07/14/20 Thomas J. Supplement and Auto Feeder Reccomendations?

LilTurkey

LilTurkey

Member Since 2020
06/26/20

Thomas J. and Hidee are both doing well. I bought some auto feeders recently and both are doing well with them now although it did take a little while. I posted about this on think tank but didn't get any responses so I thought I'd post here instead. I like the petsafe autofeeder but it's lacking in some areas. The catmate c500 looks promising. What are your thoughts or other reccomendations on autofeeders?
I also posted on think tank about supplements and reccomendations but also got no responses so I'll ask you guys instead. What are your reccomendations for eldery cats for bone and joint health or just overall health. What's safe for cat's with a history of skin cancer and diabetes to use? They currently seem healthy but Thomas is always lounging and doesn't often want to play so I thought maybe it was arthritis holding him back. They are 13 and 15 so I want to keep them healthy and happy in their old age.
 
I'm glad the kitties are doing well and using the autofeeders. I don't have any suggestions about the autofeeders or supplements. Maybe add the ? icon to your subject line to get more attention.
 
LilTurkey said:
The catmate c500
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we are trying to get kit to use it regularly and comfortably.

she'll eat from it when we are watching :rolleyes:
but so far the portions that we leave once we go to sleep remain untouched.
when using a regular plate, she has the habit of re-orienting herself around it to get close to her food.
with the catmate, she can't do that. also, the opening seems a bit small for her head and she seems to struggle to get to the food.
sometimes to mediate that she dips her paw into the well and licks the food off. or, she "transfers" the food to the floor for easier access both for her and any ants who are in the neighborhood ....​

netting it out:
all-in-all we got it so we didn't have to get up around +6 to lift up a plate of any leftovers. so it does close on time and all that. she just doesn't seem to eat the last portion of the day when it's available to her in the catemate. ymmv.​
 
I got the Petsafe 5 when Blaze was newly diabetic and still use it daily for snacks during the day and in the evening. When he was getting insulin, I would do 4 small snacks for the am cycle and 4 small snacks for the pm cycle. Now that he’s in remission, I do 3 smalls snacks for the am and 3 small snacks for the pm. He got the hang of it right away, he figured out that when he heard it turning, there would be a snack waiting for him and he’d run to the auto feeder :joyful: he still does. My other two kitties try to beat him to it.
 
Also, I found small round bowls at Walmart that fit in the compartments of the auto feeder. Blaze has no teeth so I felt like the compartments might be too deep for him to get all the food, so I put the small
snacks into the little round bowls, and place them in the compartments. I use Friskie’s or FF pates, I sometimes put a little ice cube in each bowl to keep it cold and there’s a small compartment where you can put an ice pack as well.
 
JOJI and Kit said:
we are trying to get kit to use it regularly and comfortably.

she'll eat from it when we are watching :rolleyes:
but so far the portions that we leave once we go to sleep remain untouched.
when using a regular plate, she has the habit of re-orienting herself around it to get close to her food.
with the catmate, she can't do that. also, the opening seems a bit small for her head and she seems to struggle to get to the food.
sometimes to mediate that she dips her paw into the well and licks the food off. or, she "transfers" the food to the floor for easier access both for her and any ants who are in the neighborhood ....​

netting it out:
all-in-all we got it so we didn't have to get up around +6 to lift up a plate of any leftovers. so it does close on time and all that. she just doesn't seem to eat the last portion of the day when it's available to her in the catemate. ymmv.​
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How long have you been using it? They may just need a little more time to get used to it. My cat Hidee was having difficulty herself but because she's so small and the tray is so deep I think is the main reason. Also, she's picky and it has to be her preferred temperature. I put an icepack on the bottom but it only keeps that current meal cool.
I put ice cubes and she didn't like the water, I put icecubes in a bag and food on top and she didn't like it so cold, I left it out by itself and it was too warm. I froze the chunks and left them in which was better but the last feedings still got too warm. Then I bought some tea light candle holders which fit inside the tray to put the food with the bag of icecubes underneath and that seems to help but it made it too high to turn. Tried reusable ice cubes but still barely too high so I put one on each side to help cool a bit without messing with the height and this seems to help the most so far.
I was freezing bags of ice in the tray to have the proper shape and depth but it takes too long to freeze them and I don't have extra trays so the cat's would be without the autofeeder which negated the whole point.
If the height of the tray is too deep maybe put something in it to prop it up and set the food in a small container. That may help, if that's the issue of course. Sometimes it just takes them a while, especially when they're picky. Hidee would stare at it confused then sometimes lick the food but then walk away. She knew what it was for but was just so picky and confused with the change. She only just started fully eating from it 3 days ago.
Thomas got it immediately. The only issue is now he thinks he can have food whenever he wants and bothers us more.:rolleyes:
 
For joint supplements, Cosequin is a good option. It's a condrointen and glucosamine supplement and just like for humans, it's a good supplement for joints. It's available on Amazon in a cat specific formula.
 
I ended up having to make Hidee a cardboard house that only she could fit through since Thomas kept stealing her food. It's working out great so far. I'm still thinking of saving up for the SureFeed Microchip Auto Feeder Connect. I think that'll be most helpful.
 
Hi. I have the SureFeed Connect feeders and they have been SO helpful! I have 4 and would be lost without them. Different dietary needs and they help with that. They have tiny scales under a choice of one or two bowls so you know to the ounce what they ate and when they ate it by wet &/or dry food.
I recently had a health issue come up with one of my cats and being able to have reports at my fingertips pertaining to his diet by day, weeks and months was extremely helpful. They are not cheap but it is an amazing product.
 
Tomlin said:
Hi. I have the SureFeed Connect feeders and they have been SO helpful! I have 4 and would be lost without them. Different dietary needs and they help with that. They have tiny scales under a choice of one or two bowls so you know to the ounce what they ate and when they ate it by wet &/or dry food.
I recently had a health issue come up with one of my cats and being able to have reports at my fingertips pertaining to his diet by day, weeks and months was extremely helpful. They are not cheap but it is an amazing product.
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Yes, I like all the smart features it has that you mentioned. I think I'll still have to put it in a little house for her though. Thomas is so food driven I'm sure he would manage to break it some how to get to it.
Since it's so expensive I wouldn't want it to get broken by him. He's already scratched up his petsafe auto feeder trying to get to the other servings after all.:facepalm:
 
LoveforTucker said:
I like the cat mate 500. It comes with ice packs to use under the bowls.
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Yes, that's what I really like about it. The petsafe is great but none of the regular icepacks I had would fit in it so I used a folded gel pack instead, which works but only keeps the first serving cold unfortunately. Plus, it looks a good bit smaller than the petsafe which would be nice.
 
LilTurkey said:
Yes, I like all the smart features it has that you mentioned. I think I'll still have to put it in a little house for her though. Thomas is so food driven I'm sure he would manage to break it some how to get to it.
Since it's so expensive I wouldn't want it to get broken by him. He's already scratched up his petsafe auto feeder trying to get to the other servings after all.:facepalm:
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I have one aggressive cat who thought he could outsmart it and I have to say that the company has REALLY thought the design through. Kramer (who goes after the food) first decided to sneak in from behind the feeder once the door was open so I ordered the accessory to go on the back of it so that there is no access. It looks like a big bubble window. His next plan was to bite the others in the behind and get in the feeder. I went onto my App and set the door open and close to fast vs normal. Problem solved :). He has now given up after discovering his effort doesn’t get him anything :banghead:. One other product they make is a SureFlap microchip enabled pet door. They actually make several versions of it and one is a connected product. Just a thought-you could install one in the bottom of a door and have control over who enters and exits :) by microchip or a microchip tag you can put on a collar instead.
 
Tomlin said:
I have one aggressive cat who thought he could outsmart it and I have to say that the company has REALLY thought the design through. Kramer (who goes after the food) first decided to sneak in from behind the feeder once the door was open so I ordered the accessory to go on the back of it so that there is no access. It looks like a big bubble window. His next plan was to bite the others in the behind and get in the feeder. I went onto my App and set the door open and close to fast vs normal. Problem solved :). He has now given up after discovering his effort doesn’t get him anything :banghead:. One other product they make is a SureFlap microchip enabled pet door. They actually make several versions of it and one is a connected product. Just a thought-you could install one in the bottom of a door and have control over who enters and exits :) by microchip or a microchip tag you can put on a collar instead.
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I've actually been wanting a pet door for our laundry room where the litterboxes are so that I didn't have to keep the door open anymore. We feed them in the kitchen which doesn't have a door but I could always change Hidee's eating spot to a different room as well.
I want to make her a proper little house in the future just for herself with wood or something so that she has a proper safe space. Her current safe space is under our couch which I don't find to be a good spot in my opinion.
 
LilTurkey said:
I've actually been wanting a pet door for our laundry room where the litterboxes are so that I didn't have to keep the door open anymore. We feed them in the kitchen which doesn't have a door but I could always change Hidee's eating spot to a different room as well.
I want to make her a proper little house in the future just for herself with wood or something so that she has a proper safe space. Her current safe space is under our couch which I don't find to be a good spot in my opinion.
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They are lucky cats :bighug:! I have one cat, the only female, who eats in another room. I was happy that I was able to get away with one connect hub. It is beyond 30 feet and on the other side of a wall with appliances, yet the feeder still connected without any issue. So, if you buy them, try connecting with one hub first before buying a 2nd one.
 
Well, yesterday after I noticed the petsafe feeder didn't rotate for the evening meal I went to check on it and it looks like the motor burnt out. It wouldn't rotate by itself or manually and I could smell it too. I took the batteries out and reset it and everything.
My brother finally told me then that when he woke up this morning the little plastic bowl was on it's side and it looked stuck so he took it out. Not sure why he didn't tell me this as soon as I got up. He's an engineer and said he'll look at it for me to see if it really is burnt out or if it can be fixed at least.
Thomas missed 2 meals and I didn't realize. I feel bad, no wonder he was crying for food all day. He was actually really hungry this time.
At least I bought them used for a good deal so it wasn't a huge waste of money. Then again if I had bought them new I could've probably gotten a replacement. I was planning on buying the cat mate c500 anyway but was hoping to sale the petsafe to counter the cost.
Well, I guess I have an extra tray now that I can trade out. Now I have a bunch of useless little bowls though lol. Back to putting icecubes in with the frozen food even though they don't like it.
Word to the wise, if you're going to put bowls in the feeder make sure that they're heavy enough not to be turned over.
 
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