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The Catit Treat Maze

The Catit Treat Maze is a great beginner puzzle! Some kitties may be stumped by the clear plastic cover as cats are unable to focus on objects right under their noses. They are virtually blind within 12 inches from their face and use their whiskers to locate objects right in from of them like food or toys.

One of the plates provided is easier than the other and they are quite easy to switch out and clean. Check out this video to see it in action!

The Catit Treat Maze offers two options in one toy!
The Catit Treat Maze offers two options in one toy!

Coffee Mug Foraging

Coffee mug placed on it's side with wet food inside.
Coffee mug placed on it's side with wet food inside.

An old coffee mug can be laid on its side and filled with canned food. The mug handle provides stability and keeps the puzzle in place. Put it on a place mat or newspaper and allow the cat to scoop out food with a paw and lick it off. Many cats simply drag the food to the mat and lick it up from there as seen in this video. This can be a little messy, so some sort of place mat is a must!

The Fishbowl by Petsafe –

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.

Catit Senses Circuit As A Foraging Toy

If your cat becomes tired of chasing the ball around in any of these channel-like toys, simple convert them into a stationary foraging toy! Alternating how these toys can be used creates novel interest and keeps your cat mentally stimulated and engaged.

The Green by Northmate

The Green is a great beginner foraging toy. This is the doggy version of the feline "Catch" toy. Because it is larger, it holds more volume for multiple cat households and provides a slightly increased challenge as the interior portion of the puzzle is harder to reach.

If you want to increase the challenge even further add a foraging ping pong ball from Fundamentally Feline. Simply fill ping pong ball and drop it into one of the sections. The cat has to spin the ball to get the food to drop into the Green and then extract it from the maze with their paw. Yes, cats really do get this skilled at foraging!

 

Slow Feeder Bowls (great for cats too!) –

A slow feeder bowl from the Outward Hound.
A slow feeder bowl from the Outward Hound.

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.

Canine slow feeder filled w/treats to encourage exploration!
Canine slow feeder filled w/treats to encourage exploration!
Each design offers a different puzzle challenge!
Each design offers a different puzzle challenge!

Watch this clip to see how it is done!