When proactive cat parents start learning about good diets and behavioral practices for their kitties, we also start thinking about the cat food dish itself. What’s the best way to feed our cats? Does how we feed our cats matter?
Many experts believe that the way we feed our cats matters in a big way.
Cats are instinctively hunters of their prey. When we bring them inside our homes and free feed them from a bowl or dish, they begin to lose that ‘cat-ness’ and become lazy and anxious. This can lead to health problems. Equally, feeding cats a dry kibble diet – especially the all day buffet – will also be detrimental to a cats’ health.
So what cat food dish should I use?
If you’re feeding a species appropriate fresh food diet or canned wet food, we recommend feeding from a shallow bowl or plate (never plastic). Here’s the challenge though… Try going through the hunting motions before feeding. Cats will hunt, catch, play, eat and then sleep. That’s their instinct. So we like to use the feathers on a string toy for a few minutes before feeding time so they can get all of the steps in. Then we feed.
If you feed a dry food diet, using products like Doc & Phoebe’s Indoor Hunting Feeder or are a great way to decrease stress, increase mobility and help your cat be able to engage their natural instincts.
Studies have shown that cats who are able to hunt their food have significantly less risk of disease. Figuring out how to do this inside our homes is one of the best things we can do for our kitties.
So, maybe we don’t need a cat food dish at all. Leave us a comment below to share how you engage your domesticated little hunters!
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