Cat Feeding Game

Brand: The Company of Animals
Manufacturer: Pet PDC Distribution
Model: STI-BS001-BT
EAN: 0188094000059
Category: #287475 in Misc. (Basic Bowls)
Price: n/a  (127 customer reviews)
Dimension: 3.25 x 13.00 x 13.00 inches
Shipping Wt: 1.31 pounds
Availability: Temporarily out of stock. We are working hard to b
Average Rating: 3.6 out of 5 stars
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Product Description

The Stimulo is an interactive cat food activity center. By necessity, animals in nature spend much of their time hunting and foraging for their meals. Cats in particular are adept at seeking and finding food. Unfortunately, this innate problem solving skill is often under exercised in domesticated animals sometimes leading to unwanted behaviors around the home. The Stimulo bowl was developed with this in mind. Food is hidden inside the bowl's many tubes, which your cat can access by using their paws. Allowing your cat to exercise his or her problem solving instincts with the Stimulo bowl fun and rewarding for you and your pet.

Features

  • Slows down ingestion and promote weight control
  • Satisfies your cats need to hunt and play
  • Manufactured from food grade plastic and is dishwasher safe
  • Disassembles for easy cleaning and is dishwasher safe
  • Approved by veterinarians and cat behaviorists

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Top Reviews

GREAT FEEDER FOR CATS!!!
by Mac Henry (5 out of 5 stars)
July 13, 2013

I have two cats who throw up a lot from scarfing their food down too fast. As soon as I received this in the mail, I put it down on the floor.

Rather than take their regular food dish away first, I opted to put their evening "treats" into the new feeder. Within just a couple of minutes, my oldest cat (9 years old) cleverly began feeding himself from the Stimulo feeder. The younger cat (five years old) cleverly watched the older cat retrieving his treats and began copying his behavior. LITERALLY, WITHIN MINUTES, BOTH CATS LEARNED HOW TO USE THE STIMULO FEEDER. They check it often throughout the day, hoping I have put more treats in or that perhaps they missed some treats from before. Every time they check it, they use their paws to go into the tubes and feel around.

The next step will come when their regular feeding dish runs out of dry food. The only food available will be in the Stimulo Feeder. I know they won't sit by their old feeding dish crying, they will simply check the Stimulo Feeding dish. I just really couldn't stand the thought of them crying (and driving me crazy) because they were hungry and didn't know how to use the Stimulo yet. My method seems more humane and a lot easier on me.

This product really does work. I've already put the taller stage tubes into the feeder to make it more challenging. The taller tubes haven't deterred my cats one bit. It really does slow down their feeding.

The really odd thing is, I think they kinda' like retrieving their food this way. My oldest cat, Zorro, first paces around it--just looking. Then he goes in for the food. He seems to be mentally stimulated by this feeder. For Miko, it is just another place to get food.

I was worried that I would pay out what for me is a lot of money for a feeder that didn't work. That is not the case here. This is a great product that works just exactly as described. It is worth every penny I paid for it.
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Weight loss and stimulation! Great product for chubby cats
by AimeeN (5 out of 5 stars)
May 3, 2013

I have two 13lb 1yr old boys who were starting to get a little plumpy rapidly (they should be about 11/12lbs at this age). I wanted to control their weight gain before it got out of hand so I chose this feeder after researching cat behavior and the many feeding options to stimulate weight loss and challenge them mentally.

Numerous reasons why I love this:
1. I spend less on cat food now because they aren't gorging themselves.
2. They aren't gorging themselves so they stopped gaining weight and are even starting to lose a little (the vet will be happy!)
3. Easy to clean
4. They seem to have fun with it.
5. They throw up less. (sometimes they still gorge on the wet food but I control the portions and have learned how to slow them down by giving a little at a time)

When I first set it up, one of them was so in love with it he growled at his brother to leave him alone while he foraged for food. After a half-hour he got over it and shared. The can now both eat at the stimulo without issue.

They figured it out very quickly, fortunately (and sometimes unfortunately) I have very smart cats.

I did buy the longer tubes because I know mine will advance quickly, but I was premature with that purchase, they are still on the original tubes that the feeder comes with. I've had it about a month now.

They have not knocked it over, but they do push it out into the middle of the floor. Yes cat food scatters more often than it did with the bowl, but its easy to clean up and a small price to pay for my cats health and happiness.

The boys are now down to 12.5lbs and the weight loss has been slow and steady. The more active cat is starting to lose his jiggle belly and the other just needs some exercise!

They are big cats to begin with, most likely will top off around 13-14lbs once full grown. But if I can help them stay lean and healthy I will. And I really belive the Stimulo will help with that.

I'm also trying to get my mom to buy it for her cats, she has one of a healthy weight and the other is almost 20lbs, he should weigh around 11!
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Excellent idea, if my cats were normal this would be great
by Sally Foster (5 out of 5 stars)
March 15, 2012

I have two cats, who (play) fight about everything. I needed something to calm them down when they ate because their eating became, well, weird. One cat figured out that if she stopped eating and sat there staring into the hallway she could freak out the other cat, and then get the other cat to go into the hallway to figure out what was there. The first cat would then eat the second cats' food. That was bad enough. However, after a few days of this the first cat somehow got confused and decided that there really was something out there, so she would end up in the hallway too. I could have lived with that, I mean eventually they would have to come back to the kitchen to eat. Only, the two of them decided the best way to deal with the imaginary `thing' in the hallway was to bolt down their food, then run into the hallway ready to attack. Attack a thing that one of them had totally made up in the first place. Anyway, that was when the cat barfing started. Everywhere. All of the time. The cats could clean their bowls in 15 seconds flat, and two minutes later it came out like their stomachs were spring loaded. My living room was overpowered with the stench of cat spew and carpet cleaner.

I figured these feeders would be perfect for slowing down their eating. I purchased two of them and put them in a bedroom, nowhere near the kitchen or hallway. I figured changing things up would help stop the whole fake monster thing and get them back to eating like normal cats. My first cat absolutely went crazy for the feeder. She loved pulling the food out; she actually would get so caught up in it she would pace back and forth, pulling food from the various levels. Unfortunately, she also became territorial about the feeder. Being that there are two feeders, that shouldn't matter, right? Well, in the deranged world of my cats, it mattered like nobody's business. As soon as the second cat realized the first cat didn't want her near the feeder, it was all out war, kitty cat Armageddon. That feeder became by far the most entertaining object in the house for that cat. She would sit on the stairs and wait for the other cat to approach the feeder - then attack.

A few days later the first cat found a solution that I'm not so sure I like, but I'm not sure how I could put a stop to it either. The cat paws the cat food out of the feeder and flicks it around the room. By doing this she's been able to scatter enough food around the room that she can eat now without being attacked as much. She does end up eating most of the food, and a dust vac takes care of what's left. I'm sure there's another solution here, but this one kind of works so I'm sticking with it.

I'm giving these feeders five stars because my cats have gotten tons of entertainment out of them. Nothing the company intended, but in the end I'm sure that normal cats will enjoy the feeders just as much. Also the cat barfing did stop so it does work great for that.
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Love it!
by Regular Amazon Shopper (5 out of 5 stars)
April 27, 2013

We have 2 cats: a fat one and a skinny one. We got this puzzle to slow down the fat cat's eating, he is 24 lbs and vacuums up his meals. Well our other cat really got into the puzzles, he spends a great deal of time eating from this one and Trixie Mad Scientist for Cats
. The fat one prefers to put his energy into harassing his guardians instead, but does join his thinner (12 lb) brother occasionally to reap the rewards of his hard work.

I did have to make a minor adjustment to the product since our kitties were moving it all over the place to get to the food. As you can see in the video, I modified four of the small cups to make 2 weights. For each weight I just glued together 2 small cups filled with pennies, I then placed the weights on opposite sides, worked great!
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We BOTH Like It
by Texas Rose (5 out of 5 stars)
May 30, 2013

Kitty figured out the tube puzzle instantly because she's used to reaching for snacks hidden in oatmeal boxes, paper towel tubes, etc. Her big surprise with the Stimulo was that it wasn't dessert in every tube, but her dinner. At first she would pull lots of food out looking for the prize. She eats Blue Buffalo so we're not going to waste it.

A large woven plastic place mat for people (not pets) solved the problem. It's easy to clean and keeps Kitty's food off the floor. The texture keeps the food from rolling too far from the feeder and we're not stepping on crunchies anymore.

When she finishes eating I just pick up the place mat and pour the untouched kibble back into the tube she just pulled it out of. Sometimes the food gets under the feeder because there's an open portion on the side so the feeder is easy to pick up. Again, working with the place mat keeps this hidden food from going stale.

The tubes are marked like measuring cups. I can be SURE Kitty's getting the right portion of fresh food every day. Filling each cup would be way too much even for a 15 lb. chubster and defeat the purpose of the Stimulo.

The instructions said not to give in when the cat begged for more food when the short cups were empty. Obviously they know their customers. We've had the Stimulo about a month and we're through the transition. She's cleaning her plate again, but taking all day to do it. It's fun to watch her work her system, and she's even starting to clean up the textured part between the cups. We have less and less leftovers on the floor. Sometimes she asks me to turn the feeder around when the cups in front are empty. For some reason she doesn't stand on it to reach the side by the wall.

We put a few treats in the tall cups without extra food. I've watched her check and recheck to make sure she got them all. She always eats dessert first. Runs in the family.

One reviewer thought it was too big. Actually it's smaller than I expected and is a good match size-wise with the Big Max Pet Fountain.

The Stimulo is well made, easy to clean, and is doing what I hoped it would. Slows down the power chowing. No vomiting. Kitty's slimming down a little, but not losing major weight. Keeps things interesting for the her and she's fun to watch, too. I'm glad we got it for her.

I forgot to mention the Stimulo comes with a free cat bed... She's been sleeping in the box since the moment we took the feeder out. I eventually cut the lid off, but she liked it either way.
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A good solution for food-scarfers
by Tara (5 out of 5 stars)
July 27, 2013

To say that my cats *enjoy* this feeding station would be something of an overstatement. Everytime I pour the food into the tubes I think I hear a tiny pair of sighs and an "Oh, jesus, this again," coming from my tortoiseshell in particular. But it's their own fault - after switching to a dental diet, my tabby started sucking down the food so fast without chewing it that she not only completely negated the benefits of a dental kibble but was well on her way to becoming a projectile vomiting fatty. Since they've started eating out of the Stimulo, I've had much fewer issues with scarfing and post-dinner vomiting, so in that sense, it's a complete success.

Of course, it has its downsides, but all the feeding stations I researched do. It takes up a decent amount of floor real estate (about 1' square), and because they tend to scatter kibble around, I can't feed them in the bathroom like I used to for fear of them eating something...unsavory. So it makes a pretty uninspiring living room centerpiece. It can also be pretty awkward to pour food into the tubes from a bowl-shaped scoop, so they definitely get a lot of "freebie" kibbles. And to be honest, I don't wash it nearly as often as I should -- even though they only eat dry food out of it, the idea of disengaging 9 different tubes and sticking them all in the dishwasher just rarely appeals or even occurs to me.
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fun ! beware the mess though!
by Lisa (4 out of 5 stars)
January 6, 2013

I can see that this would be helpful for a cat that gulps food down too quickly - I bought it primarily for mental stimulation for my cats. They are using it as intended so I am happy with it. Also, from reading the description, I thought I was only getting the first 2 sizes of cups but my set came with a couple of the deep cups also! YIPPEEE because I checked and buying them extra was going to cost this product another star. ;-D

A couple of things to think about - (1) It takes some getting accustomed to - and not just for the cats! For MY part because previously I was using a large self-feeder, and now I have to remember to put out frequent "meals" for my cats. (2) if you have multiple cats, you may not be able to put enough food on one station to feed them both/all. (3) its a little messy to use - the food tends to scatter around the station (My cats were messy eaters anyway so this made no difference to me but it might to you if you have always had a tidy little cat.) (4) ARE YOU FEEDING YOUR CATS ON TOP OF YOUR DRYER? LOL twice I was awakened in the middle of the night by the CRASH of the feeding station as it was toppled off the dryer onto the floor. It has skid-resistant "feet" but I still had to put some non-slip material on top of the dryer. I think we are finally all set. I feed them a scoop whenever I see that the station is empty, wipe crumbs often, put out a small dish of "extra" kibble down when the cats seem unusually hungry or both come to the station at the same time, and I am happy that they are using those wonderful inquisitive minds and problem-solving skills that Mother nature blessed them with!

I think my "fat cat" is actually losing a little bit of weight so that's an added bonus! Maybe she will be easier to pick up and hug without straining my back and shoulders :-D
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GREAT FEEDER FOR CATS!!!
by Mac Henry,Top Contributor: Scrapbooking (5 out of 5 stars)
July 13, 2013

I have two cats who throw up a lot from scarfing their food down too fast. As soon as I received this in the mail, I put it down on the floor.

Rather than take their regular food dish away first, I opted to put their evening "treats" into the new feeder. Within just a couple of minutes, my oldest cat (9 years old) cleverly began feeding himself from the Stimulo feeder. The younger cat (five years old) cleverly watched the older cat retrieving his treats and began copying his behavior. LITERALLY, WITHIN MINUTES, BOTH CATS LEARNED HOW TO USE THE STIMULO FEEDER. They check it often throughout the day, hoping I have put more treats in or that perhaps they missed some treats from before. Every time they check it, they use their paws to go into the tubes and feel around.

The next step will come when their regular feeding dish runs out of dry food. The only food available will be in the Stimulo Feeder. I know they won't sit by their old feeding dish crying, they will simply check the Stimulo Feeding dish. I just really couldn't stand the thought of them crying (and driving me crazy) because they were hungry and didn't know how to use the Stimulo yet. My method seems more humane and a lot easier on me.

This product really does work. I've already put the taller stage tubes into the feeder to make it more challenging. The taller tubes haven't deterred my cats one bit. It really does slow down their feeding.

The really odd thing is, I think they kinda' like retrieving their food this way. My oldest cat, Zorro, first paces around it--just looking. Then he goes in for the food. He seems to be mentally stimulated by this feeder. For Miko, it is just another place to get food.

I was worried that I would pay out what for me is a lot of money for a feeder that didn't work. That is not the case here. This is a great product that works just exactly as described. It is worth every penny I paid for it.
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Use with the level 3 tubes for fast eating cats
by Shig123 & Zanne (5 out of 5 stars)
April 16, 2014

Awesome older version! I ordered from the UK vender, and it was the correct model. Whew.

I feed the clever cats with this, using the level three additional tubes. The less clever cats are fed in the new version. The old model admittedly comes with too many low 'starter' tubes, but the new model doesn't exactly offer a challenge, and zero extra tubes are available to fit it. One cat simply reaches a paw down to the bottom of the new model tubes, of any height, and yanks it right out of the base. It's an open bottomed tube, so he can catch hold of it, no problem.

The old version has it's tubes somewhat 'locking' into the base (as you can see at the bottom of the pictured tubes for the level three add ons) and you need to use a twisting motion, holding the outside of the tube, to remove them. No interior claw holds, on the old model tubes, either, completely smooth inside. At some point I expect the base of either model to get flipped over, but so far it's not happened.

This model has molded ridging around the tubes, acting as mini mazes for small food pieces as well. Both Earthborn and Orijen dry food falls into those ridges, nicely. Don't be surprised when some cats don't want to eat the bits that are in the easy tubes anymore, and go right for the high ones.

Get this one while you still can, or build one, if you're good with woodworking.
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Needed a feeder to accommodate my two cats' different eating styles - this is perfect!
by Happy kitty mama (5 out of 5 stars)
January 25, 2014

I tried this feeding system because I have two cats, whom I adopted a year apart, who have very different eating styles. The fist one is a nibbler and can free feed without overeating. The second is a gobbler and will stick his face in the food and eat until it is gone. As a result my one cat wasn't getting enough to eat that the other one was getting a rather fat belly. My vet said I needed to take action while both cats are still young to prevent the rounder cat from developing health problems later in life.

This works great! It slows down the gobbler and also engages him and he loves pulling all the food out of the tubes. This also gives my nibbler cat time to eat while the other one is fishing the food out. I've been using this system for seven or eight months now (adding in the taller tubes about a month after I got this) and am happy to report my cats love it and their weight has leveled out so they are both healthy now.

Yes, my cats do make a huge mess initially, pulling out all the food but I put the feeder on a tray and also keep it on carpet so the kibbles don't scatter everywhere (also my cats would then bat the food around and lose it under all my appliances if it were on a hard floor). Because I only feed my cats the amount the vet recommended every day they also clean up their own mess, eating up all the kibbles they spill on the floor.

Lastly, I LOVE that this is dishwasher safe! I find that it doesn't need washing all that often but it is super easy to clean then it does.
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Eating slower
by Heather (5 out of 5 stars)
February 27, 2013

We have 2 cats who were eating like they were starving all day and bothering us to death when their food bowl was empty. One of them is getting large and the grain free food we feed them isn't cheap, so I bought this feeder hoping it would slow down their eating.

When we first set it up, the cats tried sticking their faces in the tubes. After a few minutes of letting them try themselves, I reached over and scooped a little bit out with a finger to show them how to get it out. It took the smarter cat less than 5 minutes to stick her paw in there, fish some out and start eating. She enjoyed it immediately. The heavier cat looked mortally offended. Even though she carefully watched her sister getting food out, she immediately demanded to go outside. When she next encountered it, she tried to bite the thing and drag it/dump it to no avail. In the end it took her about 8 hours before she started using her paws to fish the food out.

They both got very good at this very quickly. I'll will buy the set of taller tubes soon but I want to give them time to get really comfortable with the unit first. The heavier cat does get a bit grumpy sometimes where she never used to before (she really gobbled her food out of the old bowl), so I think she needs more time to adjust before we introduce more change. They both enjoy using this feeder though. Even the heavier cat has a little strut in her step after mastering her food.

At first, they seemed to be eating the same amount of food. But after a week, the amount started to slowly decrease. We've only had it for a week and a half which is not long enough to notice weight loss. They are definitely eating more slowly now, though, which is a much healthier behavior. The base feels very solid and my cats were unable to turn it over when they tried. In addition to the tubes, the base plate is textured so it 'grabs' some of the kibble. This offers another fun way for the cats to get the food that doesn't involve scooping. If you're concerned about scooped out food getting all over the floor, be sure to use some sort of mat underneath so it doesn't travel far. Our cats find all the kibbles so it's not been an issue, but it's something to consider. We were using a food scoop to fill their old bowl but it made a huge mess with this feeder. We now use one of the extra tubes to fill the others.

I'm very happy with this purchase and recommend it to any cat owner whose cat gobbles their food or who enjoys a challenge.
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Weight loss and stimulation! Great product for chubby cats
by AimeeP (5 out of 5 stars)
May 3, 2013

I have two 13lb 1yr old boys who were starting to get a little plumpy rapidly (they should be about 11/12lbs at this age). I wanted to control their weight gain before it got out of hand so I chose this feeder after researching cat behavior and the many feeding options to stimulate weight loss and challenge them mentally.

Numerous reasons why I love this:
1. I spend less on cat food now because they aren't gorging themselves.
2. They aren't gorging themselves so they stopped gaining weight and are even starting to lose a little (the vet will be happy!)
3. Easy to clean
4. They seem to have fun with it.
5. They throw up less. (sometimes they still gorge on the wet food but I control the portions and have learned how to slow them down by giving a little at a time)

When I first set it up, one of them was so in love with it he growled at his brother to leave him alone while he foraged for food. After a half-hour he got over it and shared. The can now both eat at the stimulo without issue.

They figured it out very quickly, fortunately (and sometimes unfortunately) I have very smart cats.

I did buy the longer tubes because I know mine will advance quickly, but I was premature with that purchase, they are still on the original tubes that the feeder comes with. I've had it about a month now.

They have not knocked it over, but they do push it out into the middle of the floor. Yes cat food scatters more often than it did with the bowl, but its easy to clean up and a small price to pay for my cats health and happiness.

The boys are now down to 12.5lbs and the weight loss has been slow and steady. The more active cat is starting to lose his jiggle belly and the other just needs some exercise!

They are big cats to begin with, most likely will top off around 13-14lbs once full grown. But if I can help them stay lean and healthy I will. And I really belive the Stimulo will help with that.

I'm also trying to get my mom to buy it for her cats, she has one of a healthy weight and the other is almost 20lbs, he should weigh around 11!

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