The ThinKat is a beautiful beginner food puzzle. Cats can either dig food out of the flowers or access food at the base of each flower. Extra flowers can be added to increase the depth and the petals are supple and can be folded inward. This requires the cat to “unfold” the petals to gain access to the food. This is definitely a foraging toy you can proudly display in your living room when guests come over!
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Cat Amazing
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.
The Snuffle Mat
A truly unique foraging toy that simulates rooting through grass as a cat would do hunting for small prey like bugs. This is an easy toy; great for beginners. It can be machine washed and dried making it easy to care for and maintain.
Domino Foraging Board by Trixie Pet
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.
Java Cats-Atlanta’s first cat cafe!
Java Cats is Atlanta’s first cat café and it is right here in Fundamentally Feline’s neighborhood, historic Grant Park, Atlanta, Ga. We were excited to have the cafe open right here in our backyard and we are proud to have been a part of it.
Our goal for Java Cats was to create a feline wonderland for homeless cats awaiting adoption. Life in the café can be stressful with a constant influx of new humans, funny scents and cats constantly being introduced and then later adopted and leaving. An ever rotating dynamic can make it difficult for most cats to settle in and get comfortable. After all, cats like consistency and routine and life in this environment is everything but consistent!
Like what you see? Want your own?
Want to see more from behind the scenes?
Before pic of wall that cat lounge shares with cafe.
Patrons can sit at bar and look into cat lounge.
Jake is to the right sketching out plans.
Starting to take shape.
A view of the work in progress from above.
Here patrons can sit and view the cats through the window.
Height provides comfort for cats and can help establish hierarchy of a particular space at a particular time. We created many areas where the cats could get up and away from petting hands, young children and of course other cats that they may not get along with.
Ramps, runs, scoops and pole ready for scratchin'!
This wall all done and in use by the cats!
The Suspension Bridges
One of two suspension bridges, with peek holes.
A view of how the bridges connect the two walls.
The goal with all vertical space, even in private homes, is to not create any “dead ends” where a cat could get trapped. So flow was important to us. That is where the suspension bridges came into play. They are subtle and quite honestly a little hard to notice in some of the photos but that is exactly what we were going for! We painted them black so they would not feel so ominous and looming overhead. We cut peek holes in them so patrons would be able to play with the cats through the holes and take pics of cute faces peering down.
The ceiling before the bridges.
In place and in use.
Here you can appreciate how subtle they are.
The Front Window Piece
Corner, window to the right, pre-catification.
The piece is actually upside down here.
The window piece was tough and required a lot of thought. We had to work with the existing window which was original from when this space was an old grocery store. The window bowed out and upwards so Jake created a structure that followed these lines. He staggered all of the perching spaces and sisaled them for more scratching and maximized coziness. Escape routes and dead ends were avoided to lessen conflict.
Diligently working in the dark to finish in time!
The piece Jake built was bolted to this brick wall.
A view from below, staggered pathways.
It seems upside down until you see it in the space.
Side angle shot in the moonlight!
Ready for install!
A good look at it once installed.
Odds and Ends
At Java cats, enjoyed the moment it was set down.
This scratch easel is a one of a kind artisan piece. Inspired by the reclaimed wood within rustic modern style wall & counter area of the coffee shop, it is a unique addition to the cafe! Jake utilized many different sisal pieces to mimic the look of that wall. This piece is extremely heavy and durable.
Stylish, rustic modern scratcher and a perch!
Wouldn't be complete without one of our signature scooped scratching posts.
Our posts are well loved wherever they are!
Peering down from a high point of safety.
Let's not forget the SCOOPS!!!
And of course I donated some foraging toys!
The Full Tour
Yup, sure was!
A full body stretch can be achieved from three points: floor, & from both runs above!
The mural wall leading over to window piece.
Notice the full circle of runs around mural.
Full view of mural wall.
We are thrilled to have been a part of this awesome addition to our local community. Grant Park was already a great neighborhood, and it just got better.
Jake takes a well deserved break with a resident.
A view through the window at night.
A very cozy and warm evening vibe.
So you think you have a “master forager”?
If you started feeding your cats via foraging toys from a young age or if your cats are extremely motivated to acquire carbs you may find they are difficult to challenge. If your cats are like mine they can get food out of virtually anything you give them. I refer to these guys as “master foragers” and put them in the “Kitty Einstein” category. These cats can prove tough to challenge. This post aims to offer some examples of how you can increase the difficulty of the food puzzles you offer for greater mental stimulation and, if weight loss is your goal, to make the dry food harder to achieve.
One of the easiest first steps you can take is simply to hide the toys. Rather than filling them and leaving them in plain sight, subtlety place them behind the leg of a chair, behind the sofa, under a lightweight cardboard box or inside a brown paper bag. Hide them in locations of variable discreetness based on your cats’ motivation and ability. Every cat is different. As mentioned above my cats can acquire food from virtually any object I put in front of them, but if I hide the toys they will not seek them out. I find this fascinating. Making cats “hunt” down the toys before they can “work” them works for many households, just not mine. In my own home I spend more time digging them out from under furnishings! I refer to this as “getting them back out onto the playing field” or “foraging for humans!” If you have kids, put them to work and make them seek and find the toys that need refilling!
Hitch proudly (and swiftly) empties all five puzzles in the Trixie Pet Poker Box.
The focus of this post is to help you put your creative thinking cap on to combine toys you already have to increase the challenge. You do not always need to acquire new objects but simply work with what your cat has already mastered. The following is a pictorial tour of many of the toys that have already been featured on Food Puzzles for Cats (or will soon be featured) and the ways with which you can combine them for increased difficultly. If you do not already know, Food Puzzles for Cats is a website dedicated exclusively to all things food puzzle related. You should check it out!
1. Fill ping-pongs from Fundamentally Feline.
2. Place inside gear toy from Fundamentally Feline.
3. Offer to your Einstein!
Combining objects as shown here requires the cat to "double forage". They must get the food to fall out of the smaller object and whack it around with enough gusto to finally achieve a piece of food from the larger vessel. It requires much more manipulation and effort.
As another alternative you can "dummy fill" an object so that there is something floating around inside that sometimes obstructs the opening. This is often less tedious for the owner than filling small food puzzles, so for busy families a dummy fill may be a quicker & easier choice.
1. Fill foraging wiffle ball.
2. Place inside Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble by Petsafe.
3. Offer the challenge to your Kitty Einstein!
1. Fill foraging egg from Fundamentally Feline.
2. Place inside XL gear toy from Fundamentally Feline.
3. Offer this heavy & hard to roll challenge to your cat!
1. Fill a mini egg/ping-pong by Fundamentally Feline..
2. Drop inside foraging cup by Fundamentally Feline.
3. No match for my master forager!
Cube-shaped objects are one of the most difficult puzzles you can offer your cats. I recommend starting cube-shaped toys on an area rug so that they can learn to easily flip the toy. Once they get the hang of that they can typically utilize the cubes on any surface, but if you need to increase the challenge even further, you guessed it, double up!
Take a look at this video to see a master forager whacking a cube around like it is nothing!
1. Fill a ping-pong by Fundamentally Feline.
2. Place inside foraging cube by Fundamentally Feline.
3. Boom! Increased challenge!
If nothing else I do hope you are appreciating the versatility of the foraging ping-pong balls! They can be used in many creative ways as can the mini and full sized eggs.
In my experience rolling puzzles are, as a whole, more difficult for most cats than are stationary puzzles. In fact, some cats completely refuse to use rolling puzzles, but are masterful paw manipulators and need to have their stationary toys made more difficult. Here are a few ideas to do just that!
Either fill ping-pong or just drop in regular cat toys.
You guessed it, ping-pong balls again! Either fill the ping-pong and drop inside the wells of this Trixie Pet Tunnel Feeder or place balls and mice in the tunnels so your cat has to work around them or fish them out! Notice the alternative cork ball in the tunnel.
Samson says, "DELICIOUS!" (and easy-peasy)
Left: Fill ping-pongs and place within the spikes of the "Catch" so your cat has to spin the balls to allow the food to drop below to be fished out with a paw.
Right: Fill Peek-A-Prize box with loads of balls and cat toys making it difficult to achieve the dry food OR fill ping-pongs and drop inside so they have to spin the food out of the ball and extract from the box.
Weighted toys also add significant challenge. Check out the Pyramid by Nina Ottosson. But you can also add weights or a large cats eye marble to a toy like the Mad Scientist (below) so that the beakers do not tip as easily and the weighted object inside also obstructs the openings from time to time making it difficult to dispense the food.
Place ball or ping-pong inside Fishbowl as an obstacle!
Weights/marbles in beakers=heavier & obstruct flow.
Long gear filled with 3 pre-stuffed ping-pongs.
Do not offer these suggestions to your cat unless they are truly skilled at foraging as we do not want to frustrate them and have them decide that it is no longer rewarding to interact with the food puzzles. Remember too that it is imperative that cats eat EVERYDAY and multiple times a day. You never, ever want to take the, “if they are hungry enough they will figure it out” mentality as that is a great way to make a cat very sick.
So if you have an easy, beginner toy such as the Egg-Cersizer featured below, please don't throw it away! Double up to increase the challenge!
1. Fill ping-pong from Fundamentally Feline.
2. Place inside Egg-Cersizer from Petsafe.
3. Set to one hole & you just made an easy toy hard!
I certainly hope that this post helps you get creative and helps you challenge your cats. Visit my You Tube channel or the Foraging Videos tab on this site for more foraging fun! Happy foraging!
The Fantasy Board by Trixie Pet
This stationary foraging toy offers multiple puzzles in one including an area for wet food. Food does not always need to be the focus. The ping-pong ball section is like a feline rooting box and can be filled with water for cats that enjoy playing with water. The floating balls add a play component. Novelties can also be added like blades of grass tied in knots, and sticks and leaves for a seasonal fun offering.
The No Bowl feeding system
These adorable little mice are an excellent beginner food puzzle for cats. They are unlike anything else available in that they have a fabric covering allowing the cats to grab the toy with their claws. The large holes easily accommodate a dental diet, a preferred kibble when implementing foraging. If feeding mostly canned food and minimizing the cats ability to crunch why not maximize their dental benefit with what little dry food they do consume? Dental diets are the best way to mimic the flesh, feathers and bone a cat would naturally crunch through when eating real prey. The holes of these mice offer generous dispensing of food to aid the cat in learning the game of foraging. You can increase the challenge by hiding these toys requiring your cat to go hunting for them or covering up one of the holes.
The Wine Box Food Puzzle
Any ole wine box will do to make this super easy and cheap foraging toy. Watch to see how these three silly’s utilize this object. They are pretty hilarious. It helps if you have long legs for this one!
Milly using Foraging Cubes by Fundamentally Feline
Foraging cubes are one of the most difficult food puzzles you can offer your cat. Most cats are initially pretty stumped by cubes but once they do get the hang of it they are unstoppable! Our foraging ping-pong balls can also be combined with these cubes to further increase the challenge. Simply fill ping-pong with dry food, place inside the cube and offer that to your cat. This way they have to accomplish acquiring food from two objects at once! A puzzle for the Kitty Einstein/Master Forager for sure!
