PetSafe Egg-Cersizer Meal Dispensing Cat Toy

After a visit to the veterinarian, it became clear that my kitty needed both diet and exercise. A minor, but useful, aid presented itself in the PetSafe Egg-Cersizer Meal Dispensing Cat Toy.

The Egg-Cersizer is, evidently, an egg-shaped toy that can be filled with food pellets. It consists of two halves. The top portion can be broken down into two parts: an outer layer with three quarter-sized, fixed openings, and an inner, movable layer with five openings. By adjusting the inner layer with the dial at the top, you change how much the openings in the two layers overlap. In other words, you can change up how a) how many openings you use at a time (max 3), and b) how large/small to make them. I started off using three openings at half-size, just to acclimate my cat to the new method of feeding. Once she got the hand of it, I adjusted it down to two openings, then one. After a month or so, I started using one opening at the smallest setting that will still allow pellets to come out.

The egg itself can be filled in two ways. As started earlier, the egg unscrews into two parts. Method one involves turning the top of the larger portion to close up all of the openings, filling it with cat food, and screwing the bottom back in place. Note that you will need to set the bottom in place, then turn the egg sideways to let some food fall into the base. This will give you the "wiggle room" to screw the egg together. Otherwise, the food won't leave you space to easily move the two parts.

The second method of filling the egg involves pushing food in from the bottom of the assembled egg. The flanges at the bottom prevent it from popping back out again. I usually use the first method to fill the egg, and the second to "top off" prior to an overnight trip. The toy holds about half of a cup of food, loosely packed.

Six months from her last visit to the vet, my cat has shaved off roughly a pound. While I can't say for sure how much the egg contributed, I will say that it's gotten her to work a little harder for her dinner. She tends to eat the food pellets as soon as they hit the floor. If you're worried about sanitation, you can set it up where you have tile or hardwood. The real drawback of this egg is that it has a tendency to migrate. My cat tends to mew plaintively at me whenever it's empty, but after leading me to the correct room, I have to hunt around furniture (and these days, moving boxes) to find out where it went. Overall, though, I still find it several dollars well spent.

Lastly, here's a video of the egg in action: