Automatic Feeder Recommendations?

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SherryDarlingNJ

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I am looking into buying one of those automatic feeders for when I go back to work. I would of course get her used to it beforehand. There seem to be a lot of brands and sizes (two compartments vs. five) and would love to know what brand anyone uses and how reliable it is, how easy to clean, how long the batteries hold up, how noisy, etc.
Thanks for any info.
Sherry & Bally
 
Hi Sherry!

Here is the Auto Feeder I have for Zoe. I have had it for a little over 2 years....and it is a lifesaver. I know if I am going to be gone all day, I set it up and she has fresh food available at her normal feeding times. I like this one because I can set it up for whatever time I want it to open and it does....no worries. I have had the same betteries in it for about 6 months and I use it everynight for 2 overnight mini-meals. It is loud, however, unless I am awake, I don't here it. Zoe took to it easily.......pretty much right from the start....I didn't have to work with her much at all. I used her favorite treat at first and set-up to open every hour.....she sat and watched me set it up (of course, that is probably because I her treat container :roll: ). The first time it opened I had to call her to come see....then when she got the treat she was happy....the 2nd time, she took off for the kitchen and has been happily using it ever since.

For wet food, I mix water into her wet food and freeze in little cups....take the food out, put the frozen nugget into the feeder and away we go. It takes about 2 hours for the food to thaw, but it will stay cool most of the day. The extra water keeps it from drying out.

Good luck with choosing one!
 
Thank you Sherry (what a nice name). That is very useful info about freezing the food with some water. I appreciate your help.

Sherry & Bally
 
I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Petself-Elect...?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1314996730&sr=1-3

I went through two other feeders (including the petsafe one) that Bandit destroyed before I found the QPets one. If you have a cat that's an unstoppable force of destruction like Bandit, it's a great feeder because it's very sturdy and hard to break into. Of course, that means it's also a little hard to take apart and clean, but I get around that by making little tin foil bowls that I put in the compartments so I only have to wash it once in a while.

I don't add water to the food, but I do freeze it. I portion it out in tiny ziploc bags, so when I'm inevitably trying to set the feeder as I'm rushing out the door, all I have to do is grab one and plop it in his tin foil dish.

One feature I love is the option to record a voice message that plays when the food is released. This helped quite a bit getting the cats used to the feeders because they got my "Here kitty kitty!" dinner call even if I wasn't there.

One possible disadvantage is that my boyfriend claims that the feeder was difficult to learn how to program at first. I followed the instructions and never had a problem, but he claims it took him a few tries before he did it right. I found it about the same as programming an alarm clock or VCR, so for me it was really easy. However, I would never in a million years ask my Mom (who needs help figuring out how to operate anything with batteries) to set this feeder.
 
I forgot to add that I have two of these feeders (one for each cat)--the first one I've had since 2007 and it still has the same batteries in it (I turn it off and reprogram it in between feedings, though. I'm sure if you left it on 24/7 with the clock programmed they would run down faster, but I still think they'd probably hold out for a long time). There's also a light that indicates if the battery is low. It's slightly noisy, it makes a whirring noise like an electric can opener, but nothing that will wake your house. I also had trouble on one of them with the plastic lid sticking and causing it to jam, but you don't really need it unless you're setting all four compartments (it only keeps the cat from getting into compartment #4 which I never ever use anyway) so I just took it off and I had no problems again after that.
 
Many people here use the PetSafe 5 compartment feeder It can hold up to 5 meals, which is plenty for day to day use. The feeder has a digital programmable timer and is easy to use. It's also nearly cat-proof, meaning a cat can't flip or push the feeder around in an attempt to get to the food. Some cats may somehow figure out how to get to the food or break the feeder.

Sherry & Zoe said:
It is loud, however, unless I am awake, I don't here it.
Click to expand...

The Petsafe 5 compartment feeder does make a brief whirr noise as the bowl rotates to the next compartment but otherwise does not make any noise.

Petsafe also makes a 2 compartment feeder but it's very noisy because the manual timer constantly ticks until you take the impossible to remove and insert batteries out, the timer can only be set in 2 hours increments, and many cats can easily pop the flimy lids open to get to the food.

Cat Mate is another popular brand of timed feeders.
 
I have the Cat Mate C20 that I got from petmountain.com (price was better than amazon). I have been using it for several months and had no issues. It has 2 compartments with an ice pack for underneath. I put a refrigerated portion in one side and a frozen portion on the other (I freeze a portion the night before in a Oxo Good Grips lock top container which holds 13.5 oz) - one side to open between 10-11am the other between 3 & 4 pm. he also gets fed at 6am and 8pm. Has never tried to break it. Of course, he's sitting in the kitchen now looking for dinner...

good luck with whatever you decide!
 
squeem3 said:
It's also cat-proof, meaning a cat can't flip or push the feeder around in an attempt to get to the food.
Click to expand...

Well, this feeder for sure wasn't Bandit-proof. The Petsafe 5 is the second feeder I bought that he completely ripped apart. It was a good feeder before he destroyed it, but I caution people against it if they have cats that behave like raccoons. The first feeder I bought was this one, which was a total piece of garbage http://www.amazon.com/Ergo-8-Day-Au...?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar He had that one destroyed in about 1 day. At least the Petsafe lasted a couple weeks.

I forgot to add that the QPet also has a compartment for an ice-pack. I just never use it because it's easier to just freeze the food.
 
I appreciate everyone's input. Bally is NOT an aggressive foodie so I don't think that will be an issue for us. I have a "civvie," Madam Marie, who would search for a screwdriver to take one apart if she had to, but I won't be using this for her. (Bally has her own rooms, due to bloodshed).
Bally is a rather timid cat, which is why I am concerned about the noise factor.
Sherry & Bally
 
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