3 Vet-Approved Wet Food Puzzles for Cats (With Videos)

VET APPROVED

REVIEWED & FACT-CHECKED BY

Veterinarian

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.

Cats need enrichment to stay happy and healthy. Puzzle toys allow your cat to engage their natural stalking and hunting instincts for independent play, but many toys are treat-dispensing and only work with dry food or cat treats.

However, there are a few food puzzles for cats that can be used with wet food. This is perfect if you want to include a puzzle toy in your cat’s regular feeding, you have a senior cat, or you want to limit their dry food and treat intake.

Here are our top picks for wet food puzzles for cats to give your kitty some independent play, complete with videos to see how they work in action.

The 3 Wet Food Puzzles for Cats

1. TRIXIE Cat Activity Fantasy Board

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Dimensions:	8.25 in x 13.25 in
Material:	Plastic
Features:	Multiple food dispensers

The TRIXIE Cat Activity Fantasy Board offers multiple play options to keep your cat challenged and working hard for food. There are fish, hunt, and chase challenges, as well as sections for wet or dry food. This is perfect if you want to combine food options or have a multi-cat household. You can also control the level of difficulty to suit your cat’s needs, and there’s an instruction booklet to get the most out of the experience. Only some sections can be used with wet food, however.

Pros

Multiple gameplay options
Wet or dry food
Instruction booklet
Multiple difficulty levels

Cons

Only some sections suitable for wet food

2. TRIXIE Cat Activity Poker Box

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Dimensions:	12.2 in x 12.2 in
Material:	Plastic
Features:	Slow feeding, multiple levels

The TRIXIE Cat Activity Poker Box has four compartments for different food challenges. Each compartment requires a different skill set to beat, including opening a drawer, lifting a top, and more. The compartments are large, and the entire toy is washable, so it’s easy to substitute wet food for dry food. This toy has a booklet of tips and tricks to help your cat get the fun out of the experience. Some food may get stuck in the grooves, however, so it can be a pain to clean.

Pros

Four compartments
Washable
Multiple difficulty levels
Instruction booklet

Cons

Food may get stuck in the grooves

3. TRIXIE Cat Activity Brain Mover

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Dimensions:	7.75 in x 6.5 in
Material:	Plastic
Features:	Non-slip feet, multiple modules

The TRIXIE Cat Activity Brain Mover features four modules of play that encourage patience and focus. Cats must push the balls to earn their food reward, move sliders to reveal compartments, move a lever to open a drawer, or use paws to open a drawer. The board has non-slip rubber feet to keep it in place as your cat pounces, pulls, and claws. There’s an instructional booklet to help your cat enjoy the toy. Several compartments accommodate wet food, and the entire toy is dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning. Food may get stuck in the grooves between the sections, however.

Pros

Multiple difficulty levels
Non-slip rubber base
Instructional booklet
Dishwasher safe

Cons

Food may get stuck in the grooves

Are Puzzle Toys Good for Cats?

Puzzle toys can be a good addition to regular playtime with your cat. They encourage mental stimulation and support independent play so your cat can stay occupied while you’re away or busy doing other things. These challenging activities can stave off boredom and give your cat an outlet to pounce, stalk, and hunt as well.

However, it’s important to align the difficulty and style of the puzzle toy to your cat’s personality. You may want to start with simple challenges to avoid frustration. As your cat learns how to navigate a puzzle toy, you can add more complex strategy games and raise the difficulty level. Depending on your cat’s diet, you can even feed all their meals out of the puzzle toy.

Alternatively, if you want to surprise your cat with something cool, check out the Hepper Hi-Lo Cat Scratcher. It's not just a scratcher; it's a piece of modern furniture that your cat can play on. It's got a curvy design that's perfect for stretching and moving, and it's built tough with strong birch plywood and thick B-flute cardboard. You can adjust it to three different heights, which keeps cats entertained. Plus, it won't break the bank! Our cats love it, and we do too.

Hepper Hi-Lo Cardboard Cat Scratcher with Real...

Premium Materials - Hepper's cardboard scratcher is made with dense, B-flute cardboard, and a metal...
High, Low and Lower - A single cat scratch pad won't keep your cat engaged. 3 unique positions keeps...
Activates Muscles - The Hi Lo isn't just a cat nail file to stop the chief cat couch scratcher. The...

At Catster, we’ve admired Hepper for many years, and decided to take a controlling ownership interest, so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company!

Conclusion

Puzzle toys can be a lot of fun for cats and enrich their lives by engaging their natural predator instincts. Unfortunately, many cat puzzle toys are designed more for dry food or treats, but the options on this list have compartments that can accommodate wet food and a plastic design that’s easy to keep clean.

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