Cats Protection shows how all you need is some toilet paper rolls, tape, and kibble to get your cats started!
Glam Cat Stationary Puzzle –
This is a
simple, yet creative way to make a homemade puzzle box/stationary feeder for your cat. Glam Cat shows you step by step how to turn an ordinary food storage container into a food puzzle – and one that you can adjust to your cat’s skill level by adding obstacles or changing hole sizes and number.
Ikea Hack Chair Puzzle –
When is a chair not a chair? When it's a food puzzle! Check out this blog post where Ingrid shares how she turned an Ikea chair into a food post and scratching pad! Complete instructions are included. For the crafty cat parent!
Test Post
The Fun Board –
Trixie Pet 5 in 1 activity board
The Fun Board is offers a variety of different obstacles. For many cats, acquiring food from the clear globes is the greatest challenge of this board. The section that looks like an ice cube tray is called the tongue module and is designed for canned food. This works the cat's jaw muscles and tongue similarly to how they would remove flesh from the bone of live prey. The entire board can be used for dry kibble as well. This toy is also very easy to clean.
Take a look at the photos and video below to see cats interacting with this board!
A tennis ball can be a food puzzle!
Tennis balls aren't just for dogs any more! For a quick and easy food puzzle, you can use a Xacto knife to cut a hole in a tennis ball - voila!
Brought to us by the Frederick Cat Vet in Maryland, which also has some other DIY ideas for creating food puzzles on their webpage. We are always excited to see veterinarians promoting the use of food puzzles!
Interactive puzzle feeder – City landscape
Have a 3-D printer? Then you can turn a regular food bowl into a foraging challenge!! Thingiverse, a website dedicated to sharing resources related to 3D printing, has a template for creating your own city landscape that you can place in a food dish for your kitty to eat around.
Turn plastic bottles into food puzzles
Plastic bottles are one of the easiest sources for food puzzles - just get in that recycling bin! The plastic is usually thin enough to cut easily, and you can make several with different sized holes to give your cat different levels of challenge. This website, La Loca De Los Gatos, has a nice source of instructions in Spanish on making food puzzles (you can use google translate to read it in English or another language).
The DIY Hunter Feeder –
This handmade puzzle is not only functional, it's beautiful! The nice thing about a DIY stationary puzzle is that you can adjust the width of the space between the bars to adjust for your individual cat's paw size and agility!
The hardest part of this puzzle is the human element! It requires some tools, including a router and jigsaw. If you're handy with tools, you'll enjoy making this food puzzle. Instructions provided by Urban Pet Haus via Purina.
Foraging Eggs by Fundamentally Feline
These puzzles really get your cats moving!
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, jar or any of the "gear" toys to increase the difficulty level for kitty Einstein master forager!
