Eating speed timer

Time a few meals in your regular bowl, time a few in a slow feeder, and the timer shows how the two compare. It is a plain stopwatch with a place to save runs, so you decide with your own numbers instead of guessing.

How to use it

1. Press Start when your pet begins eating and Stop when the bowl is empty.
2. Choose "Regular bowl" or "Slow feeder" and press Save this run.
3. Repeat. When you have saved at least one of each, the page shows the average time for both and the ratio.

The ratio is the slow feeder average divided by the regular bowl average. A result of 2.00 means meals took twice as long in the slow feeder.

A simple protocol

A fair comparison needs the same conditions each time:

• Feed the same meal size and the same food.
• Feed at about the same time of day, with the same amount of hunger.
• Record 3 meals in each bowl, in a row, so one odd day does not decide it.
• Watch your pet while it eats. If it seems frustrated, is pawing or flipping the bowl, or leaving food behind, stop and try an easier pattern.

If your pet shares a home with other animals, feed it apart from them so competition does not change the times.

What the numbers mean

We do not publish a "good" or "bad" eating time, because we have no sourced figure that applies to every dog or cat. Your own before-and-after ratio is the useful number. A longer meal is not automatically better for your pet, and a calm eater who already takes a few minutes may not need a slow feeder at all. For what the evidence says, read do slow feeders work, and for other ways to slow a fast eater, see how to slow down dog eating. If eating very fast comes with vomiting, coughing or other signs, talk to your vet.

Where your data goes

Saved runs live only in this browser tab, and your browser may also keep them in local storage so they are still there on your next visit. If local storage is blocked, they last until you close the page. The site uses no analytics and no cookies, and the timer makes no network requests. Use "Clear all runs" to wipe them.

Ready to try one?

If you want a slow feeder to test, our best slow feeder dog bowls roundup compares the options, and the bowl finder narrows them by size, food and material.