Pull ‘n Play | Bad Cat Chris

I wrote about the Friskies Pull n Play toy a few years ago (read post here) but that toy disappeared not long after that post and I recently bought a new one. This time I skipped the included treats and put in treats that I consider to be much healthier. I realize that that toy is like a computer printer, sold with the intent of making big money on the refills, so Purina will not be happy with me.

The Pull ‘n Play comes with Friskies Party Mix, which is a favorite of many cats, and some kind of string-like treat, which most cats don’t care too much about. Both treats, in my opinion, are not healthy options so instead I filled the toy with Instinct Raw Boost Mixers. This is a freeze-dried, raw cat food that I believe is a much healthier option than most commercial treats out there and our cats love them. They also love a similar freeze-dried, raw cat food called Stella and Chewy’s, which has the advantage of coming in larger sizes that are cheaper per ounce but the morsels tend to be too big and flakey for use in this toy.

There is one drawback to substituting the treats; They don’t fall out as easily as the intended treats, but that may not always be a bad thing. My plan is to fill it up before going away on vacation. I tend to worry that something may happen to the cat sitter and having a treat dispenser might just help a little if they don’t get fed. If I will use it for entertainment then I might want to make the hole a little bigger. Perhaps with a file or large drill I can increase the hole size just a little and all will be right with the world.

Here is a video of my first attempt. Of course Chris dominates the toy just like he did with the catnip.

What do you think? Have you tried this toy? Have you tried Instinct or Stella and Chewey’s?

Two weeks ago we bought two cat toys from Friskies called Pull ‘n Play. The toy is like a Weeble. which they call Wobbert. It is weighted on the bottom and it wobbles. It is shaped like an animal but I’m not sure what it is supposed to be, perhaps a bear. The head twists off so you can put treats inside. It comes with a bag of Friskies Party Mix and it also has a string-like treat that you thread through the ears. There is a small hole at the bottom so treats will fall out when it wobbles just right.

When we introduced it to our cats, Chris dominated the toy. As expected, he was the first, and still only, cat to figure out how the toy works. I recorded the first few minutes of them playing with it but later, after the camera was put away, I watched Chris wobble it and then immediately look for treats. Sometimes treats would come out and sometimes they wouldn’t but he was smart enough to expect it.

Later we brought the second toy to Rose’s sister, Felice. Her cats were different. The were more interested in the string and our cats were after the treats.

I used to buy the Party Mix as a treat for our cats and they loved it. Here is a video from a few years ago related to those treats.

I will say that I stopped buying those treats because I wanted our cats to have a more healthy treat. I now give them a raw, freeze-dried cat food that I use as treats. The brands vary because they love everything I have tried so I buy whatever is a good deal. Currently, I am feeding them Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw. After the Party Mix was gone I put some of the raw treats in the toy. Even though they love it when I give it to them as a treat, they mostly ignored it in the toy. Cats can really be frustrating at times.

Has anybody else tried this toy or another treat toy?