(Part 2) Best automatic cat feeders according to redditors

A piece of friendly advice: I notice there is some digging of the rug going on, which might be unsafe if she eats any of the small bits. I highly recommend this indoor/outdoor rug instead - it is easy to clean, inexpensive, and due to a tight weave hard to chew or dig, and looks great. It fantastic and a lot of bunny parents use it.

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Also consider adding an xpen for the bunny to your set up... sorry but this cage is too small for the bun of this size especially. Bunnies need at least 4 by 4 ft of space at all time to be healthy and happy.

A cage is not enough, this is true during the night also and when you are sleeping. Rabbits are crepuscular - meaning most active at night and early mornings as prey animals, so they are quite active often when humans sleep...

I totally understand the idea of having the bun in a more secure space when you are asleep but given the crepuscular schedule I mentioned above try to expand that space from just a cage. You can get an xpen or some NIC grids and attach them to the cage edges with some zipties such that the hutch door always leads to a larger but still more secure space for him. Kind of like in here or this picture or this or this.

You might consider doing something like this and this. They are using a large dog crate (though you could use a medium size maybe too if bun has an xpen attached) and they added a second floor to it also. The person kindly shared their set up and how they made it in this thread.

My guide on bunny care here has tips on how to set up bunny housing if you'd like to take a look https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z_IvDuy5Fr-VOKwBVBSmZih0m1ATCIquIMhYyFl4aIw

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Diet:

I also see very little hay in the cage - it super hard to get out of that hay rack you have... hay is 90% of their diet and critical to digesting and keeping the teeth from overgrowing. You need to make sure good quality unlimited hay is available at all times and is a good hay eater. In that rack he will never be a good hay eater.

Instead of putting it in the rack or in addition to that, also put a HEAPING pile of hay on one corner of his cage for him to eat or get a hay rack like this or this.



The correct diet for an adult bunny is - UNLIMITED hay, 1/4 cup MAX of plain pellets per day (not colorful bits or seed in them, and do not give unlimited pellets), 1 to 2 cups of green leafy veggies. Carrot, kale, and fruit only as occasional very small treats. No yogurt drops or processed sugars.

My guide has more details.... please consider this advice as it will save a lot of money in vet bills.

Tomasar - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L4PBXKJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bhK4Db1KS50C4

LOL! I really like this feeder that I got for my recently adopted former stray. The lid latches down quite securely, and I added some paper underneath so the kibble isn't visible. He tried and tried and tried getting into it, but because the slot above the opening is the empty one after dispensing, he couldn't manage it. I just fill it each morning with 1-2 tablespoons of kibble per slot, and it dispenses away all day long. He was seriously kibble obsessed due to being a very hungry former stray, so this worked really well for him.

I used to have the kind that had a hopper which held an entire bag of food, it worked for the cat I used it with as he wasn't the break-in type, but I never could have used that with new kitty or he'd be lounging in a bin of kibble eating his way through it. :D

I got this one HoneyGuaridan A26 Automatic Pet Feeder with Voice Recorder and Timer Programmable, Cat Feeder with Power Adapter, 6-Meal for Dogs (Medium and Small) and Cats https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LQAICKC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_UdHlzbYEJDRV5. It's a tad expensive but the reviews are cheaper ones didn't seem very good.

I only have one cat so I doubt this will work for you due to separating them, but my cat is on a diet and very vocal about it, so I got this automatic feeder and have it set to dispense 4 small meals a day on a timer. After a few weeks my cat's whining pretty much stopped because we were no longer associated with his food being dispensed, the magic white thing is. It was a bit of a pain to work out portions because it just has little rotating sections that dispense so you have to measure how many sections add up to your cat's intake, but so worth it. Also, it helps exercise him because now 4 times a day he bolts from wherever he is in the house to the feeder when he hears it dispense. Maybe if you can find a way to separate them it could help?

http://www.amazon.com/Drinkwell-Platinum-Pet-Fountain-168oz/dp/B000L3XYZ4

Its awesome. Only fill it about once every few days, and I clean it every week or so (though Ill admit sometimes I get too busy and forget).

It dismantles into bottom, middle, cover and the motor. The motor has a few little parts to be taken apart, but its all easily done and cleaned in about 5-10mins.

Ive had it for YEARS. Since 2010 I think. I thought it stopped working the other day, turned out the motor had just gunked up and I had not cleared it out well enough.

He loves it too. Better than him drinking out of the damned tub.

Oh and you cant see it, but i also have this
http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Planet-Programmable-Electronic-Feeder/dp/B00ATJSH4S/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1422348072&sr=1-1&keywords=animal+planet+pet+feeder

2 times a day, half a cup. Keeps him from chowing down and me from overfeeding him. I wipe it out when I refill it, but its pretty cool.

He does get antsy though and will start yelling for food about 2 hours before the thing goes off.

You can set it up for a certain time . Here where I bought it from . You can buy cheaper ones at Amazon that don't have the time setting option but I think they would work just as well. https://www.amazon.com/Feeder-Automatic-Programmable-Dispenser-Kitten/dp/B07FY2LSXY/ref=zg_bs_2975260011_32?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=C4EZ0FA07H0NP1QZ0YZE

I got this one a couple years ago. Have never had an issue with it, easy to setup and you can remote it and do manual feeds as well as scheduled feeds, all of which can have different portion sizes.

I've been using this one since our cat is diabetic and must be given a specific amount of special food. I had it dispense 20 times and measured the weight of each dispense with a food scale. I can't remember the exact amount, but it was very consistent. It has a USB power supply and takes C batteries, so if the power goes out it keeps going. Keeps his blood sugar right where it needs to be, and we can leave the house for the day and not worry about him being fed.

• If you are gone a lot, get two cats, they will keep each other company.
  
  
• I use an automatic food dispenser that I got on Amazon for like $40. I can control the portion sizes and how often it feeds my cats. They're little fatties so I can't let them free feed but this feeds them even when I stay out all night.
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Portion-Control-Automatic-5-Pound-Capacity/dp/B001FK60LM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1267225231&sr=8-1-spell
  
  
• I don't use an automatic waterer, I just keep a big jar of water out for them that I refill and wash as needed.
  
  
• Get a short haired cat unless you really want to end up cutting poppy fur off from around their ass occasionally.
  
  
• Get them toys, the feathers on the end of a long string on the end of a pole is the favorite of my cats. Also this "pawbreaker" which is a condensed ball of catnip. They love that thing. Warning: catnip does not work on kittens. Don't spend too much money on toys though, they'll be just as happy playing with balled up receipts and milk jug rings as expensive squeeky toys.
  
  
• Get a wire slicker brush to brush their fur with. Keeping the loose fur out of their coats will cut down on the amount of free floating fur in your apartment as well as keeping it out of their digestive tract and reducing hairballs.
  
  
• Start clipping their nails when they are young so they are used to it by the time they get older. Don't cut the quick!
  
  
• Flea treat them!!! Even if they are indoor only they need to be flea treated monthly with a product like Advantage or Frontline. Fleas are a vector for several diseases including tape worms and they can get in your apartment on you or they can just hop in. Flea treat your cats.
  
  
• Microchip and spay! If you adopted them from a shelter then most likely they will be chipped and spayed already.
  
  
• Look up toxic plants to cats and keep them out. Lillies are deadly toxic to cats and I won't even let them in my apartment up high, too risky.
  
  
• Scoop the litter box daily, they can get sores on their paws from wading through their own filth.
  
  
• Feed them high quality food. Read the ingredients label like you would for your own people food. You want real meat to be the number one ingredient and as little shit like corn meal byproduct which is just a cheap filler as you can find. Feed them some canned food regularly. Contrary to popular belief canned food is not rich dessert food for cats. It's high water content actually makes it less calorie dense than dry food and cats often don't drink enough water so getting it in their food is sometimes necessary.
  
  
• Hairballs are a fact of cat life but if you cat is ever puking up clear liquids take them to the vet straight away!!! If I had known how serious this was then my last cat would still be alive.
  
  
• Get some of those cardboard cat scratchers, they're cheap and cats LOVE them. Sprinkle catnip on them or get a catnip oil spray to attract them to it and general hilarity. These alone with trimming their nails will help save your furniture and allow your cats to express their natural urge to scratch.
  
  
• Play with them, pet them, brush them, talk to them, have fun with them and they'll bring you much joy for years to come.

I've had success with this:
http://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Bistro-5-Pound-Feeder-Microban/dp/B0009YHT9W/

It's very basic. But my cat does not overfeed so YMMV.

Here is the link to the feeder

edit: I am not home right now to check my router. But how do I find the exact model number for it?

You could probably make something with a soda bottle and her dish - cut the bottle so that it can be the 'silo' of a gravity feeder example. But those can be fairly cheap anyway and, for only a week, I'd just leave out bowls.

Op! READ ME!!! We use this for our vocal Siamese cat who never let us sleep. It’s an automated pet feeder that rotates. It has 5 meals and you schedule what time it opens the next tray. Our cat can’t open it either. Plus he can’t try to pull out any food from anywhere else. You just load in the food whenever you need to (based on how often you schedule it to rotate).


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y29J315/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Adding in: you can record a message too if you want! We have “Haley time to eat!” And “Ollie, come eat” (one bowl for each of our cats). When they hear it they instantly get up and head over to their food bowls.

Also, You can use batteries or plug it in to an outlet!

I have switched her to wet food. Why a fountain? I have two water bowls out for her right now just so she has options. One is just a bowl and the other is one of these. I'm also putting a little bit of water in with her wet food to keep her hydrated.

http://www.amazon.com/Gatefeeder-GF-100-Controlled-Automated-Feeder/dp/B009YKJILO/ref=sr_1_59?ie=UTF8&qid=1369077678&sr=8-59&keywords=cat+feeder


This one is kind of expensive imo, but they are out there.