As responsible pet owners, one of our significant responsibilities is to feed our feline companion regularly with the best kitten food possible.

If regular dispensing of meals for your felines poses a challenge, then having automatic cat feeders could be the solution.

Benefits of Having an Automatic Cat Food Feeder

Aside from the fact that the feeder does the job for you, here are the benefits of automatic food feeders.

Scheduled feeding

If you have a full-time job or a busy lifestyle, then probably, you don’t have time to feed your cat. The automatic cat food feeders can refill your cat’s bowl even when you’re away for work or travel. Also, since the food comes as scheduled, you wouldn’t have to worry about your pet getting hungry.

Dispenses in smaller portions

Aside from regularly refilling your feline’s bowl, you can also set the automatic cat food feeders to distribute smaller pieces. This is particularly necessary if your cat is already overweight.

If you tend to be easily swayed by your feline’s cute face, having a feeder takes the guilt off you. It will dispense the same amount of food as you initially set-up.

Controlled hours of eating

Automatic cat food feeders also develop discipline for your cat. As you have set the schedule when the bowl will be refilled, your cat will see the pattern later on. It will then learn to adjust and adapt its eating habits with the schedule you set.

Control which pet eats the food

Some automatic feeders are also equipped with flaps that will not open to other pets. These automatic cat feeders are designed with a microchip that may be activated only by a specific cat (or dog). Such automatic feeders are great to have if you have multiple cats or a mix of cats and dogs. This way, your other pets won’t be able to bully or take over the passive ones.

Types of Automatic Cat Feeders

Before you get confused with the various automatic feeders that you’d see, we sorted them out in three different types.

Gravity-Based Canister Cat Feeder

This is the simplest type of automatic cat feeder that comes only with a canister and a food dish. The canister has a bottom opening that dispenses food into the bowl every time that it is depleted. This is ideal for kittens and for cats that may be fed freely. However, if your pet tends to overeat, or is already overweight, you might have to resort to another type.

Programmable/Timed Cat Feeder

Having this type of automatic feeder allows you to experience most of the benefits we listed above. However, this type is more costly than the previous one. A programmable/timed cat feeder is engineered with a timer and other functions that allow you to set the serving size. As such, it only releases food from the canister when scheduled and at pre-set ration size.

This is ideal if you have only one feline in the house and you want to manage its food intake.

Microchip Cat Feeder

Housing multiple pets that keep stealing food from each other’s bowls? Perhaps the microchip cat feeder is the one you need.

Aside from the canister and food dish, it also comes with a microchip that you may hang on your cat’s collar. The automatic feeder then opens the dish at your set time when the feline with the microchip approaches the feeder. This design is meant to prevent other pets from eating what is not theirs.

There are also more advanced models that allow you to program the feeder for multiple cats. As identified through the microchip, the canister will release the food amount for the specific cat.

Mind Your Cats Still

Having automatic cat food feeders is convenient to a lot of owners.

You can take one thing off your mind amid your packed schedule. On the other hand, the feeder also eases your worry away while you’re on a trip or vacation. Whatever you do or wherever you may be, you can be assured that your pet is regularly eating.

However, you may still want to check on your pet’s eating habits from time to time. You may want to make sure that it feeds the food dispensed on the bowl. You also have to observe your pet to make sure that it still exhibits the same energy.

If you’re going on a long trip, you can’t rely too much on your feeder. Always consider that there could be a malfunction. If your cat’s muscular, it can also try to break into the feeder. As such, it is still advisable to have a pet sitter. Another option is to ask a kind neighbor to look after your pet from time to time.

Closing Words

Having adorable cats at home could be fun and relaxing. However, you should also be prepared in taking on the responsibility of feeding them. Having automatic cat food feeders is convenient, but you must still look after your pets closely.