6 Meal LCD Automatic Pet Feeder

Customer Ratings:

My cat was giving me problems because it gets antsy in the morning before I wake up and makes noise if it doesn't have food.

I tried a $5 food ball product from Amazon first and the cat doesn't understand it.

This item was around $45 when I bought it (fulfilled by Amazon). I'm a few days into using it and it works well. I read reviews of the other circular feeders such as this being a problem because the cat can pull the lid off. This lid is on tight (it has dual snapping locks) and if my cat is able to get it off, I'll have bigger problems than a broken feeder (he can already open doors).

Setting up the feeder is not hard. Basically there are 6 feeding times (labeled 1 thru 6). You have to put the feeding times in chronological order... and realize it won't start until feeding time 1 starts. For mine, I feed the cat at 6am, 3pm, and 11pm everyday. I made feeding time number 1 be 11pm just because I was setting it up in the evening and wanted to make sure it started at 11pm. So the feeding schedule looks like this on the machine:

1 11 (PM)

2 6 (AM)

3 3 (PM)

4 11 (PM)

5 6 (AM)

6 3 (PM)

Just follow the directions and you'll be fine... but realize that if you do the feedings out of order, it will skip entire days in between feedings.

The only reason I'm giving 4 stars right now is it doesn't have the look and feel of a high quality electronic product. It's very quiet overall, but sounds kind of tired as it rotates the trays. I just worry it may not last as long as I'd hoped. If it does break, I'll come back here and change the comment. Another thing I would have liked to see is a dishwasher safe food tray... cleaning it by hand isn't terrible, but I would have loved to be able to throw it into the dishwasher twice a week.

The recording option is nice. The cat hasn't quite figured out that the recorded message means new food is available, but I'm sure it will by next week!

Finally, this has solved my issue with a rambunctious cat in the morning. Since he gets his food at 6am now, he is able to get up, see the food is thereand then let me sleep in til 7.

EDIT (10/24/2011): It's still working well but there is one point I feel I need to add to the review... the timer needs to be "re-activated" after it cycles through one time. It's not a negative point, you just have to remember that when you refill the food, you must push the start button again. I had been taking the lid off once a day and refilling the empty trays, but then I realized that it doesn't just go cycle through for 6 to 1... after the tray circles around once, you have to push START again.

EDIT (2/28/2012): This product is still working great for me. Although it does offer the option to record your voice as the food tray turns, I don't use it. The machine makes a very distinct click as it starts to move and my cat has learned to listen for the click... when it goes off, you better not get in his way or he will run you over to get to the machine. He hasn't yet figured out how to move the little trap door that blocks the first round of food and he is pretty smart overall (he can open doors by jumping up and hanging on the handle, etc.). Overall I'm still happy with this purchase. I also haven't changed the batteries yet and I've used it everyday since I bought it. I have changed the feeding rotation and made 6am the 1st setting instead of 11pm. I don't go to bed til after 11pm so it's easier to fill it up once every 2 days before bed and put the trap door on it over night... then at 6am when the tray turns, the trap door moves as well.

EDIT (5/21/2012): This product still works great. I am still on my original set of batteries and I've been using it every day since I got it. I was hesitant that it would last even this long but it's still working fine.

EDIT (2/7/2013): Still works just as well as the day I got it! I have only changed the batteries once a few months ago and I don't know how I'd live without something like this at this point... it has kept my cat happy and fed, especially when I need to go away for a day or two and don't have anyone who can take care of him.

EDIT (7/15/2013): Going to be ordering a 2nd unit in a few weeks... got a new kitten for my older cat to play with :-)

EDIT (8/14/2013): It looks like the legacy I'll leave behind on Amazon is this review of a cat feeder... oh boy! Anyway, my kitten must be smarter than my cat because he's figured out how to open the little door with his mouth. That said, I sprayed a very small amount of Bitter Yuck Spray on it and now he leaves it alone. So those of you who have problems with smart cats might want to look into something like that to deter them!

EDIT (11/17/2013): My youngest cat is very food motivated and finally learned how to successfully rip the lid off of this feeder! To counter this, and I imagine this will work for a number of these style of feeders... I found a cardboard box that is a little bigger than the feeder, cut a hole the size of the open food tray, and then taped the top of the box shut. After I reload the feeder, I put it inside the box from the bottom... the weight of the feeder on the flaps holds the box on the ground... and the cat can't rip off the lid. Good luck! Here is a crude drawing of what I've done. tinypic(dot)com/r/207voed/5

EDIT (11/21/2013) I realize that creating a box to put this feeder in is an extra step and I hope that the company that makes this product comes out with a newer version. In the meantime though, for this price (

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