Getting Started - Food Puzzles

There are many brands and types of food puzzles.  Offer a few puzzles to see how your cat responds.

You can make your own food puzzles using PVC pipe or other improvisations. Try a toilet paper role or Kleenex box stuffed with paper treats or kibble.  Allow your cat to tear it up as part of the game.

A "food puzzle" is defined as any toy or object that can contain food and requires the pet to figure out how to get the food. The first food puzzle was the Kong.  Kongs can be filled with cheese, peanut butter, cheerios, kibble and your own special combinations. The best food puzzles release the food slowly with mental and physical effort on the pet's part.

Kongs can also be filled with canned food and then frozen. Just beware of where you offer the food puzzle as carpets may take the brunt of these feeding devices.  Use food puzzles in a kennel to help the cat associate a kennel with good things.

Pets need mental stimulation and something to do during the day when their people are gone. Food Puzzles allow hunger to motivate your pet to interact with the puzzle. To keep the puzzles interesting, vary the difficulty and rotate them daily.