Senses Digger

Alyssa has always been fascinated with anything which challenges her in some way and gets her special attention. We had a more complicated treat dispenser but it was large and I mean large. And only Alyssa played with it anyway, getting all the treats out of the hiding places. A bit of background: We are Alyssa's NINTH change in housing. As a Snowshoe, I guess people didn't want to "put her down," because of her obviously fabulous beauty. But she was a biter. Yep! Handed back and forth from owner back to her foster home several times, we took Alyssa home for good, her NINTH change since being born! I would not bring a ca home any other way. These precious beings are not a broken food chopper you can just take back to the store because of a manufacturing shortcut. And I figured that if I could teach eighth grade gifted students for years, I could certainly work with Alyssa to stop her nibbling human flesh for whatever reason she was doing it. But if I had been such a foster cat, maybe I would have felt like biting and not trusting people too! And so, a quick study, she learned that attention would IMMEDIATELY be turned away from her if she started to nibble on my hand. To me, these were NOT bites as maybe she had been doing with other people, but really love nibbles. Maybe her intentions had been misinterpreted. Maybe people were scared her next nibble would break the skin. Whatever. The "extinguishing" of the behavior worked. OK, every once in a while, even now, she gives the sweetest little, bitty nibble. It is a kiss. That's the way I look at it. There is not even one ounce of meanness in it, but an unspoken, "I'm here. You are here. This is a good thing." There is also a Russian Blue male in the home which has a very strong and demanding personality. He gets what he wants out of charm or trickery. And Pretty came home with us the day we brought Alyssa home. Pretty had been in a hoarding situation and a little bit people shy even today, but every day makes more progress. Her treats have to be divided out separately and away from the others. And there's Colby. Colby was adopted too, after being kept in a cage in some forsaken place for six months as a kitten. He is only four years old but has the aching body of an old, old cat from arthritis caused by the caged situation. Colby is a cuddly black bear and sweet, sweet, sweet. Colby and Blue go one on one to get the next treat but share pretty well, considering. So we have a real mixed bag of cats, don't we? And our loved children, they are, down to each and every last hair. But back to Alyssa. When this "Digger" arrived, I set it aside from the usual tossing of the treats toward the cats and dropped a few treats in the cups as Alyssa sat beside it. I left one on the white shelf part of it. She saw it immediately and how easy it was to paw off and into her mouth. And the very next second after wolfing that treat, she saw, sniffed, and DUG those treats out, one at a time. Each cup, varying slightly in width and depth, demanded a new position from to fenagle her paws just so. This way of getting Alyssa HER treats, is our special thing. Now, when I walk into the room and near the Digger, she immediately sits beside it waiting for HER share of the treats. The others go about their usual way getting their usual share of treats, but Alyssa and I kind of have this secret. The Digger is hers, alone. She knows it. I know it. She feels very special to have this additional fun in her new miniaturized hunting activity. This Digger is Alyssa's. There's no sharing HER share of the "cookies"! Now really, two cats could share this Digger. But it would be tight, especially if the cats feel the need to scoot around to a different position to dig out a treat. IDEALLY, one Digger per cat would work for sure. But Alyssa's and my secret works just fine for us. Not just a hand-out, she EARNS her treats and has fun doing it. Hint for making this work for your cat(s): Put one treat on the white "shelf" part of the Digger and one or more treats in each cup and stand back. You MAY have to put your fingers in the cups and rattle them to get their attention to sniff around or look into the cups to see the pay dirt. But they WILL catch on easily enough. It is fun for you to watch and fun for them for the mental/physical stimulation.

So my cat was swallowing his food whole. Not even chewing it(dry food). This was causing him to puke. I looked through a million products and read the reviews on this and gave it a shot. Honestly I can't tell if he loves it. But he seems to be having fun. It 100% has slowed down his eating and stopped him from puking nearly as much. It's like once a month instead of every 5 days. Great product. It's also pretty easy to clean and fill. Although If you are a very light sleeper, and small noises irritate you.... And you have this right by your head... then yeah. When he is eating... It does make a noise. I sleep pretty well... So it never wakes me up. I have it kiddy corner in the room from my bed. Just figured I'd mention.

The Catit Senses 2.0 Digger for Cats is an excellent, cost-effective way to slow down fast eaters, while also keeping cats entertained. IF they use it as intended =) I have 2 cats, & when I first put this out, I showed them how to flip pieces of food out of the largest cup with my finger, onto the empty "tray" portion of the feeder. The 1st cat to try it got the hang of this right away. The 2nd one watched. And then I had to laugh when instead of reaching in with her paw, Kitty #2 looked as if she was sniffing the food, but then grabbed the small cup in her teeth & flipped the contents onto the floor! (She hadn't seen me put it together, so I'm not sure how she knew it could be removed.) I put everything back, & showed her how to use her paw; she said, "Nah!" & promptly picked up the cup & dumped it again! While I had to appreciate her ingenuity, I did NOT want her teaching the other cat to do the same. So I had to shoo the other cat away, sit there with her & repeat, "No!", & put everything back each time she dumped it out. She finally got frustrated (or hungry) enough that she did it my way & got to keep the food. Once she realized that got better results, she changed her game plan & now does it the intended way every time. But I realize that's not a guaranteed outcome, depending on a given cat's personality/persistence.

I like making my cats work for their treats and this fits the bill! I use it without the cups and it's purrrfect for them. I have a couple other dispensers I use as well and rotate them

My cat is a digger. He seems to enjoy playing around in his litter after using it. If I buy litter from a cardboard box he will also stick is paw, armpit deep, in the dispensing hole and play around with the clean sandy contents. When I run out of litter he will also delight in pouncing on the box and sticking his whole arm in the box, seemingly searching for imaginary mice, I presume. He loves his food-dispensing puzzle ball. I saw this online while I was shopping for whisker fatigue food bowls, and eventually I bought it thinking it would be good mental simulation for my indoor / outdoor patio only cat. I had high hopes for this thing. The box it came in was a hit. He loves fishing around for toy mice I put inside. The box can withstand the rigors of a roughly 17 lb athletic cat. I wish I could say the same for the digger thing I paid a bit too much money for. The mat is useless. It is not sticky or even solid. From the packaging, it’s not properly flat or flush with the toy. My cat can easily swipe at the digger toy and knock it off the mat. At times he will hit the toy so hard the whole thing flips, scattering food everywhere. Truly, the digger toy needs to have it’s own rubber feet and weighed down somehow, maybe using heavier grade white plastic. Maybe make it lower to the ground so that it’s not so top heavy. I bought a CatGuru plate that is shorter and has rubber lined feet, and he has no problem tipping that over when he tried to “bury” the food contents should I accidentally give him too much food. Maybe Catit can take a look at that plate and incorporate some of its design elements, including the handy pick up hole on the side. The good/bad thing about this toy is that it does seem to momentarily entertain my cat. It’s too bad that his use is only momentarily. (He plays with the cardboard box longer!) He doesn’t like it enough to pick out normal dry cat food, unless accompanied by a few treats. I guess if my cat needed to be on a diet I might use this for that. If I leave only dry food in he’ll either ignore it or knock it around. Thing is, I don’t want to be tripping on this or picking up scattered food everywhere from him knocking this around. I do appreciate the idea, though design could use improvement. I feel like I’ve just spent too much money on a cardboard box. I actually wish they would sell the box. I’d probably by another - not at $15 but definitely, I would by the box toy if it came at some reasonable price. I wouldn’t recommend this specific product without improvements unless you have these three things going on: 1) you have a relatively smart digger cat, 2) the cat might need a diet and mental stimulation, and 3) the cat is not rough with toys.

I laugh when I see my cat get the treats out the little cubes. I never new he could grasp little things like this with his paws. It too a short time for him to figure it out. Now, I put either 1 or several in the rules to distract him while my other cats get their treats. Otherwise he tries to stare them down to let him eat their treats. It works. Sometimes he leaves a few and comes back later to eat the rest. I do not habe any trouble with it moving around on the flour. I recommend this product. I must not forget the box. I think he enjoys this more than the puzzle. I didn't really believe he would even take the trouble to use it. A friend decided to cut the holes out to test it. I love it too. Periodically I will hear him trying to get treats out. The box moves creating a greater challenge. Very creative of the design and marketing departments. Such a simple idea and what a great use of a box. Awesome The price is great for the puzzle and box.

I recently purchased this slow feeder for my cat, and it has been a game-changer! My cat used to eat too quickly, often leading to digestive issues and vomiting. This feeder slows her down, making mealtime both healthier and more engaging. The design is sturdy and well-made, with grooves and obstacles that encourage natural foraging behavior. It turns eating into a fun challenge, keeping my cat mentally stimulated while preventing overeating. Cleaning is also a breeze, as the material is durable and easy to wash. If you’re looking for a way to improve your cat’s eating habits while keeping them entertained, I highly recommend this slow feeder. It’s a must-have for pet owners!

We bought the Catit food tree, just before getting this. The tree broke, so we decided to give this one a try. It's better in that it was faster for our adult cat to figure out, is a more durable design, that's a lot easier to clean and results in less of a mess scattered on the floor around it. Still, as soon as you open it, you get the prevailing sense that this is a good idea, not fully realized or that's been significantly compromised by cheap production practices, even though the price doesn't exactly reflect such, unless you find it steeply discounted on sale. If Catit wants to justify the price, here are three improvements they NEED to make. 1. The cups should screw in, so that cats can not easily pull them out of the base. It needs to be more than the half-turn used for the catit tree, as our cat was constantly disconnecting the top from the bottom with that model. And gluing isn't an appealing option, as removable cups make them easier to refill and clean, but the more you take them out, the less snug they fit, and our cat figured out how to remove the cups first time out. We attached them temporarily with tape to teach him a different method and now he doesn't try to pull them out any longer. 2. The skirt needs to be wider and/or otherwise grippier. As is, on a hard floor, where the product is most likely to be used, the skirt is pretty-much useless. Every time the cat eats, he moves the digger as much as a foot. After being gone for a day, it'll be on the opposite end of the room, just waiting to be stepped on. 3. While it's commendable that the product appears to be sloped to a trough, it needs to be steeper. As is, much of the food the cat digs out doesn't slide down and gets stuck in the area between the cups, where the cat can't seem to find it.