DIY toy guide
Muffin-Tin Foraging Game
Hide treats under balls in a muffin tin for a five-minute puzzle feeder
Drop a few treats into the cups of a muffin tin, cover each with a ball or scrunched paper, and your cat has an instant puzzle feeder — they must nudge and lift each cover to reach the food beneath.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 5 minutes
- Cost
- Free
🧺 You will need
- A muffin or cupcake tin
- Enough balls, toys or scrunched-up paper to cover each cup
- A handful of biscuits or treats
🔧 How to make it
- Place a few treats or some of the daily biscuit ration into some of the muffin cups.
- Cover every cup with a ball, small toy or ball of paper — including some empty cups to add challenge.
- Set the tin on the floor and let your cat investigate.
- Encourage the first few by half-covering a cup so the treat peeks out.
- Vary which cups are baited each time so the game stays unpredictable.
💡 Tips
- Use covers your cat can move but not swallow — tennis-ball-sized or larger is ideal.
- Feed a portion of dinner this way to slow down a greedy eater.
Safety: Choose covers too big to be swallowed and supervise the first few sessions. Remove any ball that gets chewed or damaged.
📝 Notes
Requiring a cat to uncover each cup one at a time transforms a static bowl of food into a rewarding search, exercising problem-solving and paw dexterity while pacing how fast the food goes down.