Timed feeder recommendations

[kakers]

Not technically about nutrition itself but related! We're looking into getting timed feeders for our cats, both for when we go out of town and also because there will be days later in the year where there won't be a human home for 12 or more hours for them to get their typical 3 meals a day. So the plan is for those times to have 2 of their 3 meals come from timed feeders.

Most of our cats it won't matter as much the specific design of the feeder but we do have one cat who is extremely intelligent and extremely food motivated. He can get into drawers (both by sliding them open and by approaching them from the cabinet and reaching in.) He will knock over containers and spill the contents out. Heck he even has chewed through blister packs to steal probiotic pills. So we need something that is nearly impossible for a cat to get into or knock over, won't jam up if a paw is stuck up the shoot, etc. Ideally with a stainless steel bowl, but this is lower priority.

Anyone have experience with extra determined, food motivated kitties who have found a great timed feeder they can't get into?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't know if these links will help any, but you might as well look at them while you wait to hear directly from members who use timed feeders. Hopefully, some will come along soon!!
Best Automatic Feeders For Cats (including 9 Detailed Reviews) - TheCatSite
Best 7 Automatic Wet Food Feeders For Cats | Comparison & Reviews (catfooddispensersreviews.com)
Amazon.com : WOPET Automatic Cat Feeder FT60,48-Hour Timer Cat Bowl with Ice Gel Pack Refrigeration Function,Perfect for Puppies and Kittens in Yogurt,Can,and Wet Food Feeding : Pet Supplies

 

[iPappy]

I have never used timed feeders but I'm hopeful someone who has will have some ideas.
The determined kitty you have sounds very intelligent and a lot of fun! I like a little bit of naughty. . Have you given him food puzzle toys before?

 

[kakers]

I have never used timed feeders but I'm hopeful someone who has will have some ideas.
The determined kitty you have sounds very intelligent and a lot of fun! I like a little bit of naughty. . Have you given him food puzzle toys before?

He is so much fun! And yes he has a couple more challenging puzzle feeders we give him off and on. He figured them out pretty quickly!

 

[daftcat75]

Unless he figures out how to spin the wheel, a simple clamshell design should be good enough.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075PPCPJL/?tag=thecatsite

These are cheap enough to experiment with before you go on vacation. I recommend deploying these in pairs. The failure rate is low but not zero. Sometimes the wheel counts down to zero but the lid doesn't pop. I've had less than a paw's worth of failure-to-opens in thousands of uses. But if the price of a failure is an acid barf, you learn quickly to add in some redundancy.

For what it's worth, I've heard the PetSafe brand (across several products) is notoriously crackable by determined cats. Buyer beware!

 

[kakers]

Unless he figures out how to spin the wheel, a simple clamshell design should be good enough.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075PPCPJL/?tag=thecatsite

These are cheap enough to experiment with before you go on vacation. I recommend deploying these in pairs. The failure rate is low but not zero. Sometimes the wheel counts down to zero but the lid doesn't pop. I've had less than a paw's worth of failure-to-opens in thousands of uses. But if the price of a failure is an acid barf, you learn quickly to add in some redundancy.

For what it's worth, I've heard the PetSafe brand (across several products) is notoriously crackable by determined cats. Buyer beware!

I hadn't seen that kind before! They definitely look secure. Unfortunately I'm looking for something that can release at least 2 separate meals throughout the day, and ultimately we'll need 3 for separate cats, too.

 

[daftcat75]

I hadn't seen that kind before! They definitely look secure. Unfortunately I'm looking for something that can release at least 2 separate meals throughout the day, and ultimately we'll need 3 for separate cats, too.

Could you get six of them, and set them to open at different times? Or do you have one cat who would eat all of them?

 

[kakers]

Could you get six of them, and set them to open at different times? Or do you have one cat who would eat all of them?

The feeding situation at our house is like a carefully choreographed scene lol 4 cats, 2 with completely different food sensitivities, one that eats like a vacuum cleaner and will eat everything in site (yes the smart one lol) and one that eats super slow. So they're all in separate rooms for meals! Theoretically if it comes down to it we could do 2 of these for our smarty pants and the gravity type timed feeders for the other 2 that will need meals (the 4th would just have his food out at all times and won't need a timed feeder.)