I have the SlimCat...for some reason I thought the cats would bat it around and chase it. Instead they just nudge it with their nose. So they're not burning a lot of calories, but it does slow them down a lot.

 

Luna has the SlimCat. Sometimes I feed her dry food that way. You need to show your cat how to use it once or twice and after that, they can empty it pretty easily if they are hungry enough.

 

i have the slimcat plus i have a top-looking thing with a ball inside it (that it says to use with "knockout nibblers"? i got it at tj maxx for 1.79 or something)

the slimcat doesn't work that well. i had to tape over a few of the holes to keep everything from dispensing immediately. like doodlebug's cats, mine just nudge it with their noses to make it fall out so it's no big exercise session.

the 3 year-old is the only one who plays with this top thing. i think the ball inside that kind of rattles is a deterrent for the other two. or else houdini just hogs it. it only has one hole in the bottom so i only put treats in it because dry food would all fall out all at once. it's a toy and he likes to play, the other two just want to eat.

 

Thanks for the input everyone! Sounds like the SlimCat is the most commercially available one, going by these responses. It's disappointing that it's only nudged with their noses... but it's still exercise, I suppose.

After hearing about the SlimCat I'm leaning towards getting the IQ Treat Ball, it's got two levels that the treats have to fall through and has an adjustable opening on the first part inside. Hopefully that makes things more difficult.

cinderflower, that "top-looking thing with a ball inside it"... do you ever have it just flip over and have all the food fall out the top? I've never seen anything like that before, I'm not sure if it would be as interesting/interactive as a ball rolling on the floor, but it's something to consider. I'll keep an eye out for something similar online.

 

actually no, i think he just likes to play with the ball and the treats are a side issue for him maybe? he'll sit and play with it for a long time without any food in it, but he's used to the turbo scratcher. i think he's trying to figure out how to get the ball out.

i don't know if you're looking at this for exercise purposes, but i had better luck just throwing one piece at a time, far away. the younger two cats will run for it. the blind one doesn't eat dry food anymore anyway and i give her treats when i hold her or the others get to it first.

 

I have the Hagen one. Funny, I just pulled it out for Yuki today. She hasn't used hers for a while. She doesn't go crazy playing with it, she just nudges it around.


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i didn't know what it was called so i looked it up. it's a smartykat wobbledrop. like i said, i got it really cheap at tj maxx. i buy pet things there from time to time and then get disappointed if i break a dish because they don't make them anymore. (i got run kitty run dishes there for under $2 each and then broke the one i liked the most lol--unfortunately you just have to get what they have, they don't stock anything on a regular basis).

i saw that you could get it free on listia but when i searched for it, all that came up was dog stuff. worth a try though just to see how something works.

 

I bought what I think is the IQ treat ball several years ago so that Margaux would get some exercise. Even though it's adjustable, I couldn't get it quite right. Either everything would fall out quickly, or nothing would fall out. She did the same thing as doodlebug's kitties. She's occasionally paw at it, but when nothing fell out, she got bored. Eventually it just kind of sat there with treats in it. So now it's in one of the 2 wicker baskets filled with rejected toys.

I did what cinderflower suggested: I made kibble skitter across the floor once piece at a time and Margaux LOVED that. It got her hunting instincts going - when I picked up a piece and made a motion like I was going to throw it, she'd crouch down, her eyes would get hugely dilated, and she'd take off after it, batting it around like a pinball. That was fun.

 

I bought the one on the top from Petco and I don't really care for it. The girls don't really get it. I get them out (yes I bought two, like a dummy) every once in a while, but they lose interest quickly, even though they can smell the treats in there. I end up getting the treats out myself and giving it to them.

 

I bought the one on the top from Petco and I don't really care for it. The girls don't really get it. I get them out (yes I bought two, like a dummy) every once in a while, but they lose interest quickly, even though they can smell the treats in there. I end up getting the treats out myself and giving it to them.

You were successfully trained.

 

LOL!!! They're smart that way, aren't they? Mine get room service sometimes.

 

I got them the PetSafe Egg-cersizer and they gave up pretty quickly thereafter. I'm going to keep trying with them though because one day they will not be kittens anymore and they will need to understand that food is not free flowing as it is now (in other words: they will need to be more active in order to get their food).

 

If I'm using it for one of the main meals maybe he'll be hungry enough to bat it all over the place. He's very playful (I find his toys all over the place, his favourite mouse is always sitting by the door when I come in) and he's extremely food motivated, I could put any amount of food out and he'd eat it all.

Throwing treats around is ok if you only have a few but I don't have the patience for tossing as much kibble as I plan to use, I spend enough time every day throwing his mouse everywhere. When I asked, the vet said he could lose a pound -- at the time he was at 11.4 pounds -- and since then I'm not all that sure he's lost any weight.

I was considering that Egg-cersizer as well! But how does it do on the floor? Does it just sort of wobble back and forth, not going anywhere? I don't know if that would be as fun...

 

I've found that it depends very strongly on the cat and their personality. I have the slimcat one, and I actually really like it. (Although they get it maybe once a month since I feed raw...it's just something fun as a treat for them)

I haven't had too much trouble with it all falling out at once, since I fiddle with the top until the holes are fairly small, so they need to work at it a bit.

Jitzu pretends she's a vacuum, and just pushes it around with her face so her mouth is right there when the treats (read: grain free kibbles) fall out....*sigh*

Doran, on the other hand, gives it a nice big swat and then happily runs all over the room collecting the kibbles that went flying.

Torri likes to gently bat it about until treats fall out, but she doesn't give it the same sort of power Doran does.

Muffin...doesn't think kibble is food and therefore doesn't really care...except that when Droan sends it winging it's moving and therefore must be fun...right? He gets pretty confused about it, which is kind of funny. He'll run up to it and look down, then sniff, and look at me like 'Why does the toy smell gross Mum?'

I'd say give it a shot, if he's already fairly active he might really like it

 

Your descriptions make the treat ball sound more appealing, Becky. I think Jasper would be a good candidate for the it.

I was in a pet store this weekend and they had the SlimCat and the Egg-cersizer. I couldn't make up my mind so left with neither. I was also not pleased to note that all P&G brands had gone up 30 cents. Joy...

Anyway, I think I'll order the IQ Treat Ball from online. I still like it best.

 

I have the Hagen Catit, ET never once got near it, never once chased it, he just stared at the ball, that's about it. I ended up rolling the ball to get the treats out with ET eating and following the fallen out treats.