WagWheel™ - Slow Feeder Toy

I liked that this is so simple to operate. It's a little difficult to fill with food as the opening is necessarily small as the ball itself is fairly small.
Our young cat was inhaling his food so fast we decided this would help him slow down. It certainly does the job. I guess the only downside of using this to give your cat food is you end up with a certain amount of kitty crumbs on the floor - and then you have to be ok that your entire floor has been licked by your cat... But if you're ok with that, this ball does the job.

The first time we put it down he ignored it for a bit. Then he figured out there were treats inside! Now he follows us into the kitchen when we take it to refill and meows until he gets it back. It only takes a minute or two of batting it around to get the treats out. We don’t put many in at a time and have tried to adjust it to make things more difficult but still lets the treats out. Moderate success there.. He’s got to lose some weight! Make sure the top is on securely because if it comes off the treats will disappear in a heartbeat!

My cat adores the challenge of "hunting" his treats and can occupy himself happily for up to 20 minutes at a time. He gallops off after it and then bats it around to get his two treats out. The ball has really helped keep his weight down over the past months.

I got one of these a year ago for my then 8-9 month old kitten; he learned it easily and loved being given his treats in a mild form of exercise, and used it even as an adult cat. I have carpet in most of my apartment, so I only placed the treat toy on the tile kitchen floor (my carpet is brown and he couldn't easily see the treats that spilled out on the carpet).

Fast forward to some household changes and I now have 2 kittens aged 3.5 and 4 months, recovering from their spay/neuter surgery. They are supposed to 'not play, jump, etc' to prevent stitches from coming loose. Even though they both wear e-cones, they can access these treats that fall out on the bathroom floor (where they are 'recovering'). I know they are bored because of the limited play toys, so I am ordering a second treat ball, so each kitten can have their own treat toy.

My cat used to nearly inhale her food every time I put it in a bowl. Often this would result in her throwing up in the corner of the living room.

I tried everything from spreading it out on a plate to feeding her smaller meals throughout the day. Nothing seemed to decrease her weight.

However, after a few feedings, she got used to this toy. I would fill it up about halfway twice a day and my cat slowly started to lose weight. She went from 14lb to 11lb in two months. We no longer have issues with her throwing up because she actually works for her food.