low cost gravity feeder modification

[Charlene]

As a first time owner of an inside Maine coon cat I am learning as I go along.After several months of reading online postings and scanning various pet care sites I finally stumbled on the answer to my little friend’s dingle berries, besides the essential sanitary coif, I was using way too much kitty litter, first in a normal sized litter box which didn’t work out too well, and then finally by giving her more room by using a large plastic container such as used for under the bed storage with just enough kitty litter to cover the bottom, about an inch or less being more than enough.There is a carpet right at the exit from the box and she actually uses it to wipe her feet after doing the deed.Besides the constant chatter, though I have no idea what is being said, this amazing animal is my constant companion, sometimes a little too constant when I get “help” as I work in my workshop.She has to be right in the middle of whatever is going on.
Such a large cat will demand your attention right smack in the middle of the night.Fortunately I am also a creature of the night.The main reason for this offering is something that I recently tried.I have been using an inexpensive gravity feeder that I got from Walmart.My friend would empty the thing faster than the suggested daily recommended portions for her weight of 20 lbs.This is a big cat.It occurred to me to put an obstruction in the dish to slow her down somewhat and make her work a bit for her dinner instead of sitting on her haunches and swilling down copious mouthfuls later to present me with presents to scrape off the floor, a case of eyes bigger than stomach.The results since this modification have been quite satisfying for such an inexpensive fix.Not only does it slow down the munch fest; I have noticed a significant change in her mood and behavior.She is much more playful and active and I can see her paying more attention to grooming her back end which she can now more easily reach.
I took a large pill bottle and screwed it to the bowl in such a fashion as to allow the dry pellets to feed the bowl not in the avalanche as was previously happening but rather only when the cat reaches into the bowl and behind the bottle to scoop up some food.She adapted to this immediately.Beware though, she was not immediately pleased.The first chance she got she did a four point landing on my solar plexus as I was stretched out watching television.We may not speak the same language but I sure know what that was about.A programmable feeder can be had for as little as fifty dollars, and maybe one day Santa will bring one down the chimney, but until then this simple modification to an inexpensive gravity feeder seems to be a good fix.
A few weeks later I added a small wooden dowel to further limit the gravity feed into the bowl.This animal is truly a chow hound, and will swill down her daily spoonful of wet food in no time flat.The addition of a spoonful of wet cat food seems to help keep her attention on the abundance of dry food pellets to a minimum, and the availability of the dry food pellets for her allows me a good night’s rest when I need one.