Northmate Catch Interactive Cat Feeder, Purple

I bought this because my cat kept throwing up soon after she finished eating her food and I realized it was because she was scarfing it down too quickly. This feeder is really nice because my cat has to scoop out the kibble one or two pieces at a time, so it really slows her down. She was quick to pick up how to use it. The only downside is that the little rubber pieces at the bottom don't do a very good job of holding the feeder in place, so it moves around quite a bit when my cat scoops out the kibble. I tried putting some command strips on the bottom to keep the feeder in place better, but the kibble would sometimes slide underneath the feeder, so I decided to take the command strips off so I bought this because my cat kept throwing up soon after she finished eating her food and I realized it was because she was scarfing it down too quickly. This feeder is really nice because my cat has to scoop out the kibble one or two pieces at a time, so it really slows her down. She was quick to pick up how to use it. The only downside is that the little rubber pieces at the bottom don't do a very good job of holding the feeder in place, so it moves around quite a bit when my cat scoops out the kibble. I tried putting some command strips on the bottom to keep the feeder in place better, but the kibble would sometimes slide underneath the feeder, so I decided to take the command strips off so that I could clean out the kibble that made it underneath. … more

I got this for my cat in hopes of slowing her down when eating - while she has not vomited from speed-eating she does rush her food and wolfs down dry food very quickly in a traditional dish. And this has definitely helped! Now she can only fish out a few kibbles at a time so it forces her to take time to eat. She both loves & hates this - sometimes she’ll sit there focused on getting out food until almost all is fished out, sometimes she will graze all day eating only a few bites at a time and glare at us judgmentally for making eating complicated. She is an average-to-larger cat and has no problems stepping into to dish to fish out the food on the far side by our kitchen counter, though she I got this for my cat in hopes of slowing her down when eating - while she has not vomited from speed-eating she does rush her food and wolfs down dry food very quickly in a traditional dish. And this has definitely helped! Now she can only fish out a few kibbles at a time so it forces her to take time to eat. She both loves & hates this - sometimes she’ll sit there focused on getting out food until almost all is fished out, sometimes she will graze all day eating only a few bites at a time and glare at us judgmentally for making eating complicated. She is an average-to-larger cat and has no problems stepping into to dish to fish out the food on the far side by our kitchen counter, though she does always leave this for last. As fir downsides: Like others, I have to agree that the rubber feet need to be better; it works fine on carpet, but slides around everywhere on a smooth floor which is annoying and a real trip hazard for humans at night (we now keep it in place with a loop on duct tape on the bottom). The feeder itself was definitely larger & stiffer than I was expecting, but these attributes made sense once I saw my cat using it. And because of the grab & scoop motion required to get the food from feeder to paw to mouth, my cat does fling a few stray kibbles out of the dish which need to be swept up if she doesn't polish them off later. Overall, definitely worth it for our food-driven calico cutie. … more

I had gotten this in an attempt to slow the eating habits of my one cat 1) to prevent chew and spew and 2) in hopes that this would slow him down and stop him from eating his sibling cat's food. Unfortunately, as large and hard as this was, all that it did was terrify my cat. The hard plastic slid across my floor and, the few times he did approach it because he smelt his food, he would merely feel the plastic spike, look at me, and "meow" in hunger. I feel something this large might be better for puppies.

My newer kitty was eating so fast she would regurgitate. She was mad at first that she had to work for her food, but she’s gotten the hang of it. I put mine on a silicone mat to control the mess. My other cat is a Maine coon mix and his paws are too big to use this.

My littlest, Loki, would gulp down his food (usually twice as much as his big sister) in under 4 minutes and go to harass Willow for her food because she's a slow eater. I got this for him to help him slow down and give Willow a chance to finish her food in peace. As soon as I put his food into it, he was going crazy!! It took him about 45+ minutes to finish his meal the first time, but it's been a few days later and he's got it down. To my surprise, Willow's taken to it too! She'll come by this feeder when he's not there and left a few bits of kibble to try her hand at it. She got it a bit quicker than he did, but she seems interested in it too. I might get her one as well just to keep her My littlest, Loki, would gulp down his food (usually twice as much as his big sister) in under 4 minutes and go to harass Willow for her food because she's a slow eater. I got this for him to help him slow down and give Willow a chance to finish her food in peace. As soon as I put his food into it, he was going crazy!! It took him about 45+ minutes to finish his meal the first time, but it's been a few days later and he's got it down. To my surprise, Willow's taken to it too! She'll come by this feeder when he's not there and left a few bits of kibble to try her hand at it. She got it a bit quicker than he did, but she seems interested in it too. I might get her one as well just to keep her entertained. I would mark it 5 out of 5 but it does not have a good grip on smooth surfaces. Your cat will move it around a lot trying to get to food out. I've had the best luck on carpet. I'm not sure if you put it on a small cloth placemat if it would have the same success. It definitely needs better grips on the bottoms to help prevent slipping. … more

The spikes are too high for a cat. My cats refused to use this. I think this might be nice for a larger dog though. Item itself is sturdy and well made otherwise.

The spikes are taller than I assumed they would be and they are solid hard plastic. My cats don't/won't use it and I can't blame them, it's pretty scary. I've tried to show them with their paw to scoop out some food but they still avoid it....to save an eye I can only guess. They'd starve I think before they'd attempt this.

I have a siamese baby who loves to scarf her food and then immediately throw it back up. This product forces her to pick food out one piece at a time. She's been transformed into a dainty lady. If you have a cat who eats waaaay too fast, I highly recommend trying this.

I put our cats into a large dog crate each night for bed, and this thing is perfect for bribing them in with Greenies hairball treats mixed with some kibble. It's not super hard for them to get the food, but it slows them down enough to get cat number two in before closing the door for the night.

I bought this for my cat to help combat scarf-n-barf. It did that, but he had trouble getting the food out without dragging the thing all over the place. Does not stay in place on wood or laminate flooring. If the food got 1/2 eaten or even the slightest bit damp it would stick to the thing. Once we got our dog, we had to move Toulouse's food to the tabletop anyway, the dog got her tongue right down in these grooves and gobbled it all up. I might recommend this product for a kitten or young cat. No idea how to keep it in place save taping it to the floor.