At first, make the setup as simple as possible. Don't just place the object on the floor in front of your cat and expect them to know what to do. Most human-made objects, including puzzle feeders, are alien to a cat's 'Umwelt'. If the sensory cues do not align with their natural instincts, it is perfectly normal for them to lose interest within seconds. This does not mean that your cat is stupid.

Think about how you can create a usage path with that specific feeder, starting from the easiest level and working up.

How to organize sessions:How to make mobile puzzle feeders easier to use: Increase the size and/or number of holes and/or the amount of food inside. First, put the object on a surface with minimal rolling resistance, such as ceramic tiles rather than carpet. (Some cats are highly sensitive to sound, so they might not tolerate the noise these feeders make when crossing joints in the tiling or hitting walls.) If yours is one of these cats, you will need to buy or DIY a "noise-cancelling" feeder. They exist.)

How to make stationary puzzle feeders easier to use: Analyse the product and categorise different areas according to difficulty. Initially, place the food around the object and on top of it, near the perimeter rather than in the 'working areas'. Once your cat can comfortably grab these pieces from around and on top of the object, put some food in the easiest area only. You can also apply a difficulty grading to this area by first putting food in the easiest-to-reach locations and gradually making it harder. Once your cat has mastered the first area, move on to the next one and repeat the process.

If your cat becomes a master forager, meaning they can expertly grab food from the feeder, then you might want to stop the training or think of ways to make the challenge harder. With mobile products, this can be achieved by decreasing the size and/or number of holes, reducing the amount of food per loading, making the object harder to roll around (by increasing its weight and/or changing the surface it rolls on) or 'matryoshkaing' feeders, i.e. putting one inside the other. For example, a small spherical feeder can be placed inside a larger one.

If your cat has mastered using its puzzle feeders, you can use them to give it its daily portion instead of bowls.

This feeder in action: https://youtu.be/w6Q_Tisqkuk?si=dsjmovVOzJir3CZq

Resources and further reading:

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