find me a small cat proof container can be easily opened with one hand?

November 24, 2022 8:20 PM

I would like to keep small dog training treats available to me quickly and easily at all times near the places I like to sit. But I have a determined and hungry cat who will absolutely try to break into any containers full of treats wherever I'm not watching. I would like the container to be easily opened by me, but proof against a cat by who will throw it off shelves, gnaw through bags, and claw at anything he thinks has food in it. Air tight a plus.

Things that have not worked:

Tupperware containers. He throws them at the ground until the seal breaks, and then the treats are his.
Mason jars. See here: he will absolutely throw them. If plastic or stainless steel mason jars existed, I would have some thoughts.
Those Temptations containers.
Bags of anything, even sealed bags. Once he realizes there's food it's game over.
Cupboards--he opens doors unless they're fairly well magnetized, and also then the goal of having them readily available when I want them on short notice isn't met.
Treat pouches--he's pried open the closures before.

Things that have worked:
We have an ammo box that lives next to my spouse's favorite seat that mostly works, but I feel like there must be a smaller, less unwieldy option available out there.

Cat tax, the scoundrel.

posted by sciatrix to Pets & Animals (25 answers total)

I use an old cleaned out cafe bustelo jar for my dog treats. The lid is plastic and has great action, and the glass is thick and heavy. It's survived many drops on both wood and laminate floors.

The instant espresso is also good.
posted by phunniemee at 8:26 PM on November 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

A child's Thermos Funtainer water bottle might be perfect! The lid opens with a one-handed button press, but would stay closed if dropped. The bottle is metal, with a heavy duty plastic lid, and it's super durable - toddlers keep them for years of hard use. Just remove the straw thingie, and the firm plastic lid has a little hole the right size for Temptations cat treats to come out (so hopefully your dog treats are about the same size. You could drill the hole bigger if needed, too). You could even cut the straw silicone thing into a gasket, to make it more airtight. They come in two sizes and lots of colours and patterns.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 8:33 PM on November 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

Know any diabetics? the little vials that test strips come in snap closed firmly and are waterproof. Very easy to open and close with a finger but will not open by being dropped or batted around. I have cats and they are cat tested for security. They are small enough to carry in a pocket or have stashed in small places. They are about the size of old film canisters.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 8:38 PM on November 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

Perhaps a stainless steel water bottle with a small screw lid? Something like this, but maybe smaller? Because the lid is small, you should be able to undo it with one hand, as long as you don't tighten it too much, by turning the lid with thumb and forefinger while you hold the bottle in your paw with the other three fingers. The cat probably won't be able to do that.
posted by dg at 8:41 PM on November 24, 2022

These 8800 series small Vollrath medical canisters might do the trick.

I am imagining putting a strong magnet inside with the treats to hold the jars snugly to a magnetic surface such as a white enamel tray, and depending on how tight the lids already are, a #62 rubber band around the outside of the rim above the bulge to make it airtight and keep the cat from getting the lid off.
posted by jamjam at 9:24 PM on November 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

What about a wide neck screw top Nalgene water bottle? Those are very sturdy and need to be twisted to open, which I think a cat would be unable to do. They're also airtight so the smell shouldn't be a big cat attractant.
posted by aubilenon at 9:57 PM on November 24, 2022

Empty prescription bottle with child-proof cap. Sorry, you can't open it with one hand (until you practice a lot, maybe), but it fits the other requirements.

Although I suppose any small plastic screw-top container (e.g. Allegra bottle, also from pharmacy) will work, unless your cat is unusually talented.
posted by amtho at 10:09 PM on November 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

For less than a quarter of the price of medical canisters you could buy Walmart 10 oz salt and pepper shakers, put magnets in the bottom and use aluminum tape inside to cover the holes. They would not be quite airtight unless you used plumbers tape on the threads, but that would be pretty easy.

They might be sized and threaded compatibly with Mason jar lids, but I think that's unlikely.

You could stick them down with museum wax, I guess.
posted by jamjam at 10:13 PM on November 24, 2022

How about a plastic canister with the type of flip-up lid found on spice containers, with one side that has small holes and one side that fits a spoon? I have a bigger container like this with nutritional yeast. I’ve also seen them for large quantities of cinnamon.
posted by Comet Bug at 12:02 AM on November 25, 2022

You need those containers with "snap locks", keep it light enough and they won't impact the floor hard enough to break or jar loose. I doubt your treats are that heavy. Mayb enot these specific ones, but something similar. Maybe this 2-pack from OXO, 0.6 cup, positively tiny. They ahve 1.9 or 2 cup ones too.
posted by kschang at 1:53 AM on November 25, 2022

Another OXO option is their Good Grips POP line of food storage containers. You press a circle in the lid to release the seal - very manageable with one hand.
posted by dywypi at 4:31 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

If plastic or stainless steel mason jars existed, I would have some thoughts.

A variety of food comes in plastic mason analogues. EG: Peanut butter or Mayo or Nutella. Most are available in small 250ml sizes. The lids tend to be the weak points when it comes to dropping but can be cushioned with a few wraps of electrical tape.
posted by Mitheral at 4:38 AM on November 25, 2022

Stainless steel Nalgene bottles exist.

These Klean Kanteen food canisters (link to a set, but they're sold individually) are probably overkill, but they're also pretty close to a stainless steel Mason jar (wider mouth though).
posted by box at 5:05 AM on November 25, 2022

One style of “flip top” or “flip tite” canisters have a ring on the lid that one pulls to release the seal. I think you could do it one-handed but I don’t know if your determined kitty could use a paw to thwart the closure. Here’s one brand but there are others. This company sells one themed for pet treats (ring styled as paw), which bodes well.
posted by carmicha at 5:28 AM on November 25, 2022

Best answer: I would think an empty plastic screw top jar like a mayonnaise jar or peanut butter jar would be robust enough not to be chewn through by a cat. Plastic mason jars are also a thing, if you want a metal lid that would be less likely to be gnawed up.
posted by drlith at 5:46 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

An Altoid-style tin?
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 7:13 AM on November 25, 2022

Best answer: These plastic jars are super easy to open and close with one hand. But I'm not sure how hard a plastic your cat can chew through (your tales of his adventures terrify me).
posted by gideonfrog at 7:23 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

My suggestion was going to be something with a flip top lid, but that's been covered above.
Other ideas - keep the treats on you, in a pocket or fanny pack or some sort? And give kitty a treat when you give one to the dog. They absolutely get jealous of each other's snacks. Well, mine do at least.
posted by cgg at 7:36 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

Are you doing any cat training with treats? If so, great, if not, your cat is observing you training with the dog, and is wanting to participate. This is not conjecture. All of my cats have imitated other household pet behaviour and all of them have been highly trainable and treat motivated, as much as any dog.
posted by nanook at 8:12 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

Best answer: How about a clicker tin ? I buy candy sold in those tins and use them for keeping stuff in my backpack. Unless you press down hard on the middle of the lid, it stays shut. I have dropped them often and they stayed shut.
posted by 15L06 at 8:32 AM on November 25, 2022 [3 favorites]

You are right to look for something with screw top lids and relatively air tight. I use a plastic gelato jar (Talenti?) and keep it on the floor so they can't use gravity to try to bust it open. I used to use a shallow takeout tub (the kind you would get for some schmancy dip at a fancy deli) but the cats discovered they can puncture the lid with their teef.

Also I know we aren't supposed to argue with other answers but I absolutely believe that you could be stuffing your cat to bursting with high quality food and doing lots of treat training etc and your cat would still be trying to break into the dog treat container.

Good luck!
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:06 AM on November 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

Somehow my answer is always American Science and Surplus. How about these squeeze open pill bottles. I have one that I got dog medicine from my Vet in years ago and kept because it's so great. I just went and threw it around and it stays closed. The seal is very tight and I can open and closes with one hand.
I also have a little metal candy tin from Trader Joes that is 3" x 1/2", opens/closes one handed and passes the throw around test. It held dark chocolate nibs. I don't know if they still carry them but it may be worth a try to just cruise the local candy aisles for little containers, Sometimes I buy the candy just fort the containers.
posted by BoscosMom at 10:19 AM on November 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

https://www.sciplus.com/poptop-vials-68034-p
Weird, I can't get the link to post. American Science and Surplus has lots of little containers that might work. Look for pop top vials
posted by BoscosMom at 10:45 AM on November 25, 2022

Response by poster:

Honestly, just feed your cat more. Unless a cat is overweight, it won't do that if it isn't hungry, and your cat looks both adorable and quite skinny. I would see what happens if you add more food to its regular diet.

Some years ago, this particular cat lived with another cat that had to be free fed from a tower feeder because if the other cat saw the bottom of an empty bowl, he would gobble down all available dry food and then vomit.

It is true that he loved this state of affairs. My spouse used to go to work, note him lying with his head in the kibble bowl casually chewing, and then would return home nine hours later to find him sprawled in the same place, nibbling away. Unfortunately, in the two or three months he lived with the other cat that used that setup, he also gained five pounds (his healthy weight is about twelve pounds). In my house, he gets wet food twice a day and a handful of dry kibbles split with two other cats among a range of puzzle toys.

It is not out of the question that he would get treats during training sessions; he's not my main focus but he absolutely does enjoy learning tricks along with everyone else. I don't have a problem with that, but my main concern is preventing him from deciding that he can do better by taking the whole enchilada while I'm sleeping.

He has never to my knowledge gnawed through hard plastic or a peanut butter jar, but has occasionally left toothmarks that demonstrate that he's tried.
posted by sciatrix at 11:39 AM on November 25, 2022 [5 favorites]

My dog (pup tax in profile) has chewed peanut butter jars open. I keep some treats in plastic containers from KFC, in a zipper bag that has a strap; I hang it up high. She hasn't chewed these particular containers open though she has given it some effort. KFC is my junk food treat; mashed potatoes w/ gravy and coleslaw come in single-serving containers.
posted by theora55 at 3:07 PM on November 25, 2022