Should We Ditch The Bowl?

furryfriends (TEAS)

furryfriends (TEAS)

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Just tidying up the piggy shed and realise that I have so many bowls. Why? Do piggies need to eat from a bowl?

My cat doesn't eat from a bowl. I use the NoBowl Feeding System. If you aren't familiar with it, here is a link so you can check it out Cat Food Dispenser: Interactive Cat Feeders | NoBowl Feeding System I

I have never fed veggies in a bowl and scatter them all over the cage, but nuggets have always been served in a bowl. I feed very few nuggets and I have decided to just scatter them in the hay, so the piggies have to search for them. I feel this is a much more natural way of feeding and will enrich their lives too. I also scatter dried herbs and it is lovely to see the piggies diving into the hay, checking out the different tastes and smells.

So, I will be selling all my bowls at the Open Day to raise much needed funds for TEAS and I will have a lot less washing up to do too! A win/win situation!
 
that is fab way of feeding cats ,ive ordered one for my cat.she is overweight and does have outside access,but this will give her more activity.i do not use a bowl for pellets with my piggies now,i feed fresh grass and forage once a day,with leafy greens.its saves a lot of work,with 20 piggies,not so much washing up.thanks for sharing this information.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Just tidying up the piggy shed and realise that I have so many bowls. Why? Do piggies need to eat from a bowl?

My cat doesn't eat from a bowl. I use the NoBowl Feeding System. If you aren't familiar with it, here is a link so you can check it out Cat Food Dispenser: Interactive Cat Feeders | NoBowl Feeding System I

I have never fed veggies in a bowl and scatter them all over the cage, but nuggets have always been served in a bowl. I feed very few nuggets and I have decided to just scatter them in the hay, so the piggies have to search for them. I feel this is a much more natural way of feeding and will enrich their lives too. I also scatter dried herbs and it is lovely to see the piggies diving into the hay, checking out the different tastes and smells.

So, I will be selling all my bowls at the Open Day to raise much needed funds for TEAS and I will have a lot less washing up to do too! A win/win situation!
Click to expand...

That's a brilliant idea... both the food scattering and the selling of bowls...such a neat idea.
 
eileen said:
that is fab way of feeding cats ,ive ordered one for my cat.she is overweight and does have outside access,but this will give her more activity.i do not use a bowl for pellets with my piggies now,i feed fresh grass and forage once a day,with leafy greens.its saves a lot of work,with 20 piggies,not so much washing up.thanks for sharing this information.
Click to expand...
I will send you the link to some great puzzle feeders for cats too. Priya loves them xx
 
I often put the veggies directly on the fleece without any bowl, considering that there are usually just few pieces of vegs, as the main part of the meal is made of grass. Moreover, when I put the vegs into the bowl after some minutes I find a piggie resting into the bowl taking advantage of the cool of the vegs and then of course they stop eating
100_6877.webp
I should say that the same story happens with the grass, though...
100_6885.webp
about pellets, I also give them just few pieces, sometimes by hand, sometimes into a little bowl...
--------------
about cats' food I would not feed them with dried food, for the same reason why I avoid it for my piggies...
The Truth About Dry Cat Food
Why Dry Pet Food is Really Bad Nutrition for Your Cat
 
Most domestic cats are overweight with many being obese. Cats don't need two large meals a day. Their stomach is tiny and they benefit from little and frequent meals. My cat doesn't like wet food and has never eaten it, even when she was a small kitten. She eats a variety of biscuits but in very small amounts. She also hunts from time to time and eats what she kills.
 
Wow @furryfriends (TEAS). We binned so much already so I bet it's looking great now there. Watch out pigs and bunnies or you'll be going to the tip too!

It is so easy to keep things just in case. I have enough fleece for about 100 cages, yet I always use the same two pieces.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Just tidying up the piggy shed and realise that I have so many bowls. Why? Do piggies need to eat from a bowl?

My cat doesn't eat from a bowl. I use the NoBowl Feeding System. If you aren't familiar with it, here is a link so you can check it out Cat Food Dispenser: Interactive Cat Feeders | NoBowl Feeding System I

I have never fed veggies in a bowl and scatter them all over the cage, but nuggets have always been served in a bowl. I feed very few nuggets and I have decided to just scatter them in the hay, so the piggies have to search for them. I feel this is a much more natural way of feeding and will enrich their lives too. I also scatter dried herbs and it is lovely to see the piggies diving into the hay, checking out the different tastes and smells.

So, I will be selling all my bowls at the Open Day to raise much needed funds for TEAS and I will have a lot less washing up to do too! A win/win situation!
Click to expand...
Ditch the bowl! My local rescue where I homed mine scatter feed, much more natural and keeps them busy!
 
I would love to try this but as my piggies are housed on wood shavings and hay, I worry about the veg getting covered in shavings therefore inedible?

I'm pretty sure that @Wiebke feeds her piggies by scattering too. Such a great idea.
 
Claire W said:
I would love to try this but as my piggies are housed on wood shavings and hay, I worry about the veg getting covered in shavings therefore inedible?

I'm pretty sure that @Wiebke feeds her piggies by scattering too. Such a great idea.
Click to expand...

I scatter feed pellets and veg, but I have mostly groups and pairs on fleece where it is much easier. I would not feed moist veg directly on shavings and similar bedding as it can stick to them, but if the bedding is covered with a layer of hay, then it is perfectly fine.
 
Mine usually tip their bowls and end up feeding off the fleece so recently I've been putting veg and pellets in without a bowl. I will be scatter feeding later but for now while Eva is pregnant I like to make sure I can see how much she's eating, both pellets and veg.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Just tidying up the piggy shed and realise that I have so many bowls. Why? Do piggies need to eat from a bowl?

My cat doesn't eat from a bowl. I use the NoBowl Feeding System. If you aren't familiar with it, here is a link so you can check it out Cat Food Dispenser: Interactive Cat Feeders | NoBowl Feeding System I

I have never fed veggies in a bowl and scatter them all over the cage, but nuggets have always been served in a bowl. I feed very few nuggets and I have decided to just scatter them in the hay, so the piggies have to search for them. I feel this is a much more natural way of feeding and will enrich their lives too. I also scatter dried herbs and it is lovely to see the piggies diving into the hay, checking out the different tastes and smells.

So, I will be selling all my bowls at the Open Day to raise much needed funds for TEAS and I will have a lot less washing up to do too! A win/win situation!
Click to expand...
Selling them to raise money sounds like a excellent idea! Good Luck :)
I don't know why havn't tried to scatter feed their pellets in their hay, they would love it i reckon.
 
rome_italy said:
I often put the veggies directly on the fleece without any bowl, considering that there are usually just few pieces of vegs, as the main part of the meal is made of grass. Moreover, when I put the vegs into the bowl after some minutes I find a piggie resting into the bowl taking advantage of the cool of the vegs and then of course they stop eating
View attachment 66322
I should say that the same story happens with the grass, though...
View attachment 66323
about pellets, I also give them just few pieces, sometimes by hand, sometimes into a little bowl...
--------------
about cats' food I would not feed them with dried food, for the same reason why I avoid it for my piggies...
The Truth About Dry Cat Food
Why Dry Pet Food is Really Bad Nutrition for Your Cat
Click to expand...
I used to (up until a couple of weeks ago) just chuck the piggies veg in a pile directly on the fleece but I decided to make some fleece mats out of extra fleece remnants and use them like a table cloth because I was sick of getting red pepper/capsicum stains all over their main cage fleece. So far they have not dragged their veg off the mat yet but i'm sure it is coming lol.
 
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