"Veterinary science has long known that cats should not be eating from bowls," said Dr. Liz Bales, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
"In nature, cats catch their prey, play with it, eat it, groom themselves and sleep. They do this 9-20 times within a 24 hour cycle. Quite simply, hunting is a very important part of a cat's physical and mental health."
Break the Fat Cat Syndrome
Bales says that by putting cat food in bowls, owners inadvertently eliminate the natural bursts of energy cats require to maintain optimum health. "Bowl feeding results in obesity, lethargy, aggressive behavior and something we call scarf-and-barf where cats eat too quickly, then throw up," said Bales. Another problem with bowl feeding is "night nudging," when cats attempt to awaken owners because they want a snack, which is part of their natural cycle.
Restore your cat's natural instincts
Bales doesn't want to change what you feed your cat. She simply want to change how you do it. She has designed The NoBowl Feeding System that mimics nature. "Instead of bowls, we created washable, portion-controlled kibble dispensers to be hidden around the house so that cats are engaged in an active form of hunting and playing with their food throughout the day and night. Each kit contains five NoBowls which come with a removable fabric "skin" in the form of an adorable mouse," said Bales.
Don't want mice in your house? No problem. Bales plans to offer interchangable skins so your NoBowl can be disguised as fish or birds. "This is the first product to wean cats off bowls and get them back to the hunt," said Bales whose household includes Carlos, a hairless Sphynx kitten, and Plankton, a feisty Labrador. A No Bowl Kickstarter Campaign launches this month and in August 2016, the product will be available. "We're going to change the way people feed their cats!" Bales said.
For more information about the No Bowl Feeding System, visit Dr. Bale's blog NoBowlCat.com and her Facebook page, The Catvocate.