Around here, we use these to dispense kibble. They work pretty well.
Posted on 08/13/2021 7:02:57 PM PDT by BenLurkin
When given the choice between a freely available meal and a meal trapped inside a puzzle, scientists have found most animals, such as dogs, bears, pigeons, pigs, goats, mice, rats, monkeys and other primates, prefer to work for their food - a concept known as contrafreeloading.
When researchers provided a small sample of indoor cats with a food puzzle and a tray of food in a home environment, the pets ate more food from the free tray than from the puzzle. Even the most energetic individuals preferred to stick to the easy meal, according to activity sensors they wore during the study.
Eight cats never even bothered to touch the puzzle, despite having the opportunity to do so for 30 minutes, and none of the cats ate more food from the puzzle than from the open tray.
The results add weight to the findings from a small lab study, conducted in 1971...
In this historic experiment, six domesticated cats were trained to operate a food dispenser. They were then given the choice between the food puzzle and a free bowl of kibble in a laboratory setting.
Unlike every other animal that had been tested in similar ways, the cats in these experiments showed a clear preference for the free meal.
Now, it seems like even in a home setting, these creatures make the same choices, regardless of their sex, age or previous puzzle experience.
Beyond simple curiosity, researchers say it's worth finding out why cats do not seem to prefer a food puzzle over a free meal. The answer could help us appease the curiosity of our cats when they are stuck indoors, to increase their wellbeing all around.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
Our twenty year-old cat who we finally had to put down three months ago had a phenomenal internal clock… for her last two years, blind and deaf, but still able to get around the house and even able to find and play with her toys, she always knew within three minutes when her two feeding times were, and when it was time for her to get her thyroid medication rubbed in her ears. I swore that cat had a Braille cat watch on her left fore paw.
She relied on rituals with us… she had a bowl of dry kibble out but due to dietary problems she’d eat Gerber’s baby food puréed meat… but she’d get tired of chicken, then want ham… eat that for a while… then turn her nose up at ham and want turkey… then back to chicken. Rinse, repeat. Her litter box had to be Zen garden pristine, or she’d come out complaining, crying “Ma ma!” (Literally, I kid you not!) until it was scooped and raked. Every time. If she upchucked a hairball, same thing, and she’d lead us to it for our clean-up attention!
As a cat behavior consultant I find the results of this study interesting. Even in my book, food puzzles for cats are one of the 5 “toys” I recommend every cat owner should have. Admittedly, the cats I have worked with all like the DIY puzzles owners make for them over the store bought stuff.
But the thinking is a bored cat will forage for food. It is an opportunistic species and logically if given a choice between easy and difficult, they will choose easy free feed bowls. LOL. Leave a bowl of food or a puzzle feeder with treats, 9 times out of 10 they won’t work the puzzle for treats. Remove the free feed bowl or gradually reduce the availability of the free meal and they will begin to forage for food with the puzzle.
The question becomes is this concept of foraging cats really a natural behavior or a behavior we think (anthropomorphize) on them? Have we made the assumption that hunting is the same as foraging?
We teach clients that the natural order for cats is hunt, eat, groom, sleep. And using that template for cats that are having behavior problems helps them calm down into what we know is their natural cycle.
Cats are lazy jerks…
Don’t need a study to prove that.
Around here, we use these to dispense kibble. They work pretty well.
We keep cat treats in a kitchen cabinet. I have one cat that knows exactly where they are. He jumps on the counter and stretches to reach the cabinet door and opens the door just enough so that when it closes it makes a thump. He's telling me that I should give him treats. I am certain he could get them himself, but he wants his human servant to do his job. He seems rather upset when I don't read his mind and he has to go through all that effort for me to give him is treats.
Cats have of course solved the larger puzzle: getting a firm grip on our affections.
Me: “Yoda, you need to get more time out of the swamp. Like women, most cats are.”
Every cat story is newsworthy!
I give my Yellow Lab, Miss Lucy, a lot of credit in the varmint department, too. She was great with Chipmunks and Pocket Gophers that were once a big issue at my old farm.
Speaking of rats - when I bought my small farm in 1993, the outbuildings had not been used in decades. I had New York City-sized rats in the chicken coup that I was going to use.
Not fun, and kinda scary when you got between Mama Rat and her young.
Should’ve rented a Terrier, which many farmers around here always have on hand for these emergencies. ;)
In a bowl?
I could set my watch by our cat and her voicing displeasure at not being fed on time.
Still...she’s my bud.
I thought we were talking about dogs, not Democrats.
No, dogs are MUCH smarter than democrats.
Dogs, unlike democrats, don’t normally kill the ones who feed them. Dogs have been known to starve in the same room with a deceased owner rather than munch on said deceased owner. So let me change that, dogs need friendly minders.
Democrats will knowingly kill the host that makes their lives possible then when the host dies they kick the dead corpse attempting to get more life out of it.
BTW, I’ve had both cats and dogs and love each for their own unique qualities.
For sure 🙂
They like everything to be routine, orderly, and not change too much too quickly.
* * *
Thanks, Jamestown. I agree with you. Another thing. They are Second Amendment lovers. My outdoor/indoor cat was always anxious to protect his territory. Brave, heroic, understanding the value of duty and honor.
Slowly she began to recover.
Now she is fine. But guess how she still wants her wet cat food?
And yes, several times I day I sit on the floor and she eats wet catfood off a little spoon. This is my life now. Good thing I telework.
Good for you!
I have two cats that were brothers from the same litter.
One is the soul of honor and duty. I think the other came from a very different father ;-)
I’m sort of fond of Brood X - their appearance always seems to coincide with important points in my life.
They don’t do that much damage to anything; and when I’ve lived near a woods where their collective singing was loud, I’ve liked it.
lately, millions of primates as they called them, dont want work ..
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