(Part 2) Best automatic dog feeders according to redditors

For right now, I would suggest getting an automatic feeder like this and also an automatic waterer. That way, at least the cat has access to food and water regularly. If money is an issue, then you should be prepared to call your dad every single day you are not there, to get him to feed the cat. Or get someone else to come in and feed it.

Then yell at your dad for neglecting a living animal. It doesn't matter if he doesn't like it, it needs to be taken care of as long as it lives in the house.

Finally, you should post on facebook about it, see if any of your friends want it. If not, check your local subreddits. Then try any local no kill shelters, and finally craigslist.

You shouldn't leave the cat in this situation for too long, because he could resort to being aggressive about food and to humans. Cats get very scared when they don't know if they are getting food. This could prevent it from being adoptable later.

Not originally. I’ve been using this feeder for over 10 years for my various kitties. It’s electric, and when plugged into AC a motor starts and slowly turns a large screw which pushes kibble out into the bowl. The unit came with a programmable multi-day timer which you could program multiple on/off times each day. When the time hits a program on point, the screw turns on, and turns off on “off” points. I’ve replaced the timer several times, as it dies after a few years. It broke earlier this year and I was about to order a new one when I realized I had an extra SONOFF S31 “smart outlet” lying around. I took it apart, soldered on some wires to upload a new firmware, then connected it to ESPHome and voila! I had a new smart switch controllable (and firmware updatable OTA) via Home Assistant. Amazon doesn’t sell the exact same S31 that I bought, but you can find others that work with ESPHome. Anyways, I plugged the S31 into the AC outlet in the wall, and the feeder into the S31. I then use the following automation to turn the feeder on for 30 seconds at a few different times each day:

• alias: "Feeding Time - 30 sec"
  trigger:
  
  • platform: time
    at: '11:00:00'
    
  • platform: time
    at: '14:00:00'
    
  • platform: time
    at: '17:00:00'
    
  • platform: time
    at: '20:00:00'
    action:
    
  • service: script.turn_on
    entity_id: script.start_feeding
    data:
    variables:
    duration: "30"
    
    
• alias: Kitty Timer Started
  trigger:
  platform: event
  event_type: timer.started
  event_data:
  entity_id: timer.kitty_feeder
  action:
  
  • service: switch.turn_on
    entity_id: switch.kitty_feeder_relay
    
    
• alias: Kitty Timer Finished
  trigger:
  platform: event
  event_type: timer.finished
  event_data:
  entity_id: timer.kitty_feeder
  action:
  
  • service: switch.turn_off
    entity_id: switch.kitty_feeder_relay
    
    And the script:
    
    start_feeding:
    sequence:
    
  • service: timer.cancel
    entity_id: timer.kitty_feeder
    
  • service: timer.start
    data_template:
    entity_id: timer.kitty_feeder
    duration: "{{duration}}"
    
    I hope I didn’t mess the spacing up here. If you have trouble, ping me. The script starts a timer for the specified duration, after which the timer start event turns on the relay and the timer finished turns off the relay. Not shown is code to send on/off notifications so I know the feeder relay was turned on.
    
    So as shown, this turns the relay on/off four times for 30 seconds. I have another automation, not shown which turns the feeder on at dawn minus 15 minutes for 60 seconds. So that’s a total of 3 minutes per day of the relay being on, spread out over five feeding “periods” with the sunrise period the longest. We adjusted the times so that there is just barely any kibble in the bowl before the next feeding. We error on the side of too much as our cats aren’t greedy little motherfuckers like their predecessor Hank (RIP my little negro) was.

And then you have to un-tape and re-tape the thing together every time you want to re-fill it? You can buy a mass-produced product that does this exact thing (and is easier to use every day) for like $10

https://www.amazon.com/Aspen-Pet-Bistro-Gravity-Waterer/dp/B009NV9FMG/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1481313190&sr=8-7&keywords=refilling+dog+bowl

Mine had this problem too, until I bought a drinking fountain!

Medium Fountain Bird Water Feeder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TGC9WE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_mDlPCbFY6X4PK

It’s super nice cause he can’t poop in it :)

Turkey baster or this. I used even baby pipette to catch newborns in shallow water.

Small shrimp net or DIY micro net if this one is too big, for snails.

Buster cube (soft version) may be a good option. They're made of rubber so they are softer and can be used on hard surfaces without fear of cracking or breaking from being pushed and knocked around.

Let's talk water bottle. Got a pic or link to the type?

If it's one of those ones that have the long metal nozzle with the ball in it I suggest getting a dish-like setup like this:

Petmate 24309 Le Bistro Pet Waterer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0070R9M4Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_C.-Qzb3FBJ6JQ

We have one for our two buns and only needs once a week filling. Also, the metal ball style is not great for their teeth long term.