Timer Feeder Suggestions

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DaisyPaws

DaisyPaws

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Hello, All,
We're slowly but surely getting Daisy regulated on Lantus.
She does best when she eats a couple of snacks during the day, between meals.
Otherwise, she just doesn't eat enough at a meal to keep the weight on and to keep her bg "peaks and valleys" from getting pretty crazy.
We've been trying small snacks at 12 and 4 am and pm, along with meals and shots at 8 am and pm, and she is doing great with that.

Problem is, that snack schedule requires pretty stable availability from her people, which is not always going to be possible. We can't leave food out, because other cat will eat it.
I bought a couple of PetSafe timed feeders, but the timers are so generalized (2 hour increments) that I can't ensure that they will open for both cats at the same time. Thus, dominant cat (who does not need the snack!) is still the boss of the bowl, limiting Daisy's access.
Also, these feeders make no noise when opened, so on "test runs" Daisy has become low without ever knowing food was available. Getting up in the middle of the night to carry her to the timer feeder kinda sorta defeats the purpose!

I'm looking for an upgrade with a more specific timer and an alarm (bell) or recording. I found a couple of models on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Feeder- ... 916&sr=8-6

and

http://www.amazon.com/Smartpets-Self-Au ... d_sbs_k_39

Neither have many reviews and I would love more information about the timer features.
Has anyone used these feeders, or other feeders that you would suggest?
Since I sometimes have to travel for work, the peace of mind (if we could get a product that works well and reliably!) would be priceless!
 
We love our Petsafe5. It is easy to program and our cats have not been able to break into it. It makes a whirring sound when it opens and the cat comes running, so your kitty should be able to hear it. You can buy them at PetSmart or online- I think on Amazon.com. They have 5 compartments so you can let them graze often.
 
i know bandit's mom has another option as well, i hope she pops in and gives her option.

we use a petsafe one but i can understand where your coming from- it's not perfect timing. i don't think any pet feeder will have perfect timing. i think that's why they keep us around ;)

when we were looking around we looked at a few diy options, some are really successful, some are not. if you are creative and handy, that may be an option for you so since some of the diy options can read chips and recognize which cat is at the bowl. i am not that handy, so that wasn't an option for us, however it did look pretty cool and do-able.

hope to see you around!
 
I have two of the feeders that Charlotte posted, and I used to use them so I could feed my cats at exactly the same time so Bandit didn't eat both meals since he's aggressive with food. I stuck them at different ends of the kitchen where they normally each got fed, and when they heard my voice say "kitty kitty kitty!" they would each run to their spots and eat. They're also the only ones bandit wasn't able to break into.

Not sure if you're in the US or not, but if you are here's the link on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Petself-Elect...UH22/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1307132474&sr=8-2
 
Oh, forgot to talk about the timer. You can set each compartment to go off at any time. It will give you the option to set it to a 12 hour or 24 hr display, and then you pick the hour in that period when you want it to go off. In order to synch two of them, you just have to turn them on and hit the *set* button on both at the same time after you've loaded the food.

I've been told by my brother and my boyfriend that they had a little trouble figuring out how to program it at first without instructions, but I didn't. But it does come with instructions...I just lost mine.

(If you do end up buying two of these and are having trouble synching them, PM me and I'd be happy to give you a call and explain how.)
 
Thanks so much for all of the suggestions!
We've ordered two of the feeders suggested by Charlotte and Julia.

I think we'll try using them every day - home or not - at least for awhile, to (hopefully) condition the kitties.

Thank you again, everyone!
 
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