Interactive Cat Feeder

Interactive cat feeders can help even the most lazy cats have excitement in their lives. Food and treats are big motivators for cats, especially older ones.

I’m always on the look out for activities for my cat. She isn’t the most energetic cat at the best of times. I want to make things more interesting for her and this has the advantage it may make her more active. Well, at least she will move to get the treats.

Ginger has tried a few interactive cat feeders. Her favourite one is the Dreamies puzzle feeder. I’ve tried a couple of other ones but she hasn’t been interested. I think some are too much work for her. Please read this article about how I entertain cats on a visit. This includes a photo of a couple of the puzzle feeders.

When I was in the local Lidl at the weekend, I saw this Zoofari interactive cat feeder. It was £6.99. There were other cat activities and toys available but I didn’t think they would be of interest to her. This interactive cat feeder had a body made from a block of plastic with six different sized and shaped holes, each fitted with a container to hold treats. This is placed on a rubber non-slip mat.

As soon as we go near the treat shelf Ginger is interested. She does like her food and is less keen on moving… As we put the treats in, she was interested. However she just stuck her face in it and tried to reach the food with her mouth. She soon lost interest.

We then had the idea to remove the containers and put the food inside the actual body. This worked! Again, she just tried to get the treats by putting her face in. But then she worked out that she could put her paws in and flick the treats out.

By this point she had eaten enough treats so we put it away for another day. Next time I will use it without the containers again so she gets used to the idea of having to work for her treats. She will need to work up to the more complicated level.

A bonus is that it is easy to clean! The compartments are easily removed and the body is one part with curved edges.

I would recommend this product as it can be made easier for old, daft cats like Ginger. It does create a simple level of making the cats work for food. I’m sure Ginger will get the hang of it soon, but she will still have to work for her treats.

I've tried to find this product online to share with you, but as it was a special, it is only in Lidl this week. However, I did find a very similar one in Argos. It is called a Catit Senses Digger.