Watch kitty playing with a strange toy – its purpose is eye-opening

A recent study in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery points to the benefits of using food puzzles (also called cat activity games) to enrich the lives of indoor cats. Researchers and animal behaviorists suggest that utilizing food puzzles plays into cats' natural instincts and helps to stimulate what could be an otherwise boring life of the average house cat.
In an interview with Live Science, Mikel Delgado, one of the co-authors of the study and a certified cat behavior consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, shared how providing these types of puzzles for your indoor cats can do more than spice up their routine.
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“[Food puzzles] provide cats with exercise and mental stimulation.” Having cats work for their food by solving puzzles helps not only provide mental stimulation, it can also contribute to preventing obesity and behavioral problems such as aggression, anxiety or other negative attention-seeking behaviors.
Plus, it's just a fun time for all involved. Who doesn't love to watch a cat at work?
Researchers encourage pet owners to get creative and think outside the box or inside it—boxes make great food puzzles and what cat can resist a cardboard box?
You could even go super crazy hi-tech with it like this cat owner did.
Whatever you decide, Delgado recommends, “offer your cat some variety in problem-solving. Multiple puzzles are good.” She also suggests starting off simple and gradually increasing the challenge.
This owner takes a simple approach, although Jinxy's solution is quite impressive.
Here's Juniper demonstrating some more advanced problem solving skills.
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Do you have any special techniques to boost your kitty's intelligence while satiating its appetite? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to share this story with your friends!