As many pet parents know, keeping cats entertained and out of trouble can be a full-time job. House cats don’t spend their days doing what they’d do in the wild — hunting for food, searching for mates and protecting their territory — and often end up bored and looking for trouble.

A great way to keep your cat from getting bored is to have her work for her food. Instructables.com has a cheap and easy DIY cat-powered automatic cat feeder that does just that. Here’s a condensed version of the simple instructions from contributor LabelReader (get the full version, with pictures, here):

Supplies:

An 8-oz. round plastic tub, a cat-food dispenser with a circular, flexible pop top that snaps down over the tub, about one day’s worth of cat food and a pair of scissors.

Instructions:

1. Cut loopholes in the tub: Cut the bottom corner of the tub to create a slit. A second cut should be made about two cat food pellets’ length
   away from the first one. Insert the point of the scissors and expand each slit until it’s about four times as long as your cat food pellets. Each cut should be equally long on the bottom and side of the tub.

2. Push the loopholes through: Push in the part between the two
   slits to make a loophole (as seen here). Repeat to make about three loopholes
   in the bottom of the tub.
3. Put tub in cat feeder:
   Place the tub into the
   top of the feeder and add food. The pellets should be loose enough to
   spill through the loopholes when your cat bumps the feeder, so
   don’t pack it too tight! Close the lid to the feeder.
4. Get your cat interested: Place a few food
   pellets (or treats) in the tub so your cat must
   use her paw to reach them. Put it out around meal time and let
   your cat explore it. If, after some time, your cat doesn’t seem to be
   getting it, try bumping the feeder to make some pellets fall out. If
   your cat is hungry at the time, it can help this process along, but make
   sure she gets enough to eat throughout the day.
5. Don’t give in: If
   your cat has you trained to feed her on demand, then this process might
   take a while. Eventually
   your cat will associate the movement of the feeder with getting food
   and start doing it on her own.

Do you have a great cure for pet boredom? Tell us here!

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