As anyone knows who is lucky enough to live with one, cats rule. And they absolutely know it. They're also much more independent than dogs and should be treated as such. That's why when it comes to feeding your felines, you shouldn't worry too much, but having an automatic feeder definitely simplifies your life while letting cats be cats.
Call your cat over
This feeder from WESTLINK allows owners to record up to 10 seconds of their voice audio to call their cats over for meal times. Meal portions can be from 10 grams to over 400 grams, and you can program it to dispense up to four meals per day. It's easy to use, you can record your voice, and the price is right.
Futuristic care
Have a lot of cats or have some that need special dietary restrictions? SureFeed's Microchip Pet Feeder can scan for your cat's microchip or SureFlap RFID collar tag, and once it identifies the right cat, it'll reveal the food inside. You can store up to 32 microchip IDs, so it's a good feeder to make sure that each cat is getting only their dietary meals or portions in a multi-pet home.
Budget pick
This automatic feeder from PetSafe lets you store five pre-planned meals for your cat. There's a programmable timer so you can schedule when the dispenser should open, revealing the food for your cat when you're not at home or busy. It's easy to clean and a great affordable option if you're tight on money.
Dry and wet food
The PetSafe Healthy Automatic Feeder can store 24 cups of dry food, but it can also work with wet food thanks to the flexible dispenser. It's able to dispense up to 12 meals a day, and you can program it to change the portion size and schedule to suit your cat's needs. There's also three different feeding modes: Slow (dispenses over 15 minutes to prevent binging and bloat from overeating), Immediate, and Pause.
Trust your cat
This 6-pound capacity gravity feeder ensures that your cat has a steady and consistent supply of food that's readily available, whether you're home or not. The dry food will always flow out into the feeding tray when it's low, so this is low-maintenance, but you need to make sure your cat doesn't tend to overeat. This is best used for those whose cats can maintain their own diet without worry.
Smart feeder
This particular feeder can be controlled directly from your iOS or Android smartphone over Wi-Fi, and it also integrates with Amazon Alexa. Just input your cat's breed, weight, and activity level, and the feeder will dispense personalized meal portions for your cat. It'll notify you when your cat has eaten and when the food supply is running low.
Catisfaction
We love our cats, but life gets the best of us sometimes. Your cat shouldn't have to miss out on a meal (and probably plot against you) just because you got too busy with something else (oh, the horror!). If you can trust your cat not to overeat, the most simple solution is a gravity-based feeder, like the AmazonBasics Self-Dispensing Gravity Pet Feeder (opens in new tab) that allows dry food to trickle down as required.
But if your cat can be greedy, then these automated feeders keep your cat happy and well-fed while letting you worry about other things. Our personal favorite is WESTLINK Automatic Pet Food Dispenser (opens in new tab) because it can be programmed, you can record your voice, and its price is hard to beat for what you get.
Amy-Mae has been writing about consumer technology since before the iPhone was even a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye. She started out in magazine publishing with the UK lads' mag 'Boy's Toys' then moved online with startup Pocket-lint.com as the first full-time member of staff, helping grow the site to one of the UK's largest gadget sites. Amy-Mae then moved to Mashable when it only had a staff of around 10 people. After working her way up to a senior role there, Amy-Mae left in 2014 to have her daughter. Since then Amy-Mae has continued to contribute to Mashable and The Daily Dot, keeping up-to-date with the latest consumer technology and social media trends. For iMore.com, Amy-Mae gets to her explore her love of home cooking, concentrating on all things kitchen tech.
