Best Automatic Cat Feeders

We love the fact that this hopper-style automatic cat feeder has a dual power source so if you come home and all your electric and appliance clocks are flashing at you, you know at least your cat was fed regularly. This unit allows you to record a 10-second clip of your voice to summon your cat for mealtimes. It can dispense several different portion sizes that are not always precise. You will definitely want to test this with your cat’s kibble to be sure this is accurate as it may not work as well with smaller or very large kibble sizes. Overall a great unit with a latching lid that should keep most kitties from breaking into it. It may not be dog-proof for larger dogs who could potentially tip it so if you also own a food-motivated dog, we recommend placing this unit somewhere they cannot get to it unsupervised.

This is a clean, modern-looking feeder. We like the IR detector that prevents the tray from overfilling. It has a dual power source. This feeder has a very specific size of kibble that will work with it and may malfunction, so we’d recommend you experiment heavily with it before the return window closes. The Bluetooth functionality does periodically have some issues.

We like this programmable hopper style cat feeder because you can change the auger(the wheel that dispenses dry food) from a larger to a smaller size to accommodate different sizes of kibble. You are able to record your voice summoning your cat for feeding times. It is relatively quiet and the food hitting the tray is noisier than the motor. We love that the food tray is removable and dishwasher safe. Unfortunately, there are crevices on either side of the food chute where kibble can get stuck and encourage a frustrated cat to begin tampering with the unit. The programming panel is on the rear of the unit, making it less likely that one of your four-legged family members might lean against the buttons changing any settings. It has a lockable lid but it is not airtight.

This is a cute programmable feeder with a dual power source design. It can be programmed for up to 4 meals a day. We like the feeders that you can program with your voice although this may make some cats nervous when they come running and realize it’s not really you. With time, most cats learn that whatever it is, it means food. There is no seal on the top or on the feeding chute, which means food can get stale. It has an infrared sensor to detect clogging or overflow of food in the tray. We don’t like that the tray has to be wiped clean and cannot be detached and washed separately.

This unit was very disappointing because as owners of cats who love to binge-and-purge, the slow feeding option was extremely attractive and not available on a lot of other feeders. The detachable steel bowl is also a big plus. There are a lot of issues with this unit, starting with how complicated it is to program and figure out. The interface looks like 15-year-old technology and there is a lot of room for error with it. The conveyor-belt style feeding mechanism can easily get food into the mechanical portion of the unit and cause issues. The latch is weak and the whole unit is cheaply made so a determined cat could easily break into it. The see-through plastic on the hopper portion of the feeder may help the pet parent see how low the level of food may be getting but the sight of all the food and the lack of a seal keeping it fresh (and the smell from permeating the room) creates an irresistible temptation for a food-motivated cat.

For kitties who have a wet or soft food diet, the plate style rotating feeders are an excellent alternative. They are essentially a 5 compartment tray with a rotating top that exposes the tray for each compartment at a specific time. This model can offer 5 meals has ice packs in the bottom to keep food fresh for quite some time. The trays do not always align with the top requiring some work on the unit but there are instructions for how to address the issue. We love that the top and tray can all go in the dishwasher because wet kitty food can be messy and smelly. Overall a good solution and simple to use. It can be mounted on a board to keep motivated cats from tipping it over.

This is a more updated version of their standard belt-fed automatic feeder from PetSafe but we don’t see that some of the problems with the older models have been resolved. We love the option of using technology to stay connected to the feeder and ensure it is working properly but many users report issues with the app and connectivity. We don’t like the conveyer belt style distribution as kibble can be knocked into the mechanical portion of the feeder. The see-through plastic on the hopper portion of the feeder may help the pet parent see how low the level of food may be getting but the sight of all the food and the lack of a seal keeping it fresh (and the smell from permeating the room) creates an irresistible temptation for a food-motivated cat. We do like that you can clean the bowl,  hopper and the top tray.

While the idea of an all-in-one feeding and watering station for your kitty may be appealing, we just don’t like a unit that has water and food in such proximity, especially in a feeder that may be in use during a pet parent’s access when the water area cannot be cleaned in the event food gets into it, so we cannot recommend this feeder for use longer than 12 hours. Harmful bacteria can form when food is left to sit in a cat’s water dish. If the gravity-fed bottle overflowed for any reason (and they often do) the water could also penetrate into the food trays making a mess of your kitty’s food. The rotating tray does not always cleanly line up and a determined cat realizing he has even partial access to a second tray will try to reach it. The unit is fairly stable but not tip-proof. For energetic and food-motivated kitties this unit is a recipe for disaster.

This unit could be better but has a lot of issues. It is unstable and easy for a cat to break into. The plastic bowl and tray is flimsy and while it can be run through the dishwasher retains odors and eventually cracks. There is no auger or weird mechanism to clog up because the distribution of each portion just drops down into the bowl. The clear lid to the tray signals to any curious or hungry kitty exactly what’s inside and even an older kitty could easily break into the unit. It is not sealed well so the smell comes out and food gets stale. Because it only has 5 servings this may not be an issue.  It runs on expensive D batteries and uses a lot of them. Battery life is advertised at 9 months but this unit goes through a set of 4 of them faster than 2-3 months.

This feeder has a detachable tray that can be easily cleaned and a dual power source in case the power goes out in your home. The top latch is weak and the rotating auger that distributes the food can easily get clogged with medium-sized to larger kitty kibble. This unit does not have a seal to keep the food fresh. It is, however, chock full of digital features such as a power indicator LED light, Wi-Fi connectivity LED light, microphone, micro-SD card slot, 1080 HD camera and integration with ALEXA if you have one of those in your home. The manufacturers of this product are very excited about the technology included with this feeder but we aren’t completely sold on it because of some of the design flaws. There are some connectivity issues with the app and WiFi and it doesn’t always stay connected. We like technology and this has the potential to be lots of fun for the pet owner that loves to stay connected, but like most technology-driven products, we just get nervous about how suitable for heavy or long-term use it may be.

These feeders are good only for one meal. They are very basic- the timer on them is similar to the timer you’d use for a lamp only it’s battery powered. There is no indicator that the battery is running out other than when it stops working. They’re cheaply made and the food compartment cannot be detached from the rest of the unit making cleaning a bit of a hassle. While they have suction cups to affix the unit to the floor, suction cups don’t always work. They are still very lightweight and can be flipped over by a determined cat.

This feeder is the standard 5-portion feeder for wet or dry food, but we can’t even recommend it for wet food as there is no ice pack or cooling function to keep food fresh. The interface to program it looks like a 20-year-old Timex watch and is tricky to figure out. A determined cat can easily break into this feeder, especially when the plate does not line up with the opening correctly and he has access to two portions at a time.  A curious little paw can easily dislodge the weak latch and voila! If the latch isn’t opened this thing flips over easily. Your cat will think he won the jackpot every time. He may be happy but you won’t be. We were very unimpressed with the quality of materials in this feeder and don’t recommend it.

We like the mechanical functions of this feeder and its appearance (other than the clear hopper, which invites trouble). The hopper container can be sealed to keep food fresh, access to the entire unit locked down, and the stainless steel bowl for feeding can be easily washed. Unfortunately, this device relies heavily on its smart technology and is controlled by a very glitchy app. Its offline mode may or may not work and the missed meal notifications from when it’s offline can be worrisome to a pet parent away from the home. Customer service is troublesome. As of the writing of this review, it would appear this second generation SmartFeeder is still in beta-testing mode.

This is a programmable hopper feeder with an auger feeding mechanism at the bottom that is too small for most kibble. It clogs easily and can break, and if the unit is knocked over or jarred it will distribute food outside of the feeding schedule.  We like the design where the programming interface is underneath the lid, protecting it from bumps and mishaps with your cat, but the electronics to operate it are cheap, unreliable and give out easily. Unfortunately it’s strikingly similar to many other identical feeders out there with different “brand” names on them.