TRIXIE Fun Board XXL Interactive Cat Toy for Large Cats, Enrichment Toys for Indoor Cats, Treat Puzzle Interactive Play and Mental Stimulation

This product is wonderful! Recently my vet told me to put my cat, Precious, on a diet. Well, she's been driving me nuts begging for more food. She's also older and is sleeping more than she used to (she's about 9) and I've been wanting her to get a little more active. I tried a feeding ball, but she figured it out quickly and empties it in a couple of minutes (still a good starting point, but I needed to prolong the feeding time to cut down on begging). I kept researching other food puzzles, but I really liked that this has 5 puzzles and seemed the most creative. I've had this product for about a week. The price is steep, but worth it. High quality, doesn't seem likely to break easy, fairly heavy too. I was worried my cat would tip it or something by standing on it, but the puzzle is sturdy and has stood up well to her 11 and a half lbs. Her paws also fit inside each puzzle even thogh she's chunky. She hasn't been able to get at the treats by "cheating" with her mouth either on 4 of the puzzles. Most are meant for your cat to use her paw, hearing and sense of smell to get the treats off the board, one is for cat to lap up liquid treats.As for puzzle itself, here's the deal with each of the 5 puzzles:1. Alley: This is a round tunnel deep enough when you hide treats my cat has to stretch her paw far inside to get the treats in the middle. She really likes the alley and runs from side to side with her tail quivering as if she's hunting as she searches for treats.2. Liquid treats: This is the blocks on top of the alley. It's meant for liquid treats so your cat has to lick them up, but from the instruction book it's not as easy as normal since they're smaller square blocks. Also supposed to be good for blind or disabled pets. I don't have any liquid treats to interest my cat yet, so she hasn't tried this one yet.3. Waves: This is the first one my cat figured out. Pretty simply, all she has to do is one or two paw swipes down the middle and she gets the treats. Once she solved this one she was much more interested in the puzzle so I'm glad there's a fairly straightforward puzzle.4. Pegs: this is difficult and my cat hasn't finished figuring it out yet. You put treats in among the pegs, and they're set up so your cat has to do multiple paw swipes to get the treats out from the board. She's pretty good if you make the puzzle simpler by putting the treats near the edge of the puzzle board, but has trouble with the ones in the center. She did solve it last night and ate all the treats on the peg board, so she seems to be catching on.5. Globes: This is the hardest one, and my cat's still working on it. Precious has to put her paw into the globe, feel for a treat, and scoop it out of the globe and onto the floor so she can eat it. She's had a few successes, but still having some trouble.Pros:5 puzzles in one platform, each differing in difficulty. Difficulty also adjusted by placing food nearer to edge or further away. I divide up her hard food so she gets some food throughout the day until I'm home and can feed her. When I'm home my cat plays and snacks on a few kibbles, then wanders away seeming satisfied. My cat doesn't beg anymore and she's more active when I watch her play and get treats. She seems to be enjoying herself too.Disadvantages:The price is very expensive for a cat toy. on the other hand, the quality is good so I don't feel cheated. Since 5 puzzles involved price works out to be reasonable for each seperate puzzle. Also the board is a little bulky in my small apartment. Size about 12''x14 1/2'' (not huge, but my place is small.

I absolutely love this product, and I wish I would have found it sooner. My kitties are currently on a diet, and they were getting fed twice a day. They would all scarf down their food, sometimes too fast and they would throw it up (not good for them or me!) I ordered this initially as a treat feeder, but quickly changed it to my cats' permanent feeder. Although they still get fed twice a day, this feeder makes them work for their food, slowing them down so they can't inhale their food. Additionally, even though the amount of food that I give them has not changed, there is frequently food left over when it is time for the next feeding. I think that this indicates that they only eat what they really need, because they are too lazy to work for more food than they are hungry for.The center has 4 sections (well 5 if you count under the arch). I have found that there are really only 2 sections that make my cats work for their food. Going from the picture, on the far left is the arch. On top of the arch there are little sections that can fit several pieces of food, but a couple of my cats can eat them right out of the sections, which defeats the point of making them work for their food. The next section is a set of wavy dividers. My cats quickly figured out that they can take their paw and pull back all of the kibbles in a wave divider, and then eat a bunch at a time, again defeating the point. The next section is full of vertical fingers. This is one of the sections that I put their food in. They have to use their paws and they can only get a couple kibbles at a time, which serves my purpose of slowing them down and making them work for their food. The final section is 4 bubbles with holes at the top. I also put their food in this section. They can use their paws to scrape out a couple kibbles at a time.All of my cats (6) quickly learned to use each section of this, although they tend to have their favorite sections. I know this is anthropomorphizing, but I really think they have to concentrate and think when they get the kibble out, and they seem to enjoy the challenge. Since purchasing this, I have gotten several other thinking food puzzles for them, but this remains my favorite that all of my cats can do. Some of them are too complicated for some of my less gifted kitties, but all of them can do the activity center, which makes it a great feeder. I also love that it can be thrown in the dishwasher!Even though I am not using it for what I thought I would when I bought it, I like it even more using it this way, My kitties have only been on a diet for a couple of months, and some of them still have a ways to go, but using this eliminates the begging because they can get the food when they want it, but it makes it hard for them to overeat. The ONLY bad side to this is that it is plastic, and I have heard that it is not good to feed animals from plastic (though I am not sure exactly why). Perhaps chemicals from the plastic?If you are looking for something to challenge your cats, or just something to help put them on a diet, give this a try!

The media could not be loaded. My very smart, food-motivated senior took to this immediately. Within 3 days, he was eating dry food along with treats from every puzzle. Within a week, he would sit by it and stare at me, his way of asking to play some more. My younger play-motivated cat is not as bright and has only taken to the tunnel, with lots of encouragement. The board is very sturdy, does not seem like it will break easily. Also easy to wash. I keep it on a rug but the weight and rubber feet would keep it from sliding on tile/wood floor too. The only things I don’t like 1) I wish some of the rigid plastic pieces were made of or coated in silicone, because sometimes my senior bites the prongs and I worry about him injuring his mouth. 2) the tunnel has thin vertical supports inside that their claws get caught on. I’m sure this helps with structure but again, I worry about injury. I would not let cats play unattended. If your cat doesn’t take to it right away, push the treats into an easy to reach spot/make sure they get a reward for trying to encourage more play. It didn’t take mine long to make a positive association with it. Overall, I would recommend this if your cat gets bored or needs a challenge to slow down overeating.