Does your cat often wake you in the middle of the night? Is your tabby looking a little tubby?
Or, does your cat often devour their food to only vomit it back up a few minutes later?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you need to try the Indoor Hunting Feeder by Doc & Phoebe’s Cat Co.!
It is in every cat’s nature to hunt. Whether they are domesticated or feral, a rescue or from a breeder, all cats have a killer instinct in their genes. As obligate carnivores – meaning, they NEED to eat meat – cats in the wild must be good hunters to catch their prey and provide themselves with the nutrients they need to survive. Eating meat provides them with amino acids, taurine, vitamins, and quality fats that are simply not attainable from eating vegetables or carbohydrates. As sweet and fluffy as your cat might seem, the little purr-machine that curls up beside you on the couch every night is an expert killer, whether or not they have ever been able to hunt!
When a cat hunts, it triggers pleasure centres in their brain that excite them and make them happy. The desire and skill to hunt in your cat is why it is so important for cats to have interactive toys to play with. These toys mimic the movements of prey in the wild and can give your cat the satisfaction of ‘the kill’ when they catch and bite the toy. This same desire and skill is also why the traditional method of bowl feeding your cat is not ideal, whether they are free-fed or fed at set times throughout the day.
Cats want to work for their food. Their hunting instincts make it fun to climb, explore, and track down their meals. Always having their food waiting in a bowl ready to be eaten doesn’t stimulate their hunting instincts; it is simply too easy. In addition, cats’ stomachs are approximately the size of a ping pong ball. The amount of food that is served to them in a bowl is often more than the size of their stomach, which is why some cats will often vomit after dinnertime. They eat more than their bellies can handle and leave nowhere for the food to go except back out their mouths and onto your floor.
Bowl fed cats are often overweight, wake their owners in the middle of the night, and/or act out. These symptoms can be helped by allowing your cat to exercise their instinct to hunt by feeding them differently. Doc & Phoebe’s Cat Co. has designed the Indoor Hunting Feeder to allow you to feed your cat kibble and treats in a way that mimics the way cats hunt for their food. Each one of the five mice store a fifth of the recommended daily amount of food for the average 10lb cat, and have small dispensing holes for your cat to get the food out. By scattering these mice around your home in different hiding places, your cat will hunt each one of them down, getting daily exercise, portion controlled meals, mental stimulation, entertainment, and satisfying their killer instinct!
A hunting cat is a happy cat, and a happy cat is a well-behaved cat. Consider switching from bowl feeding to an Indoor Hunting Kit and feed your favourite feline as close as possible to the way that nature intended.