PetSafe Egg-Cersizer Interactive Cat Slow Feeder Toy

I don't free-feed my cats, they get a can of wet food each. One of my cats had decided this is not enough, and bothers me all day to be fed. She is, indeed, on a diet, because she got a bit porky. With this ball filled with Purena Weight Control (tiny pieces, perfect for "hardest" setting) and a few bits of bigger food that doesn't fit through the holes (to make it harder, and to make sure it's never completely empty, so they never give up on it) she can play all day, and never eat more then half the recommended portion, which is prolly even fewer calories then she spends batting the thing around trying to get foods. It's a great addition to the wet food I give, as one can doesn't offer *quite* enough calories for a cat of her size, nor, in the case of my other cat, enough calories for his activity level. With this, it's occupying all day, reduces the urgency of getting the next meal, and rounds off the calorie count nicely. And for a very reasonable spend. My cats love this thing enough that I have no choice but to buy at least 2 more (1 for each cat +1, same rule as litter boxes :D ) but it really keeps them from being destructive and obnoxious when they are bored and/or want food. I doubt this will work for people who allow their cat to eat whatever/whenever or who frequently give treats/scraps, as those are full of way more flavors and, in the case of treats, chemicals, which makes them more appealing... If, however, you don't free-feed, if you wet feed or portion control, even if you don't use this toy as a meal server, it's great to keep idle paws busy It's easy to switch settings, although I honestly think it's a bit too easy, even on the hard setting -being that it's intended for meals, not treats, though, this is a very very small complaint, and not even a big deal. It holds about maybe a cup of food at a time, and the holes get down to about 1/4 inch across or so, and are shaped like this --> () so you don't need round food, round-ish flattened foods are good, but X shaped or larger foods are no good, they catch too easily. For a treat ball, there are a few round ones with a single hole that look much harder then this (also on Amazon, in several colors -I ordered a few, and will be reviewing them when they get here ^_^), but it does what it says, my cats love it, and it certainly keeps them occupied

After a visit to the veterinarian, it became clear that my kitty needed both diet and exercise. A minor, but useful, aid presented itself in the PetSafe Egg-Cersizer Meal Dispensing Cat Toy. The Egg-Cersizer is, evidently, an egg-shaped toy that can be filled with food pellets. It consists of two halves. The top portion can be broken down into two parts: an outer layer with three quarter-sized, fixed openings, and an inner, movable layer with five openings. By adjusting the inner layer with the dial at the top, you change how much the openings in the two layers overlap. In other words, you can change up how a) how many openings you use at a time (max 3), and b) how large/small to make them. I started off using three openings at half-size, just to acclimate my cat to the new method of feeding. Once she got the hand of it, I adjusted it down to two openings, then one. After a month or so, I started using one opening at the smallest setting that will still allow pellets to come out. The egg itself can be filled in two ways. As started earlier, the egg unscrews into two parts. Method one involves turning the top of the larger portion to close up all of the openings, filling it with cat food, and screwing the bottom back in place. Note that you will need to set the bottom in place, then turn the egg sideways to let some food fall into the base. This will give you the "wiggle room" to screw the egg together. Otherwise, the food won't leave you space to easily move the two parts. The second method of filling the egg involves pushing food in from the bottom of the assembled egg. The flanges at the bottom prevent it from popping back out again. I usually use the first method to fill the egg, and the second to "top off" prior to an overnight trip. The toy holds about half of a cup of food, loosely packed. Six months from her last visit to the vet, my cat has shaved off roughly a pound. While I can't say for sure how much the egg contributed, I will say that it's gotten her to work a little harder for her dinner. She tends to eat the food pellets as soon as they hit the floor. If you're worried about sanitation, you can set it up where you have tile or hardwood. The real drawback of this egg is that it has a tendency to migrate. My cat tends to mew plaintively at me whenever it's empty, but after leading me to the correct room, I have to hunt around furniture (and these days, moving boxes) to find out where it went. Overall, though, I still find it several dollars well spent. alice[unblocked]

The cats really enjoy this toy. The vet recently expressed concern regarding their weights as they age. She gave us lots of good ideas, which we already do (feed controlled portions of high-quality food in separate bowls and on a schedule, put food/water and litter boxes on different levels of the house to encourage more stair walking, play with them every day, etc.). Despite consuming a relatively low number of calories of prescription food every day, the cats were continuing to gain weight. As they get older, they really just like to do a lot of "sunning" and napping. One way to get them moving is to encourage them to "work" for their food. The vet initially recommended the little toy mice that you can put kibble in. I googled those, and they are like $40 for a set of 5 or 6 (and each of the three cats would need their own "set"). Before investing that amount, I googled other options and bought this contraption. Similar idea, that the cat has to work to get the food out. This one just doesn't have the "hiding" component of the mouse toy/feeder. One of our cats is pretty persistent in rolling this around to get food out. One of the cats sort of has it figured out, but tends to give up easily (which tells me that he doesn't really NEED that extra food). And the other one is our only cat who is not overweight, and she could really care less about this device. (She's 17, so she doesn't expend a lot of extra energy on anything other than trying to sneak out the front door.) So I think this has been pretty effective in reducing the over-eating by the less-intelligent/less-persistent cat and making the other cat at least work for his extra food. Both cats are down almost a half pound since we implemented this toy, along with the food tree feeder, just a few weeks ago. Note: the kibble size adjustments have been very useful as we switch between two foods that we provide in this toy.

I got frustrated early on and couldn't understand how this had so many good reviews. However, as per the instructions, with a little time and dedication I got my kitten to start using this and she seemed to enjoy it. HOWEVER... * It takes a little patience to get a kitty to use it. The instructions have several steps and if you're looking to just fill it and go it's probably not going to work. * It doesn't roll great on carpets. It took a while to realize that in trying to get her to start using it I had to put it on a hard surface where it rolled easier. Once she got the hang she could use it on the carpet but didn't seem to have as much fun. Which is a big problem because... * It is noisy. If you're planning to use it while you're at work or in a larger house away from the kitty that'd be fine, but in a smaller apartment I could hear her playing with it with my bedroom door shut * There are too many openings. I had to set it very tight before most of the food wasn't all coming out at once. * I swear it taught her to eat things off the floor, but that's just my silly theory. :P For me, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, but as outlined above, if you're using it while you're at work and/or have more space it'd probably be a good fit for you and your kitty pal!

I have 2 cats. One is a glutton and the other is a puker. The glutton got really overweight and was unable to clean herself properly. I had to give her bathes to help her. The person I live with would feed her every time she meowed at them begging for food even though she was not starved and it was terrible for her. Before this I tried using a scheduled portion controlled automatic feeder for my cats to get them to stop begging people and told people to not feed them at all anymore. Sadly people continued feeding them so it really did not work out and that was a lot of money down the drain for me. Very frustrating! The puker would eat too fast and later throw up some food. Not often but it happened more than I want it to because I don't want it to happen AT ALL. As a result of this toy... My glutton has lost enough weight in one months time to be able to clean herself. Yay! She must have lost 1lb at least!? I didn't weigh her so I don't know but you can visibly see it regardless. I did supplement this with playing with her more as well so probably not all credit goes to the toy but it has definitely LARGELY contributed. My puker no longer throws up! Double yay! Some people just simply do not understand how this toy works so if you're considering it, please don't be discouraged by the people who think it doesn't work. Let me just clarify something... If you twist the settings at the top so that each hole is less than about a quarter inch open.... Your cat will have to work for it. The food does not just fall out. However, if you completely open one hole on the thing then obviously food is just going to fall out... It shouldn't be hard to figure out but for some, it is. My cat gets at most 3-4 kibbles to drop out of it in a single bat. That's being generous. Normally it's just 1-2. The kibble I feed my cats are very small as well. So they really have to keep batting the toy to get a full meal which is better than just scarfing it down out of a bowl which is effortless and requires no energy at all and contributes to eating too fast and/or gaining weight. And because it takes time for them to get a meals worth, they eat slower which is healthier for a puker. Because it requires work, THEY STOP either because it's empty or because they are no longer hungry enough to keep playing with it! This is good. Especially for a beggar. They can simply come back to the toy later when they're hungry enough to play with it again and work their food out. My cat took some time to get used to the new system but now she doesn't beg me for food unless the toy is empty so it really does help throughout the day if she isn't pestering me or people I live with for food because she ate it all at once. It's also very very easy to wash and clean! I don't think I'd trust it in the dishwasher even on the top rack... I'd suggest giving it a good scrub with soap and water by hand and letting it air dry. Literally the only con to this toy... I should have gotten 2. That way I only have to fill each one up once a day and each cat would have their own. My cats did develop some behavioral issues towards each other because they were forced to share. My puker is part feral and has always had attitude. She has attacked my glutton in frustration. Nothing damaging but enough to get the point across that she doesn't want to share lol. But I just ordered a second one so that issue will be mended soon. I highly suggest this toy for overweight cats! It's SO good!

1 star, because my cat hates the shaking noise of the dry treats in it. It will not touch it nor come near that toy, even if peace fals out my cat will not eat thinking it is dangerous to eat such noisy food. I am disappointed. Cats are very spooky animals, they investigate danger and once they determine danger, they will not approach again something that spooks them. Update after 6 months, from 1 to 4 stars. Now my kitten is 8 months and the noise does not bother him any more. I need to keep him from overeating and occupied, so I am glad I kept that dispenser, because now it actually works, I am not sure if my cat likes it, but it serves the purpose. At first he made big mess all over my floor and he rolled that dispenser into corner or under furniture being unable to eat. So I had to put that dispenser into flat pot, in order to keep it from rolling and spreading food all over the floors, - and it works. 4 stars, because it is very messy, they should considered mess control in designing that and all the other dispensers. I have other useless dispensers, that are also huge mess making, and can't put the other in pot like this one. So out of all the other food dispensers, this is the best option for me. UPDATE: After using that dispenser for half a year my cat did not loose any weight. He was just eating longer and slower and would cry if The dispenser was empty. He was constantly hungry. So the dispenser did not help my cat loose any weight

I’ve had one of these eggs for years and ordered another to use on vacation. My kitty eats super fast, so I have to space out doses of food in his bowl. Using the egg, he gets one or two pieces at a time and chews each one. I only give this to my cat on a carpeted floor. I think it rolls better on carpet. He sometimes gives it a good swat—on a hard floor, it’d go flying! Lol I have the egg set with one hole partially open. You have to keep rotating the openings until you find the right variety and size for the bits inside. I like that it’s so adjustable. I find it easiest to put the egg together by holding the long end straight up, then screwing the shorter end on top of the long one. If it’s a little crooked, just rotate it backwards until it straightens out on the grooves. The egg I bought years ago also has the same issue, but it’s an easy solution and not really a flaw—the material is durable, and the closure is secure. I’m confident this egg will last as long as my original, which is still going!

I saw videos of this and knew it didn't "wobble." I bought it because of the variability in the number of exit holes, and that I can change the size of the holes. Our cat doesn't bat things around. She has a small wobble mouse dispenser, and will hit it, but fairly lightly. This device lays on its side, and has to be rolled across the floor to dispense treats. That wasn't going to work, apparently. The other thing with our cat is that she gets nervous about any toy that's larger than her snout. The little wobble mouse is just that -- little -- and she'll tap it, it wobbles, and a treat comes out. This toy is heavy (for a small cat), and she didn't get the concept. So you know, she also can't figure out treat mazes, and is very hesitant to put her paw into any hole (like a shoe). She's active, and loves her rolling "jingle ball," with the bell inside, so this is either a preference thing, or she's not that smart. Then again, laser pointers don't work because she knows the "dot" is coming from the flashlight, and comes after that instead. Maybe not so dumb. Bottom line, she didn't like the weight, nor the fact that she had roll it somewhere. Other cats would love it, and the design is excellent. Just know your cat(s) personality before you buy.

Keeps my cat busy rolling the ball for treats

猫ちゃんが大喜びで追いかけています

Compré este producto para reemplazar otro muy parecido (en forma de pelota) que me duró alrededor de un año. Mi experiencia con el producto anterior fue muy buena ya que le ayudó a mi gato a bajar de peso y a hacer más ejercicio, y esta versión también cumple con su función. El diseño es más divertido y llamativo, y la forma ovalada hace que sea un poco más difícil hacer rodar el juguete. Lo que más me gusta de este producto es la posibilidad de controlar la dificultad ya que se puede usar tanto con tres como con dos o con tan solo uno de los agujeros abiertos. Por lo tanto, se adapta a las necesidades de cada gato y es muy fácil de usar tanto para los pequeños felinos como para los humanos. Por último, el precio es muy asequible y el producto lo vale totalmente.

Love this and there is a pink round one. Prefer this one. You have many settings 3 holes and you get to chose if u want 1 hole it all 3 holes open. One of the better one like my top 3 from the ones I have. Also easy to clean as it opens.

Do your cat a favor and get this! It's not any better than other food balls I've tried, but it's good to give cats some variety with different kinds. My cats eat dry food exclusively out of food balls, and they figured this one out pretty quick. It really helped with one of my cat's tendency to binge eat. She is just too lazy to hit the ball if she isn't actually hungry and it makes her eat slower. Highly recommended by our vet as well.