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Doc & Phoebe’s Indoor Hunting Feeder is a revolutionary new approach to feeding cats. Cats are natural hunters and when we simply deliver their meals to them in a big bowl we are depriving them of this instinctive behavior, which can lead to health and behavior problems. But don’t worry, the solution is here!
The Doc & Phoebe feeding system provides an alternative to bowl feeding that addresses several important aspects of how cats eat. This method of feeding allows cats to hunt their food, play with it, eat small quantities at a time and consume multiple meals throughout the day. This simulates how they would eat in nature.
How does it work? The feeding system comes with five plastic feeders, each one with a removable, washable mouse “skin” that simulates real prey. Simply portion out your cat’s food into the five feeders and hide them strategically throughout your house. Kitty will use her sense of smell to find each mouse, she will grab it and toss it around until the food spills out so she can eat just the right amount to fill her stomach. By repeating this multiple times throughout the day, your cat will stay physically and mentally stimulated while eating properly portioned meals.
At first, you can hide the mice in easier to find locations until kitty gets the hang of it, then graduate to more challenging hiding spots. The feeding system also comes with a training unit with more holes and no skin, making it easier for your cat to learn how it works.
When I first tested this system with my cats, I was thinking this was a more of a puzzle toy, so when the food fell out relatively fast I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but that is actually by design because this isn’t a puzzle toy, it’s a food dispensing system, an important distinction. The challenge is in finding the prey, playing with it and then getting the reward easily. My cats figured it out quickly and do quite well with it.
I love that the mouse skins are washable, plus you can get several different color combos, including holiday designs! The plastic food dispensers and the scoop are BPA-free and can be washed in the top rack of the dishwasher. They have info on the Doc & Phoebe’s website about using the feeding system in a multi-cat household, which could be a little tricky if you have one cat who wants to eat everything. In that case, the solution seems to be isolating cats with their own set of feeders, but it may not be an issue if you use enough feeders for every cat.
*FTC Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate code. If you make a purchase using the code, Hauspanther will get a small commission. We are dedicated to finding the coolest products for cats and cat lovers and we never recommend anything that we don’t love.
These could be an excellent solution for overweight cats who need to slim down, as well as inactive cats who need more stimulation. Quite a novel idea and concept!
This is the exact same design, coloring, as the “NoBowl” product that has been promoted on another site for quite some time…..is this a hack?
No, this is the same company as the “No Bowl” feeder. They just changed the name an re-branded.
I don’t see this working in a multi-cat household AT ALL! I have 3 hungry mouths to feed which means I’d be filling and hiding 15 of those silly feeders every day. I hide em and leave…….how am I gonna know if they’re each getting 5? I’m not.
But their solution is isolation. Well that’s horrible. So the slow learner has to be all by themselves for the whole day – no interaction with the other kids, and I’ve gotta set up another litter box, another water bowl. And really how much “hunting” can be done in a single room?
I agree with Neil. In my case this would be unworkable from the get go — it is not suitable for canned cat food.
My cats only get limited amounts of kibble as a side dish. They must have canned cat food — this system is
unworkable for canned cat food (far too messy among other issues). Canned cat food provides critical water
hydration for my girls who do not voluntarily drink enough water. This definitely would not work in a multi cat household
with at least weight gain prone cat (mine keeps trying to turn into a mini ‘bowling ball’. If she was given the opportunity presented by this system, she would gobble all of it up before any one else even had a chance to eat. Definitely a
non-starter for my girls.
Unfortunately, also not an option for my home, where one cat has to eat a special diet (for IBD) and the other gains weight if he eats the same food. 🙁 I love the idea, but it only seems workable if you’re in a house with a single cat. 🙁