The best feeders to help your cat lose weight

Why you'll love it: Doc & Phoebe’s Indoor Hunting Cat Feeder not only promotes activity in your cat, it stimulates him to follow his natural instincts and hunt for his food.

Cats are hunters at heart, but by domesticating them and feeding them one or two meals per day, we’ve removed that natural behavior from their routines. This results in a number of problems, including the "scarf and barf" behavior and even prompting cats to wake us up at night out of boredom or hunger.

Doc & Phoebe’s Indoor Hunting Cat Feeder is veterinarian-designed to restore that hunting behavior for a healthier, happier cat. The three interactive feeders look just like mice and allow your cat to hunt for his food. Just fill the feeders, hide them throughout your house, and let your cat go to work hunting for his meal.

The whole system is easy to use. It comes with a spoon so you can scoop food into the feeders. The removable cloth exterior stimulates play and is machine washable, while the feeder itself is BPA free and dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.

The kit also comes with a trainer feeder, which has no cloth exterior and is designed to be easy for your cat to eat from, preparing him for the other three more challenging feeders.

Doc & Phoebe’s Indoor Hunting Cat Feeder has a 3.9 out of 5-star review on Amazon, based on 192 reviews.

Cat behaviorist Anita Kelsey tried the system out with her own two cats, Kiki and Zaza. She wrote, "The actual bowl inside the material, designed to look like a mouse with ears and a tail, is easy to clean and has two main holes for the food to fall through, with a bit of batting from our cat’s paws! Doc & Phoebe’s Indoor Hunting Feeder comes with a kibble scoop to easily enable the human guardian to place the kibble inside. Freeze dried treats can just be popped in. Cat’s pick up things very easily when it involves food and so Kiki and Zaza had no trouble working out that to get the treat inside they had to bat and roll the ‘mouse’… Any product that is designed to tap into a cat’s natural behaviours gets my vote and I love the simple yet effective design which can be hidden around the home for your cats to hunt out without getting in anyone’s else’s way… All in all the Doc & Phoebe’s Indoor Hunting Feeder is a win win 5 star product."

Pros: Stimulate a cat’s natural hunting instinct, easy to clean, easy to fill

Cons: Usable only with dry food

Buy Doc & Phoebe’s Indoor Hunting Cat Feeder on Amazon for $19.99

Why you'll love it: With three durable dispensers, the Petsafe SlimCat Meal Dispensing Cat Toy makes feeding time fun for all of your cats.

Sometimes the simplest solutions prove to be the best ones, which is the case with the Petsafe SlimCat Meal Dispensing Cat Toy. This toy is easy to use and easy to understand. Just load up the dispenser with your cat's dry food and let your cat have fun. As your cat pushes the toy around, bits of food fall out, making for a gradual feeding experience that also keeps your cat active.

One of the benefits this toy has over other systems is that it requires relatively low-impact activity from your cat to get a reward. If you're working with an obese, elderly, or arthritic cat, this toy is still a practical option that won't push your cat too hard or be too challenging.

It's also arthritis-friendly in terms of loading, too — a small cap on top turns and snaps into place, but it's easy to operate. And with this three-pack of toys, you can use a toy for each of the cats in a multi-cat home.

The Petsafe SlimCat Meal Dispensing Cat Toy has a 4.6 out of 5-star review on Amazon.

One shopper named Amanda wrote, "I don't free feed my cats, they eat wet food in the morning and in the evening. I got these to leave out during the day and overnight. It keeps them occupied and prevents them from eating too fast. They are also dishwasher safe which is convenient. I originally bought 2 but ended up getting 2 more so I can have a couple extra filled and ready to go. One of my cats caught on pretty quickly, the other wasn't too happy having to do extra work but she's started using it. Very satisfied with this purchase!"

I've used these for my two cats, myself, and they've been a big hit. My cats figured out the concept right away, and now at mealtime the eagerly wait as I load up their toys.

If you have a large home, I'd advise having a spare one of these toys on hand — they have an impressive ability to go missing. Then, just remember to watch out for kitties racing across the floor during mealtime.

Pros: Increases exercise and slows ingestion, BPA-free plastic and dishwasher-safe, holds 2/3 cup of dry food

Cons: Only suitable for use with dry food or toys, will crack if you accidentally step on it

Buy the Petsafe SlimCat Meal Dispensing Cat Toy 3-Pack on Amazon for $20.85

Why you'll love it: Simple and easy to use, the Catit Senses 2.0 Digger for Cats makes meals last longer while keeping your cat active.

Have a cat who likes to paw at or around his food or water dishes? The Catit Senses 2.0 Digger for Cats stimulates that natural pawing behavior but in a focused, far less messy way.

This system includes three short, narrow tubes and two wider, taller tubes that you can drop your cat's food or treats down into. Then, your cat's instinct will kick in as he works to paw out small portions of food.

This product is ideal for cats who typically binge eat, but you can also use it with treats to keep any cat entertained. Meals will last longer and your cat is forced to be active in order to eat, meaning he'll receive both mental and physical stimulation at each meal. The sloped base collects up any food that your cat misses, keeping it from landing on the floor. The unit is also hand washable.

The Catit Senses 2.0 Digger for Cats has a 4.2 out of 5-star rating on Amazon, based on 893 customer reviews.

One shopper named H. Stevens wrote, "I have a cat that vomits in the mornings from eating too fast. She figured out how this feeder worked right away. At first, I didn't know how it worked, so I filled all the tubes up to the top, I thought the feeder would confound her. She immediately emptied the cups, then vomited. So I have to feed her a small amount, divided between the cups, and that solved her morning problems."

Another named A. Wit has also had a great experience with this product: "This is perfect for my boy. He loves feeding himself anyway. He would rather have the food on the floor or in a scooper so he can get it himself. I saw this for sale and had to buy it ... he loves it and cries when the cups are empty ... he's had it for three days. I called him over, dropped some food in the cups and told him to scoop the food out. Zero learning cure. A quick sniff then all hands in."

Pros: Stimulates a cat's natural digging instinct, slows ingestion

Cons: Hand wash only

Buy the Catit Senses 2.0 Digger for Cats on Amazon for $14.99

Why you'll love it: With three easy-to-set difficulty levels, the Catit Senses 2.0 Food Tree stimulates cats to play and work for their food.

The Catit Senses 2.0 Food Tree is a mentally and physically stimulating way to feed your cat while lengthening mealtime.

With its three different levels, this tree encourages cats to stretch, paw, and play in order to pull their food out through the side openings. Cats are able to get just a bit of food at a time, slowing their intake and preventing them from bolting down an entire meal in seconds.

One of this feeder's best features is its easily adjustable difficulty settings. By rotating the middle disc, you can automatically adjust the sizes of the openings. Start off with the easiest setting when your cats are just getting familiar with the tree, then increase the difficulty to make them work a little bit harder for their meals.

The Catit Senses 2.0 Food Tree has a 4.1 out of 5-star Amazon rating based on 1,099 buyer reviews.

One shopper named Aojrcw wrote, "it is the best thing I've ever bought for my pets. It took them about a day to figure it out but now they love it (well, maybe love is a strong word lol) and a cup of food that usually lasts half a day now lasts nearly two. As if that wasn't great enough, my eight year old cat who has been the one with the weight struggles has completely changed. She has kitten-like energy, she's so much more cuddly and loving, she plays with her sister, and her coat is so much shinier and softer. We literally only changed this dispenser and not the food! I've never seen her so healthy and the overeating has completely stopped. I cannot recommend this product enough."

This product also received a highly positive review from Pets Overload: "I honestly rate this toy a full 5/5. There's nothing bad I can say about it. It's durable, it's fairly challenging and it's lasted us years. Obviously, this is going to be different for each cat, but it's a perfect fit for our family."

Pros: 3 convenient difficulty levels, BPA-free, easy to clean

Cons: To be used with dry food only

Buy the Catit Senses 2.0 Food Tree on Amazon for $29.21