This is definitely a "toy" for food motivated cats, that also like to bat around balls. If your cat isn't interested in playing with balls, it likely won't be interested in this. Luckily my cat is food and toy motivated, and he LOVES it. It does have some issues, such as the hole size adjuster doesn't hold it's spot. The lock is just very poorly designed. So no matter where you lock it, it will eventually (a fast eventually) work its way over to the biggest hole where the treats/food just fall out. I have found it's nothing that tape doesn't fix, but it definitely ruins the looks of it. If you don't mind taping the ball, you'll be fine. There were some people that commented that you can only use cat food and not treats, and some say the other way around. I have used both successfully. It's all about setting it to the right size (and then taping it to stay put). My cat is actually not overweight, we bought this instead to work his mind and give him something new to play with... so we use treats. Purina ProPlan Savory Bites work PERFECTLY with this ball! **I would suggest letting the cat play with it on the largest hole setting for little work with maximum reward for the first few times, to get the cat really interested and familiar with it. And slowly make the hole smaller so they have to work harder for the reward.** So all and all, I got this for cheap. I can't really complain, and it's not worth the time/effort to return. I personally don't mind it having duct tape, and neither does my cat! Although I did have to rate it 3 out of 5. I shouldn't have to rig it for it to work properly.

Bought three, one for each cat. The boy, who gulps his food and then heads toward the girls' bowls unless there's a closed door between them, figured out how to get food out within 5 minutes. We're putting 1/2 his meals in the ball. However, there's not a lot of chasing going on; more like patting it around untjl something falls out. *sigh* At least it's slowing him down and helping with him barfing after eating too fast. The two girls just aren't as food-motivated - they watch him play and occasionally snatch a bite. Maybe add a jingle ball to increase interest? I'm going to try it. There are two differently-shaped holes, and it's tricky to find the exact setting that allows random access as opposed to all the food falling out at once. Patience, it does work!

It wasn't exactly what I was expecting... You can't use it with dry cat food I found, but only treats. My two cats don't "bat it" around like I was hoping - for the "exercise" part of it, but they slowly push it around with their nose waiting for the treat to fall out. They both figured out how to get the treats, but not what I would consider a real exercise type toy - like I was hoping for... Larger than I expected also...

I've had one for years and different cats react differently to it. I use it to dispense treats,and the pet sitter puts it out when I'm away. It keeps the cat from being totally bored. Current cat took weeks to figure it out, but loves it now. Some of the others caught on immediately but one never figured it out. My only complaint is that the ball gets batted under furniture and I have to track it down. I'm going to buy several for gifts.

This works great!! Our cat was eating fast and was sick. She was always trying to get more food. Now she rolls the ball around and eats a bite at a time. She is so much happier now and so are we!

Bought one of these for my daughter's cat who was a stray and tends to gulp his food down too quickly.. Took him 2 seconds to figure the ball out and it has really slowed his eating down. I then bought one for my cat to make him work for his food for " mental" stimulation. Took him less than a minute to figure it out and he loves it! After the first two feedings , I adjusted the ball to dispense the kibble at a slower rate. Works well. Sturdily made and easy to clean. The cats have great fun with it too! I love this product!

I have tried to interest the cats in the ball for a week now. They are too frightened of the ball to approach or bat it. Not giving up yet...

My cat loves this but I wish the holes were not so large. Even though you can adjust the size, it still seems like it's an all or nothing dispenser. I also wish the overall size of the toy was slightly smaller. But it keeps her entertained for a few minutes until she gets them all out. I only give two treats at a time. Got to keep her girlish figure :)