Auto Feeder Recommendtions?

[bookw0rm]

Looking for recommendations for an auto feeder. I looked at PetSmart last night--they had 2 and I was shocked at the price. Looking online today, I can find better prices but there are lots of choices and often mixed reviews. What do you all use?

I've tried freezing a portion--Cassie just eats it frozen. Right now I'm feeding three times a day. I'd like to spread their meals out but Cass just eats everything I put out immediately (this was not the case when he ate dry). I think if he's getting smaller portions more spread out it will help his blood sugar. And poor Benny eats a little when it gets put out, but when he comes back Cass has eaten everything else.

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

I have this feeder: http://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Fee...XWLM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1319205443&sr=8-4. I went through two others before this one, A petsafe, and a Lentek, and Bandit destroyed them both trying to get to the food. Bandit is more like a raccoon than a cat when it comes to getting into things, though--I know many people here use the Petsafe and love it and their cats were not able to break into it. I've had two of my current one for years now and they're still going strong. The only thing that may be problematic is that my brother has said that they're a little difficult to figure out how to program, but I never had any problem with ut. If you could figure out how to program a VCR back in the day, it's similar to that, and it does come with instructions.

 

[doombuggy]

I use this one and found it cheaper here:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/elec ... eeder.html

It comes with an ice pack for the bottom and Cedric is fine with it. I kind of jumped the gun and ordered one for Dallas, but I am unsure how he will act around it, knowing food is in there, being a rescued stray. I am on the fence about sending it back, keeping it or selling it (I only have a couple of weeks to send it back, they have a 60 day return policy, it's in the box that fedEx delivered, still sitting by the front door...)

It doesn't let you program an exact time, which is the only negative for me. I put a cold portion w/ice cube on left, frozen portion on right and they open at 2 interevals that I set. cedric usually eats the first and forgets about the 2nd until I come home!

 

[squeem3]

I use the PetSafe 5 compartment feeder. It's quiet, except for a brief whirr noise as the bowl rotates, is cat-proof, and has a digital programmable timer.

There's a 2 compartment one but many cats can pry open the flimy lids to get to the food. My cat often pushed and flipped the entire feeder around :shock:

Try Ebay or Craigslist or FreeCycle for timed feeders for sale or free. You can browse the ads or post your own wanted ad.

 

[PeterDevonMocha]

I use the same one as above, the five compartment feeder. We used it on a regular basis with mocha, during the night. Eventually we noticed her hair thinning out around her neck .. We came to the conclusion she is sensitive to rubbing her neck on the plastic compartment. We stopped using it and her hair came back in just fine. Now we use it only on a "as needed" basis, like if we will be gone over night or several hours ..