If you travel, are in and out of the home a lot, or just aren’t good at keeping a regular feeding schedule for your cats – one of these best automatic cat feeders are going to make your life a lot easier.
Automatic cat feeders operate on timers and dispense the amount of cat food you choose at the set times you program in.
They literally take all the work of feeding your cat the right amount at the right times off your hands. Pretty awesome, eh?
So, if you’re planning on going away or just want to automate the feeding process, read on. You’ll end up wishing you bought a cat feeder next time you want a lie in or plan an overnight trip and can’t find a pet sitter!
Why Would You Need an Automatic Cat Feeder?
Why wouldn’t you need a cat feeder, right? Jokes aside, here are the ways an automatic cat feeder can make yours (and your cat’s) lives easier:
- You travel a lot and want to set automatic feeding times.
- You don’t like being bothered by your cat when it’s feeding time.
- You work different hours and schedules, making it difficult to keep a set feeding schedule.
- You like the peace of mind that your kitties will always be fed on time.
- You like cool gadgets (yes this is a reason some people buy automatic feeders).
How to Choose the Best Automatic Cat Feeder
Choosing an automatic feeder doesn’t need to be a daunting task. There are a few key features I always look for, and I’ve done all the hard work by listing 5 of the best automatic cat feeders below for you.
How Many Cats Do You Have?
As a rule of thumb, you need a separate feeder for each cat in your household. Even if they eat nicely from regular bowls, you want to dispense the right amount of food per cat and have them used to their own feeders.
Is It Mains or Battery Powered
If you have a place in mind for your feeder check there is a power source nearby if it needs to be plugged into the mains.
Some are battery operated or can use both batteries or mains. It’s an important consideration, especially if you don’t want wires you can trip over.
Capacity and Timer Settings
The three main requirements you have for your feeder is to dispense a certain amount of food, at set times, and last as many days as you’ll be away.
So, choose a feeder that has the capacity to last as long as you’ll need, while dishing out the food as per your cat’s needs.
This shouldn’t be a problem with the feeders I’ve reviewed below. I wouldn’t recommend any that can’t keep a cat happy for at least a few days.
5 of The Best Automatic Cat Feeder Reviews
PetSafe Healthy Automatic Pet Feeder
This auto feeder from PetSafe is one of the most popular models on the market and it’s easy to see why when you read everything it does.
You can program in up to 12 meals a day (not sure why you’d need that many!), dispense flexible meal portions, it works with dry and semi-moist food, and most importantly for those greedy cats, it’s pet-proof.
It’s also worth mentioning that it’s super easy to dismantle and clean. It comes with the stainless steel bowl too.
It runs on batteries so you can situate it anywhere and move it around freely. The power pack is sold separately if you want to plug in into the mains.
I love this automatic feeder, it does everything you need and more. It will replace you as your cat feeder, and that’s exactly what you want.
You can find the PetSafe automatic feeder instructions here if you want to read through the specifics.
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Arf Pets Automatic Pet Feeder
Arf make some awesome pet products and this is their best-selling automatic dog and cat feeder.
I like how simple the design is and how easy this is to use. Simply open the top of the feeder and pour our pets food in.
Set how often and how many portions you want dispensing and away you go. It will start beeping when it’s low on food, and until then it’ll keep on feeding your pets.
Each portion is 24ml, and you can program up to 4 daily food dispenses. All it takes is a few clicks and it’ll keep your pets fed for days.
It runs on either batteries or mains supply. Isn’t so loud that it’ll disturb you, and does a good job of keeping the food airtight so cats shouldn’t prowl around it because of the smell.
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IsYoung 5.5L Automatic Pet Feeder
If you’re looking for a large feeder to keep your hungry kitty or two cats taken care of then this one has a 5.5L capacity. This much food will keep some cats fed for a month!
It looks like a small water cooler, but I really like the design with the clear funnel. The advantage of that being you can see all the food inside so you know when it’s running low.
It’s easy to clean, the food tray pulls away, can dispense food up to 15mm in diameter, and has an easy to use control panel for programming feeds.
A cool feature is that you can record a message that plays when it’s feeding time. So your cats will hear your voice just as you’re there.
It runs on batteries can you can place it anywhere. It will dispense food up to 3 times a day. A little insider tip, when it says the batteries are low, replace them as it can cause irregular feeding.
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HoneyGuardian A25 Automatic Pet Feeder
Automatic feeders come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and this one from HoneyGuardian has a cool modern look, finished in white and blue.
It’s suitable for cats or dogs, has a 3.3 lb food capacity, you can set portions between 1/32 – 4 cups per serving, and can set up to 6 meals a day.
It also has the cool feature I like on feeders allowing you to record a message when it’s feeding time.
Cats and dogs love hearing a familiar voice, so make use of this feature no matter how silly you think you sound!
The manufacturer says that the batteries will last more than 6 months, so once you’re set up all you need to do is keep an eye on the food levels.
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Cat Mate C3000 Automatic Pet Feeder
I’ve listed this one from Cat Mate because a friend of mine owned this model and is very happy with it.
She uses it for her two cats, and although I’d recommend one per cat her two get on perfectly well and she sets the feeder to dispense enough food for both of them.
The food hopper has a huge 6.5lb capacity. You can program up to 3 feeds a day, and set the volume from 10g and upwards.
It has a cleverly designed tamper-proof nozzle which will come as a welcome note to those who have crafty cats capable of breaking into other feeders.
It operates on batteries, can be dismantled into parts and washed in a dishwasher, and can be fastened to the floor if you really can’t trust your cats to behave.
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