I'm thinking of getting a couple of these for occasions where we may only be away 1/2 nights or days we're late back from work.

We have 3 cats so was thinking about getting two feeders.

has anyone ever used them before or have any thoughts about them?

Also makes/model recommendations welcomed

Thanks a lot

I'd say don't buy a cheap one. I've had a couple of these and just had problems with them jamming etc. One of my cats actually got his paw trapped in it as it went around :o luckily i was there at the time but then he is a bit dopey :hihi:. If you are going to get one pay a bit more for one. You could do a search on the net as many of the sites have customer reviews so it may be worth checking those out first.

thanks for the advice.

We have one cat that you can guarantee if she can trap something in it she will.

She got her paw trapped in the cat flap once.

I haven't ever used one, partly because I'm lucky enough to have some good neighbours who can be relied on to feed my lot when needed, partly because my lot are on dry food so if we're away late or overnight we can leave extra dry food out and they just sort themselves out, and partly because until last year I had one who I could guarantee would lie on the feeder and break it and would also get her paw or her tail or her head trapped in anything (along the lines of 'not even Merlin is stupid enough to hurt herself with that').

From other people I know using them I would say that it takes some time for the cats to even go near them, let alone agree to put their head inside them to eat, so I'd advise feeding your cats from them as a rehearsal a number of times before you try leaving them to it when you're away. One friend's cat was so freaked out by the feeder that he ignored the food in the feeder completely and instead went to a neighbour's house, broke in through their cat flap (it was a magnetic one so he worked out how to pull it towards him with his paw) and eat their cat's food instead, rather than be forced to go near the scary mechanical thing in the kitchen.

I'd choose one that you can see working too- I saw one which ticked (very quietly) which I could imagine really upsetting at least one of my cats.

thanks for that - that's just the sort of knowledge i need.

we have one very nervy cat (the one that gets trapped too) that I was concerned wouldn't like it and also one tummy on legs that may eat it all without anyone else getting a look in

out of interest - which dry food would you recommend please?

My lot usually have James Wellbeloved food (they really like the fishy flavour, but they like it rather too much so usually get the turkey one instead ;) ) and I often have that mixed with one or other of the Royal Canin ones for a bit of variety in the chunks.

Dry food doesn't go all yucky and rancid and dried out like wet food does when it's left in the bowl and cats are far more likely to browse throughout the day than when they have wet food.

It also works out cheaper (in a per cat per day sense) than wet food and if you buy a good quality one then you know that they're going to get decent nutrition.

There's one warning with dry food- they will drink gallons when they're on it (because the biggest ingredient in tinned food is water) so you'll need to put out at least one really decent sized water bowl- my lot have a water bowl that holds 2 litres and they empty it every other day.

Thanks for that- may try them on those instead. They have always turned their noses up at the supermarket bought complete ones

I've slowly been weaning mine of the wet food because they are so fussy over it. The biscuits can have been there all day and they'll eat them, if one doesn't see me put the wet food down they won't eat it at all. So, i've increased their dry food whilst decreasing their wet food.

Can you not find someone willing to pop in and feed the cats rather than a pet feeder? If it's just for one or two nights, at least that way someone is checking on the cats too. But i'm sure if you go to a pet store they'll be happy to show you them working so you can make sure it's the right one. I had a dry food one too, well I still have both but they are used at normal dishes now.

we're just moving house so it depends what the new neighbours are like. I've just got a new job where I'm going to be abroad at least once a month so I don't want me partner to feel like he can never go anywhere overnight as the cats need feeding.

they're his cats

Just for an overnight they should be fine. Just feed them before he goes out making sure they have plenty of dry food and water.

Have you looked online at all the pet feeders that are available? It's best to see them in a shop but you could at least get an idea of what is available.

If you're trying to wean off wet food and onto dry food then the easiest way to do that is to put out a little wet food in a flat layer in the bottom of the bowl and put the dry food on top of it so they have to eat the dry food to get to the meat.

Then all you need to do is gradually reduce the amount of wet food and the jobs a good 'un.

I use the feder like this if we have to go away for a day, so they don't eat all their food in one go but i wouldn't use it for longer than 1 feed. If we go away during bthe afternoon i load it with nice food for the evening, it always works and i have never had a problem with mine jamming or come home to starving cats .

I have one but haven't used it much. I'm a little too worried about it jamming too. The only times I have used it the cat was frightened because it made a noise when it turned round, although he still came back to eat the food. He also went a bit crazy when he'd eaten the first bit of food but could still smell the other portions :)

I've got 2 wind up ones. If you want to borrow them to try them out then drop me a pm.

Some of our customers use these and we have found some work better than others. We will be booked to do a morning feed and then asked to set the timer for an evening one or vice versa. The ones with the flip lids have never been a problem, but the circular ones with the rotating openers and timers are a nightmare with jamming. Plus if you have more than one cat, there is only one opening on the circular one so they have to share and you cant get 2 cats worth of food in one slot properly on some of the smaller ones either.

Warning - one house we went to the cats tail had got stuck in one and he had dragged the feeder all over the house to try and get it off, spreading the contents everywhere. It was still attached when we arrived in the morning and he was a very distressed cat, so it is preferable to get someone to pop in if you can to feed them.