Please Recommend A Dry Food Automatic Feeder

[Catowneragain]

I feed my cats canned food but when I go away on a weekend, I do leave dry food. I need to get two feeders and since I won't use much, would like not to spend a lot. I would appreciate any recommendations and links to where you bought it. Thank you.

 

[Kitty_Galore]

I think that the one from PetSafe is the best because it is most reliable

 

[duckpond]

I really like Dr. Elseys dry food, chicken. Its not cheap, but they do have the smaller 2 lb bags if you will not use often. its a very high protein and low carb food.

The other one i use some is Farmina, they also have fairly small bags, so that would be good for occasional use.

I get these from chewy, but if you have a good pet store nearby you may can pick up local?

Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein Chicken Formula Grain-Free Dry Cat Food

Farmina / Dry Food / Food / Cat - Free shipping at Chewy.com

Sorry, just realized you were asking about the feeders, not the food sorry.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! There's a Petsafe healthy pet food station, it's about $20, the thing I like about it is the wide opening for the kibble to flow into the bowl without the pieces eventually sticking/getting jammed up and no longer flowing. Some cats figure it out and use their paws to get the kibble flowing again, but...
There's also a petmate replendish feeder with microban that could also work for you.
And duckpond s recommendations regarding food are great too

 

[LTS3]

Do you have someone to stop by and check on the cats and clean the litter box, refill the water bowl, play with them, etc?

Petsafe has several feeders: Shop Feeders products by PetSafe

Catmate is another brand: Pet Feeders Archives · Pet Mate

You can find feeders at pet stores and online at places like Amazon and Chewy.

 

[Catowneragain]

I may go for one night or two. I will probably just leave them with food and water. Good point on the litter box though. I see many feeders but just thought someone had one they liked a lot.

 

[Kitty_Galore]

I may go for one night or two. I will probably just leave them with food and water. Good point on the litter box though. I see many feeders but just thought someone had one they liked a lot.

Yeah, the litter box can be a problem if you are planning of leaving your cats alone over the weekend.. I know that my cat, the Kitty Galore would rip me to shreds and send me to the dungeon just for that..

You are lucky that your cats will tolerate your behavior but you should not push it.. I caught my cat reading a book "How to control your human" so you never know how they may retaliate!

But when it comes to the litter box me and my cat have solved this by purchasing the litter robot which is like an automatic futuristic litterbox. Mine gets stuck often and has some other problems but it is old so I guess that's normal..
Maybe you should look into the auto cleaning litter boxes. You can start your research here Top 7 Best Automatic Self Cleaning Litter Boxes [2018 Update]
But be careful of these sites found on google because in the end its just one opinion and your cats cant really rely on that. Before making any decisions on any apparatus for your feline queens ask here in forums and check the reviews for the products on the sites you buy.

But yeah I guess your cats will be able to go through the weekends really well if you provide them with the auto feeder, litter box and the water. Be careful with the water thou because you will want a dish which can't spill over!

Cats have a problem with water intake because of their climate origin and they never did learn to drink as much water as they can so they suffer kidney damages.. Not to scare you but please make sure that during those two days they have enough water and that the dish cant be tipped over. I would glue the dish to the floor or something. Because what if one hour after you leave your cats spill the water and are left with 2 days without it? That would definitely cause them health damage!

Best of luck to your felines, my Kitty Galore sends its royal regards and this message was written by her human while she was narrating.
It's not that the Kitty Galore cant type but it's below her majesty to use the human-made devices unless they are there for food or to break them by pushing them off the table.

 

[Catowneragain]

Thank you for the replies. I have a stainless steal bowl of water and a glass of water (for the one cat who has to use a glass) and I don't see them drink. Tried a fountain - they didn't like. So I give canned food usually and make a gravy with water and give them kind of loose food with gravy so they have water. You can lead a cat to water but you can't make them drink!

 

[ailish]

I have the PetSafe automatic that costs $134.99. When I got it it seemed a bit pricey, but looking at the other ones they seemed to be rather flimsy. Plus, I wanted low maintenance. It has been a great and reliable feeder. I don't use the dish apparatus, I just put her dish under the spout and it works fine.

The one thing I hate with a purple passion is that it's a DOG to set and it's very easy to make an error. The batteries last about a year and there is a battery level indicator on it for peace of mind. Also, the clock seems to run a bit fast (not that you would know that at a glance because it doesn't display the clock), but that at least isn't too difficult to adjust. I only have to set it yearly when I change the batteries, but if you want something that you plan to change often this may be a problem. Of course, if you change it often it might become second nature.

On a side note, it tends to drop a few morsels of food if you really bang it. Why would you bang it, you ask? YOU wouldn't. I have mine sitting on the base of my homemade cat tree. Ailish learned that if she took a flying leap and landed heavy on the top of the tree she could sometimes get two or three pieces of food to drop into the bowl. So for awhile it was a fun game to crash onto the tree and then lean over to see if a morsel dropped. It was kind of funny to watch.

 

[Catowneragain]

Ailish that is so funny and shows you how smart the cats are for getting their food! My cat noticed the treats were in a cabinet and when I came home many things on the floor and treat bag chewed open and all gone. This is only one thing she has figured out.

 

[BonitaBaby]

Thank you for the replies. I have a stainless steal bowl of water and a glass of water (for the one cat who has to use a glass) and I don't see them drink. Tried a fountain - they didn't like. So I give canned food usually and make a gravy with water and give them kind of loose food with gravy so they have water. You can lead a cat to water but you can't make them drink!

Hahaha! My cat stole my water glass that I keep on the table next to the bed. I don't think she ever drank from the fountains I got for her. I'm going to "make" my own fountain sans filter from info I found online. Use a large bowl (ceramic for mine) and a small adjustable aquarium motor to create bubbles. I found one on Amazon. Hopefully my cat will drink from it. I'll be pouring filtered water in. Unfortunately, my cat does not like water added to her food. =/

 

[jcat]

Have you seen this article? Best Automatic Feeders For Cats (including 17 Detailed Reviews)

We have this one we're quite satisfied with due to being able to give small portions. Our cat also hasn't managed to break it open.

 

[10009891]

Is kibble food really all that bad, especially if it's quality kibble? Pet nutritionists say it's the worse form of food to feed your cat. Even alleging that the reason there is so much reports on renal failure and diabetes in cats is because of the kibble diet. The only problem I have with kibble feeding is the way it causes my cats to do poo much more often and increase it litterbox odor.

 

[jinxybean]

I would price out how much it would cost you to get the automatic feeder and extra litter pans, and weigh that against the cost of having a pet sitter stop by a few times.