Food and Enrichment: It Can Be a Puzzle

Globally, 94% of pet owners consider their pet a member of the family.¹ The human–animal bond is strong and results in healthier pets and people. In fact, 98% of pet owners globally report receiving 1 or more health benefits from their pet, including increased happiness, reduced loneliness, and decreased stress.¹ Many cat owners keep their cat strictly indoors and many dog owners relegate their sofas to their dogs, which is great for human–animal bonding but further removes the animal from the natural habitat and behaviors of its wild ancestors. The veterinary team has the opportunity to educate clients on how to create a household environment that mimics the pet’s ancestral habitat and permits and encourages natural behaviors.

Environmental enrichment encourages species-typical behaviors² and may improve animals’ welfare through offering greater control and choice in their environment.^2-4 Foraging for food to fulfill their caloric needs is natural for nondomesticated animals;² thus, providing tools and enrichment that encourage foraging behavior for domesticated household pets is advisable. One tool for enriching an animal’s environment is the food puzzle, which gives the pet an outlet for instinctual behaviors and cognitive stimulation and also gives the client a way to monitor their pet’s caloric intake.

What Are Food Puzzles?

A food puzzle can be any object containing food that requires the pet to find a way to get to that food.⁵ Food puzzles come in a wide variety of options. Puzzles range from simply scattering the food so the pet needs to “hunt” to complex and expensive puzzles available at pet stores and online.⁶ Clients can also make do-it-yourself food puzzles.

A simple way to make a food puzzle is to take a muffin tin, put the kibble (or a dollop of canned food) in one of the muffin areas, and place a square piece of paper or cardboard over the top of the opening. The dog or cat must remove the covering to get to the food underneath. Simple. Inexpensive. Encourages activity and provides cognitive stimulation for the pet.

What Are the Benefits of Food Puzzles?

Food puzzles provide environmental enrichment for the pet in the form of cognitive stimulation and increased activity. They also enable clients to closely monitor their pet’s food intake. Some pets may be genetically susceptible to weight gain. However, most obese pets consume excessive calories and/or do not get enough exercise; thus, the key to treating obesity is reducing caloric intake and increasing physical activity. Food puzzles can help with both.

Obesity is among the leading preventable causes of illness/death and is associated with several disease conditions and reduced lifespan. Dogs and cats are considered overweight if they weigh 10% to 19% more than the optimal weight for their breed and obese if they weigh 20% or more above their optimum weight.⁷

In the United States, an estimated 35% to 40% of adult pets and 50% of senior pets (older than 7 years) are overweight or obese.^7-9 In 2022, the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention reported that 59% of dogs and 61% of cats were classified as overweight or obese in the United States.¹⁰ Food-dispensing toys such as food puzzles not only get pets moving^5,11 but also help with owner compliance in weight management programs.

Food puzzles can transform food into an interactive activity, not simply a source of nutrition. With indoor cats, for example, play enrichment may lead to increased activity levels. However, it has been shown that owners of overweight cats do not play with them as often as do owners of cats in ideal body condition.^11,12 Thus, a safe and simple way to increase activity for indoor cats is to offer food puzzles.

How Do I Describe the Benefits to Clients?

Communication plays a large role in client compliance. To achieve what the veterinary team believes to be best for the patient (e.g., compliance), the team must educate the client. The client must understand what is being diagnosed by the veterinarian (e.g., overweight/obesity), what that means for their pet, how to manage the condition, and what tools are available to aid in managing the pets’ specific condition (e.g., food puzzles), along with an understanding of how those tools help manage the condition. Without a specific recommendation and communication of that recommendation, the client may not understand and thus not accept the recommendation, which can be detrimental to the patient.¹³ As pet obesity has dramatically risen over the past several decades, weight management and obesity prevention must be among the top health issues that veterinary teams discuss with every client.

Keep the conversation at the client’s level. Veterinary team members often talk in medical language because that is how we were taught. The following are hypothetical conversation scenarios related to food puzzles and tips for communicating with clients on this topic.

Conversation Scenario No. 1

“Mr. Jones, I understand that your cat Fluffy is not very active at home, and he has a body condition score of 7 out of 9. This means that Fluffy is above his ideal body condition, which puts him at higher risk of developing conditions such as lameness, urinary issues, and/or diabetes. You report that you make sure Fluffy’s bowl is always full. It is obvious that you want the best for him. It is natural behavior for Fluffy to eat a lot of small meals throughout the day. It is also natural for Fluffy to hunt for these meals. But now that he is an indoor cat, his nutritional needs are being met without him needing to do anything.

“Fluffy’s environment would benefit from enrichment. We want to replicate his natural feeding behavior in the home and recommend providing Fluffy’s food in a food puzzle. Food puzzles do not need to be expensive. You can make a food puzzle by simply using an empty water bottle with a small hole cut out, which is where the kibble will come out. Fluffy will need to move the water bottle for the kibble to fall out. However, I can also show you some food puzzles that you can purchase. Puzzle feeders will help ensure that Fluffy receives the calories he needs each day, while getting him moving because he has to work the puzzle to get his food to come out. Thus, his instinctual behavior needs are being met and he no longer has unlimited access to food.”

Communication Tip: Stop here to ensure that Mr. Jones understands that his cat is overweight and at risk of developing other disease conditions. In addition to changing to a weight-loss food, the veterinary team should recommend that he offer food puzzles to Fluffy to increase his activity and cognitive stimulation and to enable Mr. Jones to be sure Fluffy is getting only the calories he needs each day. Give Mr. Jones opportunities to ask questions. Observe his body language. Avoiding eye contact or speaking softly may indicate that Mr. Jones does not fully understand the discussion or that perhaps he is reticent to ask clarifying questions. Not checking for understanding will stop the recommended plan here before it even starts. Compliance fails. That is not in Fluffy’s best interest. Proper communication results in shared understanding. Use language and open-ended questions such as, “I have given you a lot of information. What questions do you have for me or the team to be sure that Fluffy is properly provided the food puzzles? Tell me what obstacles you think you might encounter with our enrichment plan.”

Conversation Scenario No. 2

“Ms. Smith, thank you for letting us know that your work schedule has changed and that you are now back in the office and no longer work from home. I understand that your dog Rocky appears more stressed now that he is home alone while you are at work. You report increased vocalization, panting, and Rocky appearing ‘down.’ His diagnostic tests are within normal limits, so I would like to discuss environmental enrichment with you because the change in his everyday routine may have resulted in stress. Individual play or problem solving could improve Rocky’s physical and cognitive capabilities and subsequently his welfare.¹⁴ Studies show that when problem-solving confidence is high, negative emotions are lower.¹⁵ Consequently, dogs appear to be calmer,¹⁶ and this is what we would like for Rocky.

“Providing interactive toys, such as a food puzzle, should be beneficial and help alleviate his stress. I would start with a snuffle mat. Before leaving for work in the morning, put some kibbles in the snuffle mat and leave it out for Rocky. He will have to ‘root through’ the mat to find the kibble pieces, which should take him a little bit of time. After returning home, you can try a puzzle toy in which you add his food and he has to move it around the house to get the food out. Both types of puzzle allow for his daily allotment of calories to be met by solving the food puzzles. You can also switch those around, or we can substitute another puzzle feeder in place of one of them.

“It is best that you be home with Rocky when you offer the food puzzles the first couple of times to be sure he is working on problem solving without feeling distressed and/or frustrated and that he is able to get the food from the toys. Problem-solving tasks such as food puzzles will help Rocky to be self-confident and less stressed.”

Communication Tip: Stop here to be sure Ms. Smith understands that Rocky is facing stress from a change in routine. “What questions do you have for me or the veterinary team? Tell me your understanding of how the food puzzles will help Rocky.”

For both communication scenarios, remember to address any obstacles, gain buy-in from clients, document the conversation in the medical record, and provide written instructions for everything discussed and recommended. When introducing food puzzles, ask clients to be sure to be home during the first few uses to ensure their pet does not become distressed or frustrated if unable to get food from the puzzle. Follow up within 48 hours to determine if any questions are lingering and to see how the plan is progressing.

Summary

Nondomesticated animals forage for food to fulfill their caloric needs. Thus, as people keep their domesticated pets indoors, they should provide tools and enrichment that encourage foraging behavior and provide cognitive stimulation. Food puzzles are a great resource for giving a pet emotional stimulation, increasing the pet’s activity, and enabling clients to closely monitor their pet’s food intake. However, simply telling a client to provide food puzzles is not always enough. Regardless of  what condition is being discussed, client communication involves educating clients with regard to their pet’s diagnosis, what that means for their pet, how to manage the condition, and what tools are available to help manage the pets’ specific condition, along with an understanding of how those tools help manage the condition. Thus, the veterinary team must make a specific recommendation and be sure the client understands the recommendation; otherwise, the client may not accept the recommendation and the patient will not receive the care the healthcare team believes is best.