A Quality Budget-Friendly Auto Cat Feeder

[Amirah95]

Anyone have a good one they use for their cat(s)? This is the first time we're going to be leaving our cat at home while we're on vacation and we're going to have my DSIL come to check on her every two days while we're gone to WDW. We don't want to have to burden her with feedings, but she will check to make sure food is available for my DCat while she's checking in. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[girli565]

When we go to WDW for a long weekend we usually just leave a really large bowl filled with dry food and another large bowl filled with water. They don't gorge, which I was worried about, and just graze all day.

If we leave for longer than 3 days my sister-in-law will come check on them and feed them but I think we could even be gone 4-5 days using the above method and they'd still be fine. I think 5 days is too long without human contact but if I was in a bind I'm sure they'd be fine.

Instead of buying an automatic feeder (they're pricey!) you could just leave a big bowl full of dry food and another with water. If someone is checking on them periodically they should be fine!

 

[hsmamato2]

we always leave a big bowl of dry cat kibble for the week- we put in about what they eat for a week,plus some to be sure they don't run out- plus enough water bowls so they have plenty too.cats are AWESOME,they take such good care of themselves! We've never had problems in 20+ years....

 

[pixiewings71]

I have this kind, but much smaller, it works GREAT. We have 3 cats and keep this feeder in the garage for them, they eat as they get hungry.
http://www.petco.com/product/118281/Petmate-Blue-Replendish-Pet-Auto-Feeding-System.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

 

[Swimalie]

I have this kind, but much smaller, it works GREAT. We have 3 cats and keep this feeder in the garage for them, they eat as they get hungry.
http://www.petco.com/product/118281/Petmate-Blue-Replendish-Pet-Auto-Feeding-System.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

We have a very similar feeder to the one above. When we go away, we out in 2 days worth of food and have a neighbor come in every 2 days and dump in 2 more days worth (the food is left in baggies). The cat seems fine and there is always food left when we get home.

 

[Shagley]

I have this feeder, and it works great...

http://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Ele...346874387&sr=8-1&keywords=programmable+feeder

I cannot just leave out a big bowl of food, or my one cat would eat as much as his stomach could possibly hold, then puke all over the house. This feeder is on a timer, so you can program it to drop food up to 4 times a day. It has a wide range of reviews, but I have had mine for about a year, and I haven't had any trouble with it.

 

[SC Minnie]

I have this kind, but much smaller, it works GREAT. We have 3 cats and keep this feeder in the garage for them, they eat as they get hungry.
http://www.petco.com/product/118281/Petmate-Blue-Replendish-Pet-Auto-Feeding-System.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

We have the smaller version of this one too as well as the water one. We have 2 cats and they graze. We just got back from being away for 4 days and they still had food and water left. I think I got ours at Wal Mart.

 

[MomToOne]

When we go to WDW for a long weekend we usually just leave a really large bowl filled with dry food and another large bowl filled with water. They don't gorge, which I was worried about, and just graze all day.

I do the same when we are gone for 5 days or less. Although my cat WILL overeat, she doesn't go so crazy that she makes herself sick. I figure it's a few days, overeating a bit won't hurt that much. (When we are home, we restrict her food to the amount she should eat.)

 

[CarolynK]

We have had this feeder for years:
http://www.amazon.com/Lentek-6-Day-...46894564&sr=1-15&keywords=programmable+feeder
We have 2 of them since we have 2 cats. They work great!

 

[girli565]

I do the same when we are gone for 5 days or less. Although my cat WILL overeat, she doesn't go so crazy that she makes herself sick. I figure it's a few days, overeating a bit won't hurt that much. (When we are home, we restrict her food to the amount she should eat.)

Yeah, I figure they overeat a bit while we're gone, but we get right back on the portion control when we get home.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We have this one for canned food.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...oogleMKP&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA

There's an ice pack underneath so the food stays pretty fresh. When we go away, I set one timer for 24 hours and the second for 48 hours so the cat will have fresh food for 3 days. If I think of it, I'll add a tbsp of water to the wet food so it stays wet a little longer. I also put down a larger bowl of water and dry food.

I would just test it out in advance and make sure your cat will eat from it, I know some can be picky about things like this.

 

[Amirah95]

Thanks for all of the ideas everyone. Going to start my research now! Thanks again!

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

We have the smaller version of this one too as well as the water one. We have 2 cats and they graze. We just got back from being away for 4 days and they still had food and water left. I think I got ours at Wal Mart.

Another vote for the cheap Wally World gravity feeder
This is what we use day in and day out so our feline child is completely used to
eating when he is hungry and stopping when he is satisfied.

Not only does it make vacation easier, it makes every day easier

 

[scrapquitler]

Anyone have a good one they use for their cat(s)? This is the first time we're going to be leaving our cat at home while we're on vacation and we're going to have my DSIL come to check on her every two days while we're gone to WDW. We don't want to have to burden her with feedings, but she will check to make sure food is available for my DCat while she's checking in. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

We have always used one of the gravity feeders and lots of bowls of water, with no problems. However we now have one cat who will eat as long as there is food in the dish. As a result, we have switched to strict portion control. I bought an automatic feeder from Petco that cost about $75. You can program it to dispense a specific amount of food (1/4 c, 1/2c, in about 4 or 5 different settings) and you can set the times you want it to dispense up to 3x per day. You can have different amounts dispensed at each meal if you want. I think it was worth the investment because he has stopped gaining weight. Somehow he knows what time it is and waits near the feeder when it is almost meal time.