Best Automatic Cat Feeders for 2020

Out of the house during the day, or maybe need to feed your cat at regular intervals and are scared you will miss the time slots? Maybe they wake you up at 5 am every morning hungry and you’d rather have an extra hour in bed?

An automatic feeder will disperse a set amount of dry food into your cat’s dish at chosen times, so they always have food ready when they need it. Up to three individually sized meals, from 10g upwards, can be scheduled from the 3kg storage container, so they can be fed in the morning and then have more restricted portions for lunch or dinner, controlling their diet and weight.

An anti-clog feed mechanism won’t grind to a halt and become trapped with food, so if you are away overnight you don’t have to worry about them going hungry. Then there is an anti-tamper nozzle and secure fastening lid on the container, so even the craftiest of cats can’t override the timings.

Your cat may even learn at which times the food is dispensed and be ready for it, getting them into a regular meal schedule. Like Pavlov and his dogs, the sound of the food falling into the dish will alert them to the dispersal, and they will know it is time to eat after a while.

This is all set by an easy to use LCD display and the 4 ‘C’ batteries should last between 6 and 9 months. Battery power also means it won’t be affected by power cuts.

With the C500, you are able to plan ahead for five different meals and set the electronic timer to revolve the lid and allow access at certain times.

Because of this method, it is good for both dry and wet food so should suit your cat’s diet just fine. Inside are twin ice packs which help to keep the food as fresh as possible, particularly in hot weather, and there is also a very tight seal between the lid and servings so no air gets in.

Once it is all set up, you can view the planned feeding schedule on the LCD screen. Each section will hold up to 300g of food, and everything is easy to clean and dishwasher safe so can be kept sanitised in between uses.

The three batteries should give over 12 months of use, so there will be no worry of it running out of steam when you aren’t there to intervene. And as each portion is kept separate, there is nothing to stop you giving dry food for one meal and wet for the next.

Available in four meal servings, the separate trays are all accessible at programmable times so you can ensure your cat is always fed at the right time.

Wet and dry food are both acceptable, and the entire unit is easy to wash and keep clean to avoid a build-up of food and crumbs over time.

The thing which makes this feeder stand out is the fact you can record your own personal message to play to your pet. It can last eight seconds, and autoplay three times to ensure the cat hears it and knows that is the sign for dinner time.

It is great for if you are not going to be at home for a long time during the day, or if you will be relying on someone to pop in and check on Fluffy over a weekend but don’t want them to forget about filling the food.

The main thing to bear in mind is that it is quite high off the ground as it is also for dogs, so your cat may have to stand to eat.

The best for planning ahead for a day of wet food, the C20 is able to hold two portions of up to 450g, and there is an ice pack at the base which will help keep it fresh too.

The 48-hour timer is really simple to set, using just a dial so there’s no tricky setting up or programming. If you need to improve the stability of the feeder as you have a cat who is a very active eater, just fasten it to a heavy wooden board.

It only needs one AA battery and this should last up to a year, so it is no bother to look after. There is barely any noise emitted from the feeder, just a low tick of the timer when you listen very closely, so it will be good for nervous cats.

Five sections in this dish will allow you to plan ahead for meals, or time medication and cat treat schedules, for a full 24 hours.

An LCD screen lets you see what is planned, and there are both AM and PM settings so you can set up for the entire day. There is also an automatic schedule, which will set one time for the following four days, which is good if they just need a lunch feed.

When it is all done, the top dish is dishwasher safe so all traces of food and any germs can be cleaned away. It will only accept dry food but can hold around 236ml of this at any one time, which is a generous portion.

Because you can only set the times within a day-long period, it isn’t one for planning the lunchtimes for a week. But it could be good if you’re away for the weekend and your catsitter will be popping in to top the food up daily.