Monkey the cat hunts for his food. But the food is not exactly food. He hunts for a plastic, backyard, toy golf ball which he has to find. When he finds it he has to activate a cat feeder with it. And then he gets his food. It is a very cool way of linking hunting, a natural domestic cat trait which needs to be exercised with feeding. It is better than leaving food all over the home because it is more challenging and more hygienic.
The inventor is Benjamin Millam and he should be proud of himself. It should think that it took quite a bit of thought, effort, intelligence and patience to make this work. It entertains Monkey, making his indoor life more stimulating. It is a version of an enriched environment.
“This is brilliant. Cat gets much-needed exercise as an indoor cat. The curtains aren’t shredded because he is being entertained in a constructive way. His feeding is also appropriate regulated, meaning he eats when he’s motivated to, not just because the food is there. As a veterinarian and behaviourist, I appreciate this. Good stuff.”
Another person commenting on YouTube asked Benjamin to make one for him and he’ll pay good money for it I suspect. Thomas, another person who left a comment on YouTube, hits on the one negative to the whole enterprise: the food dispenser only operates with dry cat food.
“Brilliant. Now just make the dispenser dispense wet food instead of that kidney-killing kibble.”
We all know that cats should not feed exclusively on kibble. That does not make this invention any less good. Wet cat food can still be fed to Monkey in the conventional way. The purpose behind this cool feeding system is that it nicely mimics hunting but in an artificial environment and in artificial but effective way.
There was quite a bit of clicker training involved here. That’ll probably put off a lot of people. This is the page where Benjamin explains it all.
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