In the wild no one is handing cats their meals, instead they must use their natural hunting skills to find food. In fact, cats actually like to work for things even if they don’t think they do. Just like humans, cats are filled with satisfaction after providing themselves with a hearty meal.
Even cats that are fed Meow Mix three times a day enjoy hunting if the opportunity presents itself. So why not give your cat the chance to use their naturally swift and clever instincts? Benjamin Millam decided to do just this by inventing an awesome cat feeding machine.
The self-proclaimed “aspiring geek” built the feeding machine in order to make his cat work for dinner. The machine runs on plastic balls (which Millam hides around the house for his cat to find). When these balls are placed inside the machine automatically releases food.
Millam explained, “This all started after I read an explanation of why cats go about repeatedly exploring the same areas: it’s partly to establish and survey their territory, but they’re also practicing ‘mobile’ hunting. So what if my cat, while out on patrol, actually found its prey? Surely this would bring him one step closer towards a more fulfilled and self-actualized indoor kitty existence.”
It took some effort on Millam’s part, first he had to invent and create the genius feeding machine and then he had another hurdle to hop over… teaching his cat Monkey how to use it. Millam taught Monkey how to find little plastic balls hidden around the house and place them inside of the feeding machine using ‘clicker’ training methods, including the use of a distinct clicking sounds and rewards.
According to Millam, “The Arduino cat feeder was easier to program than Monkey was.”
The machine is programed to recognize the RFID-tagged balls and when detected will immediately fill up with cat treats. It wasn’t success at first try, but Monkey and Millam were both good sports about it, and in the end it worked!
On the hunt for food… or rather plastic balls.
If you plan to teach your cat the same trick at home be careful what type of plastic ball you use, many plastics contain toxic levels of chemicals that could be harmful to your kitty. If this concerns you, you might be better off using a different material entirely.
Watch the full video of Monkey the cat hunting for his dinner:
Photo Credits: benjaminmillam.com
