Doc & Phoebe's Cat Co. Indoor Hunting Cat Feeder Kit

Before I ordered this kit, I read a review that mentioned it might be good for a kitten or young cat to be trained early on this system but maybe not for an older cat. I can see this. My cat is 2 1/2 years old and I adopted her several months ago from a shelter. She had multiple owners and was abused. The shelter said she weighted four pounds and had muscle loss when they took her in. Clearly prior owners did not feed her (one of many abuses). I believe she has PTSD and she panicked (racing around the kitchen and meowing) when I took away her dishes and left these mice. She would not eat from them (treats). Plus I give her canned wet and dry food. The concept and kit is nice, I just Before I ordered this kit, I read a review that mentioned it might be good for a kitten or young cat to be trained early on this system but maybe not for an older cat. I can see this. My cat is 2 1/2 years old and I adopted her several months ago from a shelter. She had multiple owners and was abused. The shelter said she weighted four pounds and had muscle loss when they took her in. Clearly prior owners did not feed her (one of many abuses). I believe she has PTSD and she panicked (racing around the kitchen and meowing) when I took away her dishes and left these mice. She would not eat from them (treats). Plus I give her canned wet and dry food. The concept and kit is nice, I just don't think it's good for my rescue cat at this time. … more

My younger male cat who gets zoomies several times a day and has a very curious personality loves these a lot. He caught on to the trick super fast and I notched the opening down to the smallest setting within a couple of days. My older (4 years) cat doesn't care about them at all. She cries for me to put her food in a nice easy bowl. But I still think it's good for her to have a challenge, so I'll leave it for a while and give her whatever is left over in her bowl at the end of the day to make sure she's eating enough.

These mice have been great for my lazy cat! Pico needed to shed some pounds, and no matter how many different toys I got her, I could never keep her active enough. Even with the Hill's Weight Management food, I could not get her to lose weight. Enter Doc & Phoebe! She took to the mice really fast. On the first day, i removed the plastic holder inside so she can easily find the food, never used the trainer. By the second, I used the plastic insert and she still managed to find them! The food I use is kind of chunky so sometimes there's a few kibbles left over in there, so I wish they were a touch wider to make sure my cat eats all her food. My mice do not look like the ones in the picture though These mice have been great for my lazy cat! Pico needed to shed some pounds, and no matter how many different toys I got her, I could never keep her active enough. Even with the Hill's Weight Management food, I could not get her to lose weight. Enter Doc & Phoebe! She took to the mice really fast. On the first day, i removed the plastic holder inside so she can easily find the food, never used the trainer. By the second, I used the plastic insert and she still managed to find them! The food I use is kind of chunky so sometimes there's a few kibbles left over in there, so I wish they were a touch wider to make sure my cat eats all her food. My mice do not look like the ones in the picture though. The opening I have is one long oval opening … more

We were looking for some puzzle/hunting toys for our cats, and this one is okay. They play with it a little, but aren't super interested. It's all trial and error with cats. We are going to keep using it, because they do play with it sometimes. You can adjust the opening size, which is nice, so if you want to make it easy for them to get the treats or food out, you can do so.

Got this for my borderline obese kitty that needs a little more activity in her life with added obstacles to get food. She's not a scavenger but she's SUPER smart. Didn't need the trainer capsule. We have it set to the smallest opening that will still allow food to come out. It's been about 2 weeks since we introduced this to her. She's already ripped apart 2 of 3mice. But! She is having fun, moving around more, and has lost a wee bit of weight.

My cat was a stray I took in about 4 years ago. He always ate quickly and promptly threw it back up in the morning, so I've always had to feed him in small portions throughout the day. Recently he's become quite the scavenger by jumping in the sink and going through the trash, which he still does. However, this feeding mechanism really helps him slow down his eating, he's even chewing the kibbles now! The product looks only slightly different from what's pictured here... those look more like the trainer (the blue one without the mousey jacket). They actually have an adjustable lever that determines how much food is dispensed. When I have it on the smallest setting he gets about one-two kibbles My cat was a stray I took in about 4 years ago. He always ate quickly and promptly threw it back up in the morning, so I've always had to feed him in small portions throughout the day. Recently he's become quite the scavenger by jumping in the sink and going through the trash, which he still does. However, this feeding mechanism really helps him slow down his eating, he's even chewing the kibbles now! The product looks only slightly different from what's pictured here... those look more like the trainer (the blue one without the mousey jacket). They actually have an adjustable lever that determines how much food is dispensed. When I have it on the smallest setting he gets about one-two kibbles at a time--for size reference I feed him Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon. He has gotten a little bored of them lately (it's been about two weeks since we started using them) and sometimes some kibbles get left behind, but usually if we drop a few on the ground to remind him he'll nudge it around and eat from it. … more

I bought two sets as replacements for two sets which needed to be retired. The cats destroyed the sleeves and the dog got to the plastic insides. I've been using the originals for over a year and my cats love puzzles and ball feeders. Unfortunately the new design only has one adjustable opening rather than two open holes so it behaves differently. I can see how the new adjustable design could work for better for some pets and some food but my cats don't care for it--I think because not as much food comes out at once even when all the way open. They used to play until the toys are empty and now they use them but lose interest before they are empty. I thought I knew what I was getting and would I bought two sets as replacements for two sets which needed to be retired. The cats destroyed the sleeves and the dog got to the plastic insides. I've been using the originals for over a year and my cats love puzzles and ball feeders. Unfortunately the new design only has one adjustable opening rather than two open holes so it behaves differently. I can see how the new adjustable design could work for better for some pets and some food but my cats don't care for it--I think because not as much food comes out at once even when all the way open. They used to play until the toys are empty and now they use them but lose interest before they are empty. I thought I knew what I was getting and would receive the style shown in the photos so I didn't read the reviews. Now I see other mentions of the toys not matching the images. May cats love puzzles so hopefully they will get used to these but in the meantime I am primarily using the "trainer" from these sets an I snapped up two packs of the older style from another seller who confirmed they had old stock. … more

These are ok. My cat is 12lbs and they seem a bit too big even for him. We use lots of puzzle toys for him but these seem to be his least favorite, though if there is food in there he’ll deal with it. They are just altogether bulky and the outer fabric is not appealing (at least to my cat). Burlap or something less smooth may have been more suitable. “Filling them up” would result in over feeding for an indoor cat, because they are so large.

I have 3 cats. One fat. I just put some food in the mouse and let him work on it. He’s smart and understands how to get the food out. I limit what I put in & plan to start hiding his mouse soon. The other 2 are stupid. After 2 weeks, I still have to turn the mice over! Soon I’ll quit helping them, but if they don’t eat enough I have cat fights. Won’t ever be able to hide theirs because ‘Fat Cat’ would eat everyone’s. One mouse has just big holes, so that one is easier. Really great for my situation. My 2 dummies will get better. Be sure to put plastic container in mouse with bigger end forward.

Ok, I thought this would be fun but I have a few things I don't like about it. I do no find the directions very helpful. They are sort of thin and unfortunately, I wasn't that intuitive about how things work. Also, these are not little mice, in my opinion, they are the size of a small rat or at least a large hamster or small guinea pig. I don't even know what the extra oval thing is with the multiple holes is for. However, I loaded it with my cats food and even placed it right in front of them and there is zero attraction. They don't even care about the food inside. I guess my cats have no natural instinct to hunt for a fake mouse because I can tell you they have gotten live mice before Ok, I thought this would be fun but I have a few things I don't like about it. I do no find the directions very helpful. They are sort of thin and unfortunately, I wasn't that intuitive about how things work. Also, these are not little mice, in my opinion, they are the size of a small rat or at least a large hamster or small guinea pig. I don't even know what the extra oval thing is with the multiple holes is for. However, I loaded it with my cats food and even placed it right in front of them and there is zero attraction. They don't even care about the food inside. I guess my cats have no natural instinct to hunt for a fake mouse because I can tell you they have gotten live mice before and we usually only find the head later....and that is in the rare instance they get a mouse. I'd save your money. The Dollar Store has better things to keep you cat entertained. … more