Thursday, January 01, 2015

That didn't work as planned.

House cats are ambush predators who thrive on a certain amount of intellectual stimulation and the occasional bout of physical play. Toward this end, Bobbi acquired a cat toy that is a sort of treat dispenser maze where they have to use their little cat brains and a bit of physical effort to get the treat out.

Each level has little portals the cat can reach through to paw at the treat, and adjustable apertures leading to the level below. If you're a cat, you reach in with your furry little mitt, bat the kibble chunk through the hole to the next level down (which can be made larger if you're a special cat that uses the short litter box) and repeat until the treat is dispensed into the trough at the bottom.

Rannie enjoyed fishing through the portals for kibble immensely.

The problem is that Huck played at that for a bit until he realized that he was large enough to rear up and stick his head through the opening on the top. While he was snorfling the food through that portal, the wiggling of the whole apparatus caused a couple treats to be dispensed. After gobbling those, Huck gave the whole thing another experimental shove, which dispensed a couple more. Then he just knocked the contraption on its side, causing it to spill treats like a burst piƱata.

Clearly it will need to be affixed to a broader and heavier base, and possibly a lid will need to be jury-rigged.
.