Catit Design Senses Food Maze_DX

When used in conjunction with an IQ cat ball Petsafe SlimCat or IQ interactive ball into your Catit Design Senses Treat Maze, this is purrrfect for my newly socialized feral kittens now indoors. They are always looking for playtime and this ball seems to have too easy of access for their Grain-free Buffalo BLue dry food. BUT when I place an IQ treat/food ball into the top of the Catit Design treat maze, the colors match and all my saved kittens can get the exercise they want while hunting and rummaging for their dry food. This gives my kittens the struggle they crave, without causing frustration nor fighting. Of course the laziest of them sit at the bottom and wait for the others to drop food down, and sometimes using this technique to feed them will allow fit, trim, healthy, socialized cats ready for adoption. This treat maze is optimal for both lazy cats (who can lay in wait for the food to fall) and the over energetic cat who pulls and pushes the food at the top. The holes in the different levels can be adjusted for long or small, to allow many treats/dry food to fall out, or few. My cats love it! I have bought many of these Catit Design Treat Mazes to distribute to friends/family since we all saved feral now in house cats. The base does require some help, and I use a box top from paper reams at work with a hole cut out to secure this Treat Maze from toppling. The box top both holds any flying cat treats/dry food and stops the biggest of my cats from pushing it over to get all the food out fast, which is what they do, if this treat maze does not have additional support on its base.

If you're a typical working adult like me, you spend hours away from your furry ones every single weekday. My 2 cats are very sociable and I always felt guilty about leaving them for so long. I always am looking for toys/activities to engage their minds while I'm away. I can tell you I am VERY pleased I decided to purchase this! I read the other reviews, positive and negative. There seemed to be a few that stood out the most to me: 1.) The top is open, which allows for some people's cats to see the treats going in the top and have learned to just knock the maze over to get the treats. 2.) There's not enough weight on the bottom to keep it from being knocked over. 3.) it's annoying to listen to the food dropping/food goes everywhere. Here are some ideas to overcome those issues: 1.) OPEN TOP - The minute I introduced my cats to this maze, I Never let them learn about the open top. I had an unused lock&lock container (with the locking tab lid) that fit in that top opening. The container itself fit down into the opening while the lid's tabs kept it from falling through. I put some washers in the container which gave it enough weight to not easily be knocked out. I assembled the maze, put that "makeshift top" on and they never knew about the existence of that opening. Yes some might think it looks a bit goofy, but what do I care? It works perfectly. (Although I wouldn't use anything TOO weighty on top; don't want it to hurt anyone if it is knocked over). 2.) NOT ENOUGH WEIGHT - I agree with this, but you can put some sort of weight underneath it, or glue/nail it to a small piece of wood. I actually didn't have to do anything with mine; yes it has been knocked over a few times, but so has Everything else in my house at one time or another, that wasn't nailed to the ground :) Mine may not knock over so easy either, since I use the container on top to conceal the opening; possibly it gives it just enough weight? 3.) ANNOYING TO LISTEN TO/MESSY - honestly then, why buy it? You see what it does in the picture. I don't think the purpose of this maze to REPLACE your cat's food dish entirely. If you're feeding them their complete meals out of this every day, I can see how the constant sound and food everywhere might get irritating. Maybe use it for half their meals or only use it for treats? I still feed mine regularly from their bowls, but I cut back on the amount they receive in their bowls, and then add that portion (the remainder) of their meal to the maze. It's also a great distraction/reward tool. When I go to leave for work every morning, I take some of their treats and put them in the maze. They are so excited because they get treats... and I am happier that they are not crying at the door as soon as I close it. They are focused on the maze instead. All that being said; yes it has a few design flaws, but it serves its purpose Very Well. I am very happy I decided to purchase it. It stimulates their minds and is entertaining to watch them figure it out.

i dont know how to give this item a proper review [hence the four stars]. i cannot blame the manufacturer for any problems as there is nothing at all wrong w/ the product. it is very attractive, it functions just as pictured, it doesnt seem shoddy or in any danger of breaking, mat displacement occasionally occurs [but this is ridiculously minor]. there is not a single negative thing i can think to say about it. other than that my cats virtually refuse to go near it. & about this i, of course, cannot guess upon whom to affix the blame--if blame is even appropriate. cos it is *not* the manufacturers' fault, i dont understand how a cat could be choosing this behavior & i havent done anything more weird than i ordinarily do since purchasing the item. also, & as purr [per]: i thought this was just an outgrowable phase but it's now been about a week & they dont seem any more likely to approach it today than they did the day it arrived. they were very curious about what mom was doing when mom put it together [which is quite easy to do, thanks catit]. but the minute it went onto the floor, somewhere amid their [unfortunately marked] territorial highways, that was it. curiosity metaphorically defenestrated & was then replaced literally by fear. no matter that w/ great but e'er receding patience mom has demonstrated daily that this item is not a de-pawer & is, instead & in truth, really more a fancydance three-tiered *dish* than any kind of device--as of today they still wont buy it. the only change over the last seven days has been that if mom pours an *enormous* number of cat treats into it & then puts in her own paw & scatters those treats thither & hither in hopes that mom's cats, panspottia smidgen van halen keats & the qveen of siam, might learn by imitation--if mom does all that & she does it repeatedly then maybe-maybe-maybe-maybe-maybe mom's cats will slowly & w/ immense trepidation army crawl over to the edge of the dish at the bottom of the treat tree [or the mat encircling it] & eat the few treats that have hit the dish, the mat, or the ground. they prefer, of course, to eat directly from the hardwood floor. i am posting this, btw, not to disparage the makers of this item. they did a great job, i cannot complain as it would not be fair. my goal was to warn other potential purchasers that this IS a potential problem. if it changes i will, of course, append my review. i was really looking forward to giving them something they'd like too. i hope it works that way for other cats.

This is a good idea with at least a couple of design flaws. The mat that appears under the food dispenser is actually a ring which is easily displaced. When you put cat food in at the top it cascades down, this means that if you imagine a sand pile as you pour sand on top it slides down the edges until it builds up enough to make a wider, taller pile. This happens with the cat food until the food reaches the holes around the edge and then it falls down to the next level. This means that without intervention on my part there's a little pile of cat food in the center that just gets older and staler. Not a hard solution, before I pour food in at the top I knock the food off of that platform down to the middle platform which generally gets cleared off. When you add more cat food, I add 1 cup at a time for four cats, it starts pinging down through the holes and tends to go flying off sideways into the carpet. Also not a biggie, you can vacuum up whatever the little scavengers don't get for themselves. My cats are old, and you know what they say about teaching an old cat new tricks? oh...you say that was an old dog? trust me, it's hard teaching a young cat new tricks, just try to imagine teaching an Old Cat...ok, so I didn't try to teach them anything, I just figured they'd work it out. My cats are 18, 16 and 14 (2). My 16yo, Misty, does just what the designers intended, she sticks a paw in and knocks a piece down. She enjoys doing this. One of my 14yo cats, Shroom, takes a run at it and head butts the tower raining pieces (mostly) into the dispenser tray (see problems 1 & 2 at the top). Then everybody chows down on what he's provided. Would I recommend this to all of my cat owning friends and family (note, if there's a dog in the mix this would need to be elevated, my old Golden would have eaten the whole thing, plastic, catfood and all)? Not generally. My daughter's kitten is very playful and would probably be good at accessing the food. My sister's cats, I'd guess one would get at the food, one might and one would just sit there looking sorrowful. So think about your own cats and their problem solving abilities. (And desires, a lot of cats like to solve problems, like how to reach and open the drawer with the baggie of catnip in it, or how to get to the roast beef sub I was planning to have for lunch. Some prefer that the staff take care of all their needs.) Then decide. Certainly it's not outrageously expensive and it's fairly fun to watch.

Update 7/20/14: Still successful! Cali is down 4 lbs. Seven has lost a little weight and we just give him a few extra treats to keep him plump. Original review: We have two cats. One very large female Calico, named Cali. We also have very dark brown and very thin male Hemingway (polydactyl), named Seven. They would be fed twice a day, almost two cups. All Cali would do is sit at her bowl and eat. She was her heaviest at 20 lbs. Seven would also eat however, his problem was eating too quickly. About 5 minutes later, he'd "yack" up all he ate (and Cali would typically find it before we could). We've tried all kinds of feeders, in an effort to curb her eating and slow his down. Unfortunately, we don't have the time to feed them separately, in different rooms, twice a day as suggested by our Vet. That's when I came across this product. In a word, perfect. Yes, some cats will figure out how to knock it down, or eat from the hole in the top. My cats however, have not. They complained - a lot - when we first got this. But, after about a month we could not be happier. We dump 1 cup of food in the top every morning. No more seconds feedings. It has slowed down Sevens eating. He has not "yacked" in weeks, and he's gaining weight! Cali is not pleased, at all. She will sit there and meow at it and you. Trying to convince you she has not eaten. I started to become concerned, until I caught her with her fat little paw in it, pushing the food out. Cali has lost ¼ of a pound! This just happens to be the perfect product to solve two very different issues.

My cats are loving this Treat Maze. The one who is completely food-driven was all over it from the moment the first treat hit the plastic, and the others were not far behind. There were a couple of hours of a perplexed staredown with my youngest... he circled it and gave it a good evaluation before he seriously approached it, but is now fully on board. They have gone at it from all angles; it took about 7 hours before my tallest figured out he could stand up and stick his head down through the top, but even after getting a few out that way, he still goes round and round and knocks them down through the maze. They clean it out, regardless of what I drop in there: small morsels of dry food, lysine treats, UT health treats, hairball treats, or just plain old treats... I've tested them all, and even the usually picky ones eat whatever they get out. Of course, all cats will eat too much if not monitored, so this isn't a device for free feeding, but it is a great addition to our rotation of treats, catnip, and toy playtime. Changing things up maintains their interest and avoids boredom, and this Treat Maze is a hit... non-stop circling it and very gently pawing through the holes. I put it up on the kitchen table so I could watch them better because it was much more entertaining than the baseball game I was trying to watch! I am looking into the other Catit Design items as a result. The Treat Maze looks top-heavy, as if it would just topple over, but it is quite sturdy. The wider base with the rubber mat keeps it from sliding at all, and the interlocking pieces don't allow for any wobbling. I have 2 larger breeds, 15 lbs or so, and they have been all over this; it's taken all of their action with ease. One of mine is also a drooler, and a damp paper towel keeps it clean while they're playing, and it easily disassembles for a more thorough cleaning when needed. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> UPDATE <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< One month later, my cats still love this thing. They are surprisingly gentle with it and keep working at it until every treat is gone. I haven't had any issues with it toppling over or keeping it clean. I'm very glad I made this purchase, as are my cats!

After reading of other cat-people's multiple issues with this intriguing cat-toy-dish, I was hopeful, determined and prepared. BEFORE I put it out for Phoebe, I fitted a simple DIY cardboard- (soon to be redone in waterproof plastic) -and-tape cover to block the top (why doesn't Catit provide this?) Probably since she never saw the easy option of eating from the top, she does not knock it over so the more challenging support modification was not even necessary. Also, the amount that ends up spread out on the floor is next to nothing, and usually gets eaten up. I am also careful to clear the top tray at least daily so that food doesn't get old. From the first day, I spent time playing with it with both overeating Phoebe and undereating Rayna-Sun to begin the training process. It is working marvelously for my eldder cat, Phoebe, and is completely and inexpensively solving my most challenging cat-feeding problem. Before getting the Treat Maze, Phoebe would overeat to the point of throwing up if I gave her more than 1.5 tablespoonfuls in a half an hour or I let her get so hungry that she would eat something bad (Rayna's special food, plants, poop, ?) I had nearly solved her previous obesity, but was spending my life dealing with feeding her. Now, I can give a full days worth and SHE WILL TAKE ONLY A FEW BITES, AND RETURN LATER TO EAT MORE! Amazing! I got it mostly for Phoebe who has the overeating/vomiting issues, though I also hoped my undereater, Rayna-Sun could be enticed into eating more if it was connected to play. Oh well. . . The minimal spray of food beyond the Treat Maze is not a problem, as Phoebe will eat that also. But my undereating, special needs/food, Rayna-Sun is not trying to use it beyond an occasional nibble from the bottom tray, though she watches Phoebe play/eat with fascination. Perhaps she will try it after some time like she did with bonito flakes? If you decide to try this, make the modifications before you offer it to your cat(s) and spend the time training. It is working better than I dreamed for Phoebe's serious eating issues and I highly recommend it if you have similar problems. I am still considering getting the play circuit to see if it might entice Rayna into using the Maze too. 2/6 It's working for Rayna now too! I just caught her getting food from the maze, not just the tray below. Didn't take as long as I feared. She is getting discouraged easily when she works a level and nothing comes out below, but I'm sure she'll have it down in no time. She is also much more physical with it, so I might need to do more stabilization modifications if she ends up knocking it over, though the Catit play circuit might also stabilize it if it can be set up to encircle the maze. I guess I should just get it now.

My cat Lilly has been using it for 2 weeks and so far so good. She is obsessed with food and will verbally abuse you when hungry which is adorable the first 30 seconds, annoying after 15 mins. Previously her food dish was on a timer, opened twice a day and she had no shame sitting an inch away from her dish for hours waiting for her next meal. She also had a habit of gobbling up her food, no chewing, just scooping it up into her mouth as fast as possible until she gagged and it came back up. She’s been this way since I adopted her 2 years ago, vet says she’s healthy. At first Lilly didn’t like the food puzzle, would stick her paw in and swing around in the air for a second before sitting down and waiting for someone to correct the food situation. I still used her food timer for her morning nosh but we stuck to the puzzle for the evening. First 2-3 days she hated the puzzle, I felt like she was starving if I didn’t give her continuous snacks to tide her over until she could figure it out. Brilliant cat, dumb human. Finally with a little tough love and one piece of her favorite snack in the puzzle her mind seemed to click, working the puzzle level by level until it reached the bottom. Now she does it on her own but it did take a few days for her to fully warm up to it. She has stopped obsessing about food completely, slows down her eating, no longer sits for hours waiting for her next meal AND she has walked away from her morning dish with food still in it..unheard of! It seems like the puzzle has distracted her mind so she’s not so focused on just the food and since there is always a few pieces of kibble still lingering in the puzzle throughout the day she has nothing to beg for. She hasn’t thrown up since, knock on wood. Again it’s only been 2 weeks but it’s made a huge change in my cat for sure. What I don’t like, a couple of times she had tried to lean up against it and it would have fallen over had I not caught it. I also think a very smart cat might be able to figure out how to knock it over or try to get to the food from the top as it’s completely open. Luckily my cat hasn’t figured that out. Again it’s only been 2 weeks but I hope this review helps.