5 Month Old Kitten Playing With Food

[wealthy1]

I feed both wet and dry cat food to my kittens. They do eat the kibble and then a few minutes later they paw the food out of their bowls and plays with the kibble. (Imagine an intense soccer game).

Is there anything I can do to prevent this behavior? I have kibble all over the place.

 

[rubysmama]

I had to do a search, because this isn't a question that comes up very often. However, I did find a few older threads on the topic. Not sure if they'll be helpful or not, but I'll post the links. Probably it's just something (hopefully) they'll outgrow.

Kitten playing with kibbles
My kitten is playing with his dry food.
Kitten plays with her food..

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Try puzzle feeders for the dry food. They will have to play to even get the food out, and that might satisfy that hunt/catch/kill instinct that causes that particular behavior.

Something like this:

 

[Kieka]

TBH, I encourage playing with kibble and dry treats. I keep our feeder on a lipped tray to minimize the spread, sweeping up whatever gets out, but I toss food across the floor at times too. It activates their brain and engages their body. It's extremely natural for a cat to paw, push or chase their food so I've always thought of it dual parts exercise and satisfying for them.

 

[wealthy1]

Try puzzle feeders for the dry food. They will have to play to even get the food out, and that might satisfy that hunt/catch/kill instinct that causes that particular behavior.

Something like this:

I like the puzzle feeder suggestion. My kitties can easily spend 20 minutes playing with their food. Thanks for the suggestion.