Food puzzles
Here at Cat Hotel Stoney Creek we are big fans of food puzzles (or puzzle toys). We try to do everything we can to keep our guests happy and relaxed and we know that by keeping our guests entertained by playing but also by offering them food puzzles, we prevent them from getting bored. We have at least one in each room. Once used to it, many cats prefer to eat from their puzzle feeder rather than from their food dish. You can start with simply offering some cat treats in an egg carton, which many cats find great fun.
Encouraging foraging behaviour is one of the best things you can do for your cat. Having it work for food is important to improve the physical and emotional well being of any cat, but particularly indoor cats. Environmental enrichment – not only by providing food puzzles, but also by providing your cat with toys, scratching posts and other things to see and do – is strongly recommended by animal behaviourists all over the world.
At first, fill the puzzles with food – at least half full – so that food comes out easily. If the puzzle is almost empty, it can take too long for a beginner to get food out, and it may give up.
As your cat becomes more skilled, you can increase the challenge: e.g. try puzzles with smaller holes, puzzles that are opaque, or puzzles that don’t roll as easily (such as a cube-shaped toys).
Please note: for practical and hygienic reasons, and also because we get many guests with their own special (prescription) diet, we offer our meals at Cat Hotel Stoney Creek in feeding dishes (each cat has its own), but we use the puzzle toys for entertainment, filled with cat treats, or with biscuits that all the guests from that particular room are allowed to have.
Links:
https://icatcare.org/advice/puzzle-feeders/
