Anyone have any experience with these. It's like a hamster wheel but big enough for a cat to use. Any other ideas to get a cat to exercise by itself.

One of our members has a wheel. :)

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123057

I might try to make one. I saw this one a while ago while searching around on the nets, but at the time didn't realize it was on this forum. I also saw one someone made that only turned one way and it indexed another wheel that would drop a few treats after many turns of the big wheel. It looks like a cat will use it without any reward other than it's own pleasure of operating it. That's great! The indexed wheel is much more complicated.

Just as an aside; as cat owners, how much do you think something like this would be worth to you? I think there might be only one source for purchase of these things, and they are expensive, so the question would be if you could get one like the above referenced wheel how much would you reasonably expect to pay for such a toy?

My DH is in the process of building one for our Ocicat cause the ones online are way too expensive. Several members have expressed an interest in us building one for them, but we want to finish this first one before working on others. DH is estimating about $200-300 for materials and then you'd add some in for labor/shipping. Maybe $500 all together.

For now, I've trained Charlie to use the treadmill by bribing him with motz cheese pieces. He hasn't learned to do it on his own yet.

However, Niel has a big steel one his Bengals use all the time. I've seen people use a toy or the laser lite to get them started on the wheels.

I am trying to convince my hubby to let me build one of these cat wheels. The only problem is where to put it....?

I had to buy a steel wheel. I needed one that is sturdy, will last forever and is made from high quality materials.
Also needed one that would allow enough room for two cats to run at once, side by side.
Bengals are rough and tumble cats, so they need products that are built well.

I have yet to see any cat toy on the market that a bengal can't destroy. Maybe if they start selling a brick tied to a chain...........

Anyway.....so I bought the best wheel on the market and it cost me a pretty penny. $1,300 plus shipping.

In hind sight, considering I'm a breeder with plenty of cats, it was worth every cent. My cats use it everyday with no prompting from me, they want to use it.

If I end up building one, it will be made of steel....I am weldrwomn for a reason!!! That reason being, of course, to keep the cat amused :clap:

I think they are GREAT! & Actually don't think the price is THAT high for the Quality.

Infact I had contacted them before I had seen this thread.

However, the price must have gone down abit since you've purchased one :dk:

As I got a Quote of $1099 for one plus $275 for Shipping. Which I don't think is bad. Watching the videos of them in action, I think it is AMAZING. :clap:

I plan to purchase one Next year when we get our new house, it'll make a fun conversation piece LOL!

I think they are GREAT! & Actually don't think the price is THAT high for the Quality.

Infact I had contacted them before I had seen this thread.

However, the price must have gone down abit since you've purchased one :dk:

As I got a Quote of $1099 for one plus $275 for Shipping. Which I don't think is bad. Watching the videos of them in action, I think it is AMAZING. :clap:

I plan to purchase one Next year when we get our new house, it'll make a fun conversation piece LOL!

I bought one of the first ones when they were testing the market. I'm glad the price is a little lower, because I'll need a few more of them. ;)
Maybe I'll get a little discount, since those are my cats in that video! :)

I bought one of the first ones when they were testing the market. I'm glad the price is a little lower, because I'll need a few more of them. ;)
Maybe I'll get a little discount, since those are my cats in that video! :)

ACTUALLY... if you need a FEW more... apparently they come in boxes of 2, & they wouldnt have to unpack and repack them from the manufacturer, it is cheaper if you purchase them by the 2's it costs $2098 ;)

:clap:

If I had a wonderful house full of Bengals like you, I'd certianly have 3 or 4 of those wheels as well! :nod:

We have the wheel that Nial has except my cats are not as active on it as Nial's Bengals :lol3: