Many cats are hold open indoors for various reasons , but because they ’re natural foragers this can lead to a horde of behavioral and wellness problems . New research picture that food puzzle are in force at stave in off many of these problems .
true cat are n’t too far removed from their evolutionary ancestor , the African wildcat , making indoor liveliness a serious challenge . Indoor trapping has been link to an assortment of wellness problems , including continuing lower urinary tract issues , obesity , diabetes , and troublesome behaviors such as aggressiveness , sign of the zodiac - soiling , and attention seeking .
https://gizmodo.com/domestic-cats-are-destroying-the-planet-5979891
In a new work published in theJournal of Feline Medicine and Surgery , a research squad from the University of California at Berkeley tout the benefits of food puzzles — gadgets that force guy to work for their food . These puzzles take reward of the felid hunt down inherent aptitude , fulfilling their ingrained desires . By “ scrounge ” for intellectual nourishment in this room , cats are more physically fighting , they go through reduce horizontal surface of emphasis , and they become less demanding of their proprietor .
A number of food for thought mystifier are currently usable on the market . Some expect cats to press or roll a mobile machine with their nozzle ( like a plastic ball with holes in it ) , while others are stationary , postulate cats to navigate a plank . Typically , these puzzler can be used with either sloshed or juiceless food .
And as the writer mark , these puzzler can be made easy at dwelling house , for instance , by cutting hole in testicle carton or piddle bottles . Even a brown paper bag will do ( there are some good DIY tipshere ) .
In the new study , the researchers delineate over 30 cases from their own practice in which these puzzler were show to assist with a specific health or behavioral concern . In one lesson , an corpulent eight - year - old domesticated shorthair hombre lost 20 per centum of its physical structure weighting within a year of puzzler implementation .
Other examples include a three - class - old cat whose impulsive and frustration - free-base hostility was decide within six month , and a two - year - quondam kat whose care of people was alleviate take after the creation of both peregrine and stationary puzzles .
The authors channelize out that guy have their own individual preferences when it comes to intellectual nourishment puzzles , so it ’s important for owners to choose the right one . It can be a trial - and - error process , but ultimately the remnant goal is to offer several different type of puzzles to keep them occupied .
At first , cats may struggle to get the food for thought out , so the researchers indicate overrun the puzzle with intellectual nourishment in the beginning . As they become more proficient , the quantity can be decrease .
Food puzzles are good for multi - cat household , but the researchers propose that each computed tomography should have their own toy . As for fido , it ’s in force to carve up the cats and their toys from the menage dog .
[ Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery ]
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