Automatic Pet Feeders?

[indysteel]

Because my boyfriend lives about an hour away, about every other week or so, I spend the weekend with him, along with the occasional weeknight. Even for these short stays, I've always used a pet sitter for my three cats. I've thought about getting an automatic pet feeder and waterer, however, to cut down on those visits a bit when possible.

Does anybody have an experience with automatic feeders or any recommendations?

[Biciclista]

a lot can happen with 3 cats over 48 hours. You're lucky you have a petsitter you can trust.

I don't know of an automatic feeder that makes sure that each cat gets his fair share and doesn't overeat.

[PamNY]

I have a Le Bistro pet waterer for my dog's "disaster water." It's not his regular water, but I keep it filled in case some emergency prevents me getting home, or a power blackout cuts our water. He drinks from it occasionally and it seems to work well.

Aren't some cats persnickety about dirty water bowls? That would be my only concern with cats and this type of waterer.

No experience with automatic feeders, though I have several friends who use them for dry food.

Pam

[lauraelmore1033]

I have a couple of "le Bistro" automatic feeders which dispense one quarter cup (up to 2 cups) of dry food three times a day. It works ok if we're gone for a weekend, but seems to be too much food if we're gone for longer than that. all my kitties tend to eat more when we're gone, so they're definitely fatter when we get home. This doesn't work so well with the cat with food anxiety, who would eat until she popped if left to her own devices, but the cats with normal appetites soon return to normal eating habits when we come home.

[indysteel]

a lot can happen with 3 cats over 48 hours. You're lucky you have a petsitter you can trust.

I don't know of an automatic feeder that makes sure that each cat gets his fair share and doesn't overeat.

That's sort of my problem though. My cats are grazers anyway, and one of them tends to eat more than the others, whether I'm out of town or or not. I'd actually prefer to find a reliable feeder that moves at timed intervals to use all the time. However, I've read mixed reviews about them.

I'm also very torn about my pet sitters. I used one without incident for 9 years. Over the past couple of years, she's gotten involved in pet rescue and my impression was that she was burning herself out. About two months ago, she forgot she was supposed to visit my cats one Sunday. She didn't realize her mistake until I was about three hours from being home so my kitties went about a day without food.

I won't bore you with the details of what happened from there. Suffice to say that I wasn't pleased with how she handled it. I've had other issues with her as well in terms of scheduling, and I decided to look for another sitter--at least as a backup. For whatever reason, few of them cover downtown Indy so my choices were limited. I did found one, and while she seems okay, I'm not completely confident. She always seems to miss a detail or two. Not to sound snide, but it's a pretty straightforward job, so I'm not sure why she's having a hard time.

So, there's no perfect solution at the moment.

[GLC1968]

We use a water fountain thing for our cat when we went out of town for a weekend back before we had too many other animals to worry about. He seemed fine with it. We left him plenty of food and the water fountain running (since he only drinks running water) and it worked out well. He is the only cat in the house and he eats free choice all the time anyway.

He did test his ability to come and go as he pleased once we returned. The constant "let me in"..."let me out"..."let me back in"..."let me back out" gets a little annoying! He always does it for a couple of days after we get back. Apparently, he didn't like being locked in the house for 2 days! Of course, if you have an indoor cat, that obviously won't be an issue.

[southjerseygirl]

I strongly recommend the Drinkwell Pet Fountain.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754468

Cats love the running water, and it encourages them to drink more (which has lots of health benefits). If you buy one, make sure you get the additional water reservoir to maintain the water level when you're away. The fountain is well worth the money whether you plan to leave your cats unattended or not.

As for the feeder, I use the PetSafe 5 meal feeder.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751315

It runs on D cell batteries and rotates to expose a compartment of food at a designated time. We have two of them, one for morning feedings and one for evening. However, I agree with a previous post that an automatic feeder may not be the best thing when dealing with three cats -- I'd be worried someone wouldn't get their share.

Go with the fountain anyway, though. Your cats will thank you! :)

[indysteel]

However, I agree with a previous post that an automatic feeder may not be the best thing when dealing with three cats -- I'd be worried someone wouldn't get their share.

I don't really to get into the details at this time, but I may have be down to two cats in the near future. My third cat has some newly diagnosed, serious health issues and some longstanding behavioral issues. I can treat the former to some degree, but not the latter, and it's left me with a difficult choice.

I would emphasize that I would only rely on the feeders when I'm going to be gone no longer than 36 hours. Anything more than that, and a sitter would come in.

[southjerseygirl]

Sorry to hear about your kitty -- those decisions are never easy. :(

For just 36h, it sounds like an automatic feeder could work well. You'll want to decide between those that rotate/open up a lid to expose the food vs. those that dispense food from a hopper. I like the former because my cat gets a measured amount of food. However, the other kind may be more suited to your needs depending on whether your cats are accustomed to free choice feeding and how many feeders you plan on purchasing.

[tulip]

When I had cats years (decades) ago, they were fine when we left them for a few days with a big bowl food. Of course, they were all outside farm cats, and the ones who were allowed inside were put outside for those times and had a barn to retreat to. They all likely augmented their chow with mice and birds. If we were gone for more than a couple of days, a neighbor would come over and feed them.

Keeping cats inside for a couple of days would worry me because they might get destructive and resentful--and ruin something. But if they are let out or have a cat door, I bet they would be just fine.