Last time I took Birdie to the vet I was told she could do to lose a few pounds. Excuse moi? OK, so she’s a little curvy! I like her that way. Nevertheless, I decided to look into a food ball (masquerading as a toy) that would provide her with some mental stimulation while simultaneously helping her moderate how much she eats. After perusing Amazon for some time, I settled on the highly reviewed Multivet SlimCat Interactive Feeder.

Up to this point, Birdie had a dry food dish that always had some food in it so that she could eat whenever she felt like it throughout the day. (I feed her wet food in the evening.) Knowing that she’d be too lazy to get food out of a ball if it was also available from a bowl, I emptied the bowl completely and filled the ball about halfway with food. I made sure the holes were on the widest setting so that Birdie would get lots of positive encouragement (in the form of food falling out) when she batted the ball around. I even mixed in some Greenies to sweeten the deal. It took her a day or two to get the hang of it, but in no time I had to switch the holes on the smallest setting because Birdie had really gotten the hang of it. She now does a great  job getting all her dry food from the ball.

Pros of the SlimCat: Makes the cat eat more slowly and probably fill up faster as a result Provides some mental stimulation Possibly provides some physical stimulation (although not in Birdie’s case — she just sits there and knocks it around in place until food falls out of it)

Cons of the SlimCat: A little annoying to fill up every day Sometimes you step on dry food that you cat has strewn about when playing with the ball Not a great TOY, per se — I have a hard time imagining most cats having fun with this. But maybe that’s just my cat not having fun with it.

Bottom Line: All in all, I think the SlimCat is a good investment for a pudgy kitty.

What kinds of techniques or toys do you use to moderate how much your cat(s) eats? And if you have a dog, be sure to check out our recent post on interactive dog toys.

It can be dangerous for overweight cats to lose weight too quickly. We are not medical experts at Pawesome; please consult your veterinarian prior to putting your feline on any sort of diet.