This is an intermediate level stationary foraging toy for wet or dry food. The cat must learn to uncover the wells by moving the “seeds” or green pegs to uncover the snacks below.
Doc & Phoebe’s Wet Food Feeder
If your cats “scarf and barf” this food puzzle is for you! A cat’s stomach is quite small, about the size of a ping pong ball, so when they eat too quickly, vomiting is often the result. Slow feeders like this one help make the meal last a little longer.
The Rainy Day puzzle by Nina Ottosson
This is a difficult, brains over brawn food puzzle that accommodates wet or dry food. It is challenging, easy to clean and promises to keep your cat busy and mentally stimulated.
The Nina Ottosson Dog Treat Maze
This is a very complicated food puzzle. It is two sided, features a maze within the toy on both sides and requires the cats to wobble or flip the toy entirely to dispense food. As this video demonstrates, not all hunting expeditions are successful. She walks away without success but that is ok, intermittent reinforcement keeps the animal doing the behavior! Practice makes perfect. Remember that novel food is helpful to stimulate interest and drive motivation. If your goal is weight loss or busting boredom the toys should be challenging and make them work hard!
Catit Play Stationary Foraging Board
This stationary foraging board offers a myriad of different obstacles, can be used for wet or dry food and can be enjoyed by both novice and experienced foragers. Placing the food only in the center of the board increases the challenge and requires the cats to then extract food from a secondary puzzle at the perimeter. Not only is this toy stylish, it is well made, easy to clean and versatile.
The Snoop
Yet another toy designed and marketed for dogs that is great for cats as well. This toy can work for dry or wet food and can be manipulated to achieve different challenge levels, though as a whole it is a beginner toy.
The Bob-A-Lot
This is a weighted and challenging food puzzle designed originally for small to medium sized dogs, but is no match for an experienced foraging cat! Featuring an adjustable opening and a difficult to grip exterior, this toy is sure to slow down a cat that eats too quickly.
Cat Amazing
This foraging box is complex and unique as it offers many different compartments for a unique foraging experience. For those looking for products not made of plastic this is a nice alternative. It is a more challenging stationary toy for the more experienced forager.
The Digger by Catit
Another great beginner toy that can be used for wet or dry food. This is a stationary puzzle that hones your cats paw fishing skills!
Foraging Cubes by Fundamentally Feline
Foraging cubes are one of the most difficult food puzzles you can offer your cat. Most cats are initially pretty stumped by cubes but once they do get the hang of it they are unstoppable! Foraging ping-pong balls can also be combined with these cubes to further increase the challenge. Simply fill ping-pong with dry food, place inside the cube and offer that to your cat. This way they have to accomplish acquiring food from two objects at once! A puzzle for the Kitty Einstein/Master Forager for sure!
Increase the challenge!
