How can I teach them to use the Cat Pedal Bowl?

Question.
I am hoping for some advice as to how I can encourage my cats to embrace some new technology. I have two adult cats, and I recently bought them each a Pedal Cat Bowl for their wet food.These bowls have an integral transparent lid which lifts when the cat steps on a pedal (much like the mechanism on a pedal bin), and are designed to keep food fresh, minimize odours and prevent flies from being attracted to it.

I first saw these bowls on the BBC television programme 'Tomorrow's World Best Inventions' and thought they would be ideal for my cats. During the programme the bowls were tested on lots of cats and they all mastered using the bowl within minutes. I was therefore very excited a couple of weeks ago when I discovered these bowls were now in production and available to buy. I now have my bowls, but my cats seem to be totally flummoxed. So far they just sit by the bowls looking mystified and deeply offended. Attempts by me to demonstrate the pedal concept result in both cats making a mad scramble for the kitchen door! I am currently using the bowls with the lids propped open in an effort to get them used to the bowls, but obviously this defeats the object of buying them in the first place. Is there anything that I can do to teach my cats to use these bowls in the proper way, or am I just deluding myself'?

Answer.
Teaching adult cats to use new equipment can be difficult and many an owner has endured a freezing cold house while the cat flap is propped open during the early days of introduction! Cats can be trained to use the sorts of bowls that you describe but you will need to work hard to ensure that the
potential reward of opening the device is sufficiently high to encourage your cats to persevere!
For cats, eating is purely functional - in other words, necessary to gain enough nutrition to survive. They are not motivated by food in the same way that dogs are, and unless they are very hungry or the food that is being offered is particularly palatable, they are not going to be that keen!

If your cats are timid they may be put off by the noise of the lid operation. If they are actually frightened of the device then this will override their hunger. However, all is not lost and there are some techniques that you can use to try to alter the balance of these motivations and thereby teach your cats to use the bowls as you intended.

Firstly. I would suggest that you continue to prop open the bowls and that you use them to deliver high-value food rewards such as prawns or freshly cooked chicken, rather than their daily food ration. In this way you will build up a positive association with the bowls and teach your cats that highly prized food is available from them. Once they are actively seeking access to the bowls you can start to lower the lid and eventually leave it closed so they need to press the lever. At this stage it may be necessary to withhold the daily food ration until they have used the bowl in order to increase their motivation but this will be a very individual decision. Other methods that you may want to consider to make the training more elaborate could include using a clicker to train the cats to touch the lever.

_{source Your Cat Mag.}