As any cat owner knows, our feline friends love to eat. However, serving up the same dry or canned cat food in the same bowl day after day gets rather dull for both pet and owner. When it comes to your cherished indoor cat, it’s understandable to want to spoil them a bit with their meals. Luckily, there are all sorts of inventive ways to turn cat feeding time into a mentally stimulating, fun activity for your kitty.

When developing creative feeding techniques, it’s still important to choose a nutritionally balanced cat food as the foundation. Select high-quality commercial diets designed specifically for indoor cats, which have appropriately calibrated levels of calories, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Top-rated dry and wet foods catered to indoor felines support complete nutrition while avoiding obesity.

Food puzzles 

Instead of dumping kibble in a bowl, activate your cat’s natural hunting instincts by investing in puzzle feeders or DIY contraptions that require effort to access the food. Puzzle feeders with varying difficulty settings, compartments, sliders, rolls, and maze-like designs provide mental stimulation along with physical activity to earn treats or meals. These keep cats happily occupied for hours, plus tap into their innate skills. You also make homemade puzzles, such as placing dry food in an empty toilet paper roll with the ends folded over or inside an egg carton so your cat has to nose around a bit to access the goods. Stuffing a few pieces of kibble into a paper bag gives them an audible reward as they paw the bag around to get it out. Empty cardboard boxes with a few holes cut make great hiding spaces too. Unlock your imagination to create engaging food puzzles!

Interactive toys

Interactive wands and other motor skill-promoting toys take regular playtime up a notch while allowing you to bond with kitty. Toys you whip, dangle, drag, or control remotely inspire cats to run, pounce, leap, and chase – ultimately working up an appetite. Try swirling a lure wand with a treat clipped on the end around the room before feeding time, or invest in battery-powered electronic toys you guide from afar as your cat hunts them down. Not only does such interactive play provide fitness, but it also taps into their natural prey drive. Afterward, your winded but pleased kitty will be ready to refuel!  For more details, visit here best cat food for indoor cats.

Elevated dining

Cats like being up high, and able to survey their territory in comfort and safety. Take advantage of this instinct by serving meals on a raised cat café feeder, windowsill perch, or DIY elevated platform or cat condo. Sitting pretty while noshing makes dining more dignified and enjoyable. Investing in auto cat feeders that have food compartments raised off the floor provides a similar uplifted eating experience in one convenient machine. These feeders allow programming portioned meals throughout the day or even fine-tuning them to your pet’s microchip. Hiding tasty kitty treats around the house for seeking or following a “treat trail” turns snacking into a game and makes cats use their senses. Start by showing them the first treat in the trail to get them going. Simply pair treat time with mental stimulation by sending cats on the hunt.