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.
This puzzle is a mental challenge. It requires some serious thinking and problem solving skills. Or, they can just push the pieces around until they are successful, but hopefully most cats learn the process. This video features only one puzzle piece, more can be added to increase the difficulty.
This is a very difficult toy and should only be offered to an experienced forager. Watch video above to see this one in action.
This little ball does not look like much but it is actually a great little food puzzle. It can be quite challenging as it has three levels that the food must fall through to dispense out the opening. It is small and doesn't hold too much food which is great for cats trying to slim down.
This toy is very inexpensive. In fact, acquiring a few of them would be ideal. They could easily be hidden around the house for a full day of rations. It also functions well being inserted into a larger food puzzle for increase challenge as shown in the photos below.
This is a ridiculously easy puzzle to make and it happens to be disposable and recyclable so it's great option for shelters.
Square objects, as a rule, are quite difficult. It is not recommended to frustrate your cat so please only offer this style toy if you cat is up for the challenge.
Weights, other small cat toys and smaller food puzzles can all be placed inside to increase the challenge.
Kong Pawzzles are available in four different shapes, a cube as featured here, a pyramid, a donut and a doggie bone shape. All four shapes are available in two sizes, small and large. The cube featured in this post is actually a size large and still appropriate for aggressive foragers (cats).
Remember that just because the toy is marketed for dogs does not mean it would not be an awesome addition to your feline food puzzles collection! This toy is heavier than most and quite challenging so not for beginners.
These are more difficult objects as they do not roll easily and are heavy. Notice the cog and wheel style colored ends that make the object more difficult to manipulate on a hard surface.
If your cat is a master forager combine this toy with a foraging egg mini. Fill the egg and drop it inside the gear toy to increase the challenge and make your cats work extra hard! You can also add a ping pong ball or two inside so that the food does not always make it to the opening so easily.
These ideas are great for cats on a diet plan where we really need to limit their intake or for those with boredom triggered behavior problems as this will occupy them for a longer period of time!
Yes, some cats actually get this good at working for food!
A great beginner puzzle designed for wet or dry food. If your cat is just starting out this is an excellent toy to teach them the game.
Available with large or small holes to accomodate a variety of different kibble types.
These ping pongs are a great beginner toy, great for very overweight cats when we really want to limit their access to dry food, and also great for combining with other objects to increase challenge. For example, the ping pongs can be filled and placed inside another toy such as the long gear, cubes or poster tubes so the cat must work extra hard to get food out of two objects at once!
See photos below for examples of their versatility!
Cats enjoy hooking their nails into the small holes and will even learn to pick up the toy and shake out the kibble this way.
See how versatile these ping-pongs are in this post, So you think you have a "master forager"? They are a must have to any feline weight loss foraging program!
This stationary food puzzle offers a wide array of obstacles. This board can be used for dry food and treats or wet food can be placed in the tongue module. It can be rearranged in any configuration and each of the four pieces can be used separately or all together as shown in this video.
In the video clip of the Doorway Dangli you can see the creativity and challenge that can be incorporated in order to make cats work for their meals. Sometimes the smartest kitties are the ones waiting for the others who are doing all of the work to dispense some kibble! We call this opportunistic foraging! The orange cat in this video Peaches, had actually become blind in this clip, and while not successful in this video, she is still a master forager despite her handicap!
This toy can be made more difficult by hanging it higher so that the cat must work harder to reach up and bat at the toy.
