you have plenty of leftover Coronavirus-raid supplies and a smaller animal, this option is the one for you.  You can easily make an obstacle course for your animal with household items that can go in stacks or rows, like large jugs of water or toilet paper.  To spice up your course, you can add in invisible walls using stretch wrap or lots of saran wrap. Check out the video below for inspiration: