Dr. Stephanie Globerman - Paws Whiskers & Claws, The Feline Hospital
Georgia's premier cat hospital - servicing Marietta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Atlanta, Vinings, Cumming, Alpharetta, Morningside, Smyrna
A more intricate food puzzle with multiple components. Wet cat food can also be used in the wells making it a versatile and challenging game for your cats. This toy is for the experienced forager!
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
Foraging eggs are an awesome and versatile toy. They are opaque and provide erratic movement, keeping kitty entertained and on the move. The eggs can be filled and placed inside other foraging toys such as the cup or gear puzzles to increase the difficulty level for your master forager!
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
The Foraging Wiffle Ball is a good beginner object. The many perforated holes increase scent attraction, it is round so it is easily rolled, and the cat can also see that there is food in the ball since it is not complete opaque. It is only available with one large hole for large kibble for obvious reasons, as it already has many small holes. Some cats hook their nails into the holes and learn to shake out the kibble!
Also available for mail order through FundamentallyFeline.com
Two of our senior patients foraging for the very first time from a wiffle ball toy. This object is great for beginners and intermediate foragers. The many holes appeal to their sense of smell and they can even hook their nails into the holes and pick up the ball and shake it!
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
The Fishbowl requires some skillful paw action! Some cats will flip this toy over if placed on carpeting. It works best and offers the most challenge on hard flooring. Once the cat becomes adept at using this puzzle it is actually pretty easy. Freeze dried meat pieces makes a nice low calorie option for filler.
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
The two hole cup is a great beginner toy and the one hole cup is the next step up in difficulty. Because these toys are clear the cat can see, smell and hear the kibble rattling around inside the cup.
For the master forager, fill a large foraging egg and place inside the cup for an increased challenge. Some cats really do get that skilled at foraging!
Also available for mail order at FundamentallyFeline.com
Some cats "nose" food puzzles while others use their paws to manipulate the toy. Here Soren is nosing the toy. Notice how he is only able to acquire one piece of food at a time. This limits the amount of food most cats would eat in one sitting which is why foraging can be useful to achieve weight loss in some cats.
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
Opaque, cube-shaped toys are among the most challenging you can offer your cat. In this video Paige shows you how it is done! Not every cat becomes this skilled or manipulates toys with this much gusto. A goal for you and your cat to work towards.
This video proudly features one of our patients, Paige, who is a master forager!
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
Do not let the dog photos on the packaging deter you from trying these toys out with your cats.
Cats are quite capable of using these puzzles only they do so in a different way. Dogs lick out these bowls with their tongues where cats scoop the food out with their paws.
These objects are not too terribly difficult however, each different colored bowl provides a different maze/puzzle challenge. The interior portions of the maze are a bit more out of reach and increase the challenge for the cats.
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
The antenna looking devices are actually meant to be pawed at by the cats and essentially catapult the food so that they have to go running to chase the kibble. Great to get an overweight cat moving around more.
The thin channel is called a "tongue module" designed for canned food, an excellent tool to slow down fast eaters.
The large reservoir that holds the ping-pong balls can be used for dry food but can also be used for other enrichment games; for example, fill with water for cats that like to splash around in the sink, they can swat at floating ping-pong balls instead. Or take sprigs of cat grass or fresh catnip and drop them down inside.
Not every foraging experience needs to be about food!
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
This toy is amazing, easy to clean and versatile. You can stuff it full of food for beginners or leave it lean for master foragers.
The "tongue module" (the ice cube tray-like portion) is specifically designed for canned food as well as for dry. This module works the feline jaw muscles similarly to how a cat would lick and work to remove flesh from the bones of their prey. The intelligent design takes "whisker stress" into consideration so that the cat's whiskers can freely move without obstruction. This also significantly slows down voracious over-eaters that later vomit undigested canned food.
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
Worried about food puzzles being messy? Stationary toys can be helpful and sometimes a bit more tidy for some families.
This puzzle is quite easy and excellent for those cats that are just learning to work for their food. If you need to increase the challenge you can add foraging ping-pong balls from Fundamentally Feline (also available in store here at PWC!) to this toy. Simply fill the ping-pongs and place them in the tunnels so that your cat has to spin the food out of the ball and then drag it out of the tunnel. This can significantly increase the challenge. Alternatively, filling the tunnels with other toys such as balls and mice can obstruct the openings increasing the challenge in a similar way.
This post and all of its content is written by and property of Ingrid Johnson, CCBC Certified Cat Behavior Consultant of Fundamentally Feline, LLC.
