Trixie Mad Scientist Turn Around Interactive Cat Toy

My two would do anything for food. So I figure if I starve them enough(joke, like that would happen) they will make the effort to find out how it works. The reason I gave it 5 stars is because it has been fun for me to try to teach them. I really didn't know they were so dense. I thought they were smart. After all, they know how to sit up. But then that is when I have food dangled above them. I have laid the Scientist on its side so they can reach it. It is propped up so the cylinders turn. I knock them around(the cylinders not the cats), pile treats on top & encourage the kitties to try it too. I know once they get that FOOD comes out when they hit it harder, they will have fun with it My two would do anything for food. So I figure if I starve them enough(joke, like that would happen) they will make the effort to find out how it works. The reason I gave it 5 stars is because it has been fun for me to try to teach them. I really didn't know they were so dense. I thought they were smart. After all, they know how to sit up. But then that is when I have food dangled above them. I have laid the Scientist on its side so they can reach it. It is propped up so the cylinders turn. I knock them around(the cylinders not the cats), pile treats on top & encourage the kitties to try it too. I know once they get that FOOD comes out when they hit it harder, they will have fun with it. But if your kitties are on the dull side and you don't have time to just enjoy teaching them they might not get it. It has been several weeks now for my two; they still haven't figured out that they can get treats on their own. … more

The directions say to start with one beaker...we've had this puzzle only a few weeks so we haven't increased yet. Harambe loves to eat food out of the pegs at the bottom! Trixie definitely keeps her from getting bored.

my cats love this and so do I. it keeps them occupied and thinking. it's fun to watch them. interactive toys are very important for cats. I highly recommend this toy.

We got this for our 3 1/2-year-old calico who loves her treats. She loves them too much. Other interactive treat feeders were way too easy for her and she abused them. She'd clean out the treats in a matter of an hour or so. I was concerned that she wouldn't be able to figure this one out but I wanted to try it. Assembly was easy enough. There are 6 screw on caps for the tubes. 3 with a wide, single hole and 3 with 3 smaller holes. I started with all three difficult holes. Within about an hour or so, she figured out you have to spin them but the three-holed covers were too difficult. I swapped them out for the single holed covers. She still struggles a bit in getting the right We got this for our 3 1/2-year-old calico who loves her treats. She loves them too much. Other interactive treat feeders were way too easy for her and she abused them. She'd clean out the treats in a matter of an hour or so. I was concerned that she wouldn't be able to figure this one out but I wanted to try it. Assembly was easy enough. There are 6 screw on caps for the tubes. 3 with a wide, single hole and 3 with 3 smaller holes. I started with all three difficult holes. Within about an hour or so, she figured out you have to spin them but the three-holed covers were too difficult. I swapped them out for the single holed covers. She still struggles a bit in getting the right touch for the spin but she gets the treats out on her own. On the base of the unit are tall pegs (2 inches maybe) that once the treat falls down, she has to work it through the pegs to get it. She uses it just fine now and it's not easy for her to abuse the treat privilege. We use Temptations treats in it and they come out of the 3 holed covers just fine. … more

I purchased this interactive toy at the recommendation of the shelter we adopted out kitten from. He's 9 months old now and keeping us up at night despite never having fed him at night in the 5 months we've had him. Our cat does not like cat treats, and since our vet prefers he be fed an all wet food diet, I decided this would be a great way for him to "work" for the little bit of dry food he gets a day. We've had this toy out for a week and he has no interest. I've shown him how to use it. He watches while I put the dry food in every morning. He watches when I dump it out at night. I've tried with and without the easy lids. I leave a few pieces of kibble in the bottom between the spikes before I purchased this interactive toy at the recommendation of the shelter we adopted out kitten from. He's 9 months old now and keeping us up at night despite never having fed him at night in the 5 months we've had him. Our cat does not like cat treats, and since our vet prefers he be fed an all wet food diet, I decided this would be a great way for him to "work" for the little bit of dry food he gets a day. We've had this toy out for a week and he has no interest. I've shown him how to use it. He watches while I put the dry food in every morning. He watches when I dump it out at night. I've tried with and without the easy lids. I leave a few pieces of kibble in the bottom between the spikes before I leave, and he has yet to move a single piece. I don't know if my cat is just not intelligent enough for this toy, or too lazy. I'm going to keep trying to get him to use this toy, but it has not helped our home life with our cat. He's still a jerk who is always hungry and wakes us up at night with his pouncing. The product itself was easy to assemble and seems pretty sturdy. They weren't instructions. The screws are included in the bag with the tops. I put ours on a cookie sheet that has a lip to prevent the cat from playing kibble hockey all over the kitchen. … more

My cat is rather intelligent so durability is a huge issue. He's already pulled it down and pulled the stands out of their holes multiple times. It's not something I could give him while I'm at work. I'd give 5 stars if it was more durable. I should only have to put the stands in their holes once and then really have to pull at it for them to come out. Also, I actually completely skipped the recommended initial set up (1 tube with no lid) and went straight for 3 tubes with all lids. I showed my cat how to use it twice so it's not terribly hard for him but it does keep his brain busy for a good bit. I don't recommend skipping the initial setup unless you know your cat will get it quickly. Overall My cat is rather intelligent so durability is a huge issue. He's already pulled it down and pulled the stands out of their holes multiple times. It's not something I could give him while I'm at work. I'd give 5 stars if it was more durable. I should only have to put the stands in their holes once and then really have to pull at it for them to come out. Also, I actually completely skipped the recommended initial set up (1 tube with no lid) and went straight for 3 tubes with all lids. I showed my cat how to use it twice so it's not terribly hard for him but it does keep his brain busy for a good bit. I don't recommend skipping the initial setup unless you know your cat will get it quickly. Overall, if you don't mind having to supervise and fix it occasionally then this is a good food puzzle toy. It will be better for some cats than others. … more

I have two five-month old kitties who play constantly and love treats. Naturally, I thought this toy might be perfect for them. Unfortunately that isn't the case. First off, there was a screw missing from the box when we got it, although it wasn't a critical missing piece, it was annoying that it wasn't complete. Second of all, the slots in the little 3-holed caps that go on the tops of the vials are too small for Temptation treats, which are my cats' favorites. We tried the alternative caps, but those are so large that it's no challenge and the treats just dump out. Third, the toy tips over the second one of the cats gets a little too frisky with it, which is all the time. We ended up I have two five-month old kitties who play constantly and love treats. Naturally, I thought this toy might be perfect for them. Unfortunately that isn't the case. First off, there was a screw missing from the box when we got it, although it wasn't a critical missing piece, it was annoying that it wasn't complete. Second of all, the slots in the little 3-holed caps that go on the tops of the vials are too small for Temptation treats, which are my cats' favorites. We tried the alternative caps, but those are so large that it's no challenge and the treats just dump out. Third, the toy tips over the second one of the cats gets a little too frisky with it, which is all the time. We ended up having to put it away because the cats were knocking it over more than they were getting the treats to come out of the toy. Pretty sure we will be returning this one, as it wasn't that cheap. … more

This toy worked out great for 2 of our 3 cats. The smartest (and portliest!) one figured out almost immediately that if she pawed at the cylinders, treats would drop. She then enjoyed fishing them out of the "plinko" posts. After watching her for a while, cat 2 figured it out. She much prefers to obtain her treats from the base section. Poor cat 3 watches from afar with a quizzical look on her face. We just put her treats in front of her. This toy is easy to put together and sturdy, and I appreciate that it includes different lids to make the task more difficult. I really do think (most of) my cats prefer to work a little for their treats!

This one took me a few days to review because my cats had a very delayed reaction on this one. They stalked it for days. They sniffed around the treat containers and would whack the treat tumblers and then run. Then, yesterday morning they went crazy on it, and went back and played with it multiple times yesterday. My tabby sat by it and whined last night because it was empty. They really like digging around the little plastic spikes to get the treats. They pounce and paw around it but it doesn't fall over. Jury was out for a little while on this one but my cats fell in love with this toy.

Our cat loves to get into things, so to help keep him entertained, we give him his dry food in puzzles. This was a great addition. We showed him one time how to spin the jars and he immediately took off on his own. It's easy for him, but not too easy! It does occasionally tip over, but this is usually when the food is almost gone and he's getting rough with it anyway. It's solid, seems to be well made, and the base has good traction on a hardwood floor.