We’re all so occupied with our day-to-day tasks that we can often forget to spend some valuable time with our pets.
The worse thing is that sometimes, certain situations can also make us forget to feed them.
This is not only irresponsible but also inhumane! This means that we’ve simply got to carry out this task regardless of how swamped we are.
Regardless of whether you keep on forgetting to do this or you simply hate waking up in the middle of the night to feed your cat, there is one solution for you.
Thankfully, we can set everything up with an automatic cat feeder.
When looking for a product like this, there are several things to take account before making the purchase. We’ll be talking a little bit about these a little while later.
But in general, choosing the right automatic pet food dispenser isn’t as easy as it seems. You see, it’s important to note that everyone has his or her own likes and dislikes. One person might want to buy a microchip cat feeder while another one might want a standard.
In addition to this, everyone has his or her own price range too.
Taking some of these aspects into account, we’ve written a detailed guide to help you choose the right automatic pet feeder.
After taking a detailed look into a wide range of automatic feeders, we’ve reduced the shortlist to the best 5 products and these have been reviewed in detail below.
Each of these automatic feeders has their own advantages but the most important thing is that we have prioritized the price-performance ratio.
This means that these products will also provide a great value for money!
All right then, let’s begin with the reviews!
Quick Comparison Table of top Automated Cat Feeders
| Name | Food Type | Timer | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| SureFeed Microchip | Dry and Wet | No | £££ |
| Cat Mate C20 | Dry and Wet | Yes | £ |
| PetSafe 5 Meal | Dry | Yes | ££ |
| Cat Mate C50 | Dry and Wet | Yes | ££ |
| Cat Mate C3000 | Dry | Yes | ££ |
Top 5 Automatic Cat Feeders Reviewed
1. SureFeed Microchip
(4.5 / 5)
This SureFeed feeder is the only one that has an integrated microchip feature on our list. This makes it extremely convenient especially if you have several numbers of cats at home.
This technology will detect the pet’s RFID collar tag or microchip and open accordingly. This means that the feeder will remain locked if a different pet tries to gain access to the food. This is an ideal way to prevent cat food from becoming your dog’s dinner.
A system like this will also be perfect if your pet is on prescription medication because no one else can get access to this other than the right pet.
When it comes to food, we always want the best quality that is fresh in every way. This is the same for pets and this SureFeed feeder will allow for this because it has a sealed bowl.
The sealed bowl will ensure that the food is kept fresh and you don’t have any flies or insects getting in and spoiling the food. After all, the health of your pet is the most important.
Just like human beings, pets also have their own likes and dislikes. The ideal automatic cat food dispenser will allow dry and wet foods to be stored with ease and this is exactly what this cat feeding station will allow you to do. The SureFeed’s sealed bowl will allow you to keep both food types fresh for a longer period of time.
Using this automatic feeder will be an amazing experience for you because it just makes everything so much easier. It is extremely simple to assemble and to programme the microchip of the pet so that it is saved to the memory.
There are different trays included and the one that has the two compartments makes everything so much easier because you can put both dry and wet foods in at the same time.
This automatic cat feeder looks very modern and is instilled with modern technology. However, it is almost always kept on the side so you need to be careful of not tripping over it.
We also get a mat with it and you can easily clean this along with the bowl so this is highly convenient too.
All in all, I would say that this is a near-perfect automatic feeder though it can be expensive for some people. Furthermore, you’ll also replace the batteries every 6 months though this doesn’t seem to be too big of an issue.https://web.archive.org/web/20170317130621if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/-C5C4hVYzAM?feature=oembed
2. Cat Mate C20 with Ice Pack
(4.3 / 5)
When it comes to convenience and ease of use, this Cat Mate feeder has received extremely impressive reviews. It is extremely affordable and certainly, the lowest-priced automatic feeder for cats on this list. This combines very well with the performance, which ensures that you’ll be getting a terrific value for money if you end up buying this.
Despite the name, this can be used for small dogs too and I would say that it works extremely well due to the design and functionality.
First of all, there is a two-compartment design with an ice pack at the base. Each compartment can open separately based on a timer and can hold approximately 450 grams of wet or dry food.
The ice pack will ensure that these foods remain fresh for a longer period of time. As a consequence of this, your pets will be getting high quality fresh foods rather than something that has deteriorated in the air.
The C20 also has a 48-hour timer that is run through it’s own battery. This means that you will be able to set the timer to open the compartments several times up to 48 hours. This will be perfect for a weekend away on holiday.
Alongside the above features, the overall product seems to be quite robust, which means that it should last quite a bit of time. Furthermore, the bowls can easily be removed and cleaned very easily by hand or in the dishwasher.
This automatic cat feeder looks decent, has a very convenient design and can be used very easily. The most important part of this is that it is relatively cheap and should be affordable for most people. The only issue is that it might make a small noise when the compartment opens up and this might startle a nervous pet quite easily.
3. PetSafe 5 Meal
(4.1 / 5)
This PetSafe model is a 5-compartment automatic cat food dispenser that can be suitable for both cats and dogs. The design utilises the concept of providing a small amount of food more often than normal. The high number of compartments will enable you to do and each section will be able to hold around 230 grams of dry food.
One thing that is worth pointing out is that officially, this is a dry food dispenser. This can be highly disadvantage. However, you might be able to put a small ice pack at the bottom so that you can use wet food too. Despite this, I would still advise you to stick to dry food only when using this cat feeding station.
In terms of durability, you can easily notice that this automatic cat feeder is relatively solid and won’t break very easily. As a matter of fact, the PetSafe has a good reputation for build quality and I’m sure this automatic feeder will be no different.
When getting started, the feeder is relatively simple to assemble and you’ll be able to follow instructions that are written quite clearly.
This will also show you how to set the LCD timer, which is quite efficient and easily readable. The first option is for you to set the timer to provide five meals on one day. As an alternative, you can also set the system to provide one meal a day for five days. Again, these options can be of great convenience if you’re not going to have time to feed the pet or if you will be going away.
When it comes to convenience, the cleaning aspect is very important and this is a cat feeding station that will allow you to do this easily. You can easily remove the tray and put it in your dishwasher.
Finally, the price tag is very important. While this isn’t too expensive, it’s not incredibly cheap either. However, it is reasonably priced and the only real disadvantage that I can see is the suitability of dry food only.
4. Cat Mate C50
(4.0 / 5)
The C50 is a large automatic feeder that has several impressive features. Firstly, it isn’t too expensive, which means that most people will be able to afford it. Using this ensure that you get an invaluable item that provides a fantastic degree of convenience when you’ve gone out for a long weekend holiday. It also means that you won’t need to disturb your friends and ask them to feed your pets.
In terms of usability, there are five compartments. One of these must always be open, which means that you can only seal four of these and set a timer. You can still put food into the open compartment but you’ll only be able to seal four of them.
Each compartment has a capacity of around 300 grams so you can use this amount to feed one or two cats. The advantage here is that you’ll be able to use dry and wet food.
The lid is designed in a way that it fits quite close to the base. In addition to this, there are two ice packs within the base and these will allow you to keep the food fresh.
While the cat food timer is quite easy to use, it can function for up to 4 days. This means that you will be able to set the timer so that the compartments can open four times over a four-day period. This will also mean that there are regular times that provide your pet with fresh foods.
To further enhance the convenience aspect of this electronic cat feeder, you’ll easily be able to clean the entire product. This is because the lid and the bowl can be easily removed and placed into the dishwasher.
As a consequence of all of the above factors, you’re looking at an excellent automatic cat feeder that has lots of features but is priced quite reasonably.
5. Cat Mate C3000
(3.9 / 5)
The C3000 is a completely different automatic cat feeder when compared to other automatic feeders that we’ve already come across. This difference is mainly due to a very distinct feeding mechanism.
This mechanism ensures that your pet will be able to get a set amount of food with great accuracy. For example, you can select any weight upwards of 10 grams to drop out of the nozzle on a regular basis.
The nozzle is temper proof and is locked so that your pets won’t be able to access the food until the set time.
The C3000 isn’t suitable for wet foods so you should use this as a dry food dispenser. The container that will hold this will have the capacity of a maximum of 3 kilograms. This is a good size that will ensure that you don’t need to refill the container too quickly.
The timer is powered with batteries that will last up to 9 months. The design also has an indicator to warn you when the battery level is low.
The good thing is that you can use this timer to schedule feeds up to three times a day. You’ll also be able to set the size of the serving. The bonus here is that each serving size can be different!
Another notable feature is the use of “frequent mode”. This will allow you to set the total amount of food released for the day and at regular intervals. This is ideal to suit the demands of certain medical conditions like diabetes.
Another positive aspect of this is that if this is insufficient, then you can easily manually dispense another serving.
In my experience, the cat feeding station is relatively simple to use. The parts are safe to be washed in the dishwasher and there’s a great degree of convenience associated with the C3000. It is relatively affordable too.
Despite these features, this automatic cat feeder comes with relatively poor instructions. This means that some people may find it quite difficult to assemble this automatic dispenser. However, once you get past this stage, you’ll find it extremely simple to use.
Buying an Automatic Cat Feeder – Factors to Consider
There are several things to think about before buying an automated dispenser. As always, the first thing is the price tag because some products will be more costly than others.
The best thing to do is to strictly set a specific amount of money that you’re willing to spend on this. This will ensure that you don’t waste your time on looking for products that are more expensive than this figure.
In addition to this, you won’t end up buying an automatic cat feeder that you probably cannot afford. So in simple terms, it is important to set a budget because it’ll prevent you from wasting too much of your valuable time carrying out the research and you won’t end up overspending.
In addition to the price tag, there are several features you need to look at. For example, the microchip function is one that is more important for some people who want the food dispensed for the right pet. This will be ideal for those that have multiple pets at home.
The timer is another essential feature because it will allow the pet to eat at the right times. In addition to this, some automatic dispensers will work for a couple of days while others will only provide food for 24 hours. You need to ensure that you look for these features if you normally go away for weekend trips.
Another important aspect to consider is the type of food the auto cat feeder will dispense. There are a lot of products that will dispense both dry and wet foods but some are only compatible with dry foods, as these don’t need to be kept fresh. Some feeders also comprise of a water station while others don’t.
You must carry out the research according to your own requirements if you are to find the most appropriate product.
Summary
Automatic pet feeders are ideal for home use because they are fairly convenient. They ensure that you don’t end up forgetting to feed your pet. However, there are so many of these products available in the UK that some features may confuse you.
If you have one or more pets at home then the aim should always be to buy an automatic cat feeder that is easy to assemble and easy to use. It should also come integrated with all the essential features. The quality should always be high but we need to find something that is associated with a terrific value for money.
Fortunately, all of the automatic dispensers on the above list meet these expectations and will provide a great price to performance ratio.
In order to find the best model, you should look out for the features that you need. Hopefully, one of the five products reviewed will match your expectations.