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Old November 7th, 2009, 11:50 AM
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MissPurryJess MissPurryJess is offline
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Automatic feeders for cats and wet food - any suggestions?

I've started giving my kids a few smalls wet meals a day, since I'm working from home and can feed them whenever they're hungry (they're of the "scarf-and-barf" variety of cat ). But I do plan on going back to work eventually - and when I do, I'd like to have something for them to eat during the day. I was thinking an automatic feeder may work - something where I could program it to serve them a few small snacks in the middle of the day while we're at work.

Any suggestions on specific products? I need it to have at least 3-4 compartments, and work on a timer. And I'd like something that I can return, if they refuse to eat out of it. And I wouldn't want their food to go bad - so maybe a cooling element on the machine to keep their food fresh? They don't mind cold food straight from the fridge.

I saw this - but again, this is my first time browsing:

Six Day Pet Dish

Just to clarify - in a worst case situation, my husband would feed them breakfast, and then rely on the auto feeder to give them "lunch" and dinner, possibly breakfast the next day, if I was away overnight (this is only in a "g-d forbid" type situation). In a best case situation, I'd just use it to give them a little snack in the afternoon and possibly in the middle of the night, when Daisy Mae likes to play "pounce on mom and scream" because she's hungry. I know this sounds kinda high maintenance, but they just can't handle large meals, so I have to do the "multiple small meals a day" routine unless they can manage to train themselves not to eat too much.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
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Old November 7th, 2009, 12:10 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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An automatic pet feeder is a great idea. Lots of diabetic cat owners use them. I've never tried it, but one that seems popular with the diabetes crowd is the PetSafe 5 Meal Feeder. You could probably rig it up with an ice-pack underneath, but most users don't seem to find it necessary unless they're away for more than a day. Adding a couple tbsp of water helps, and another option is to freeze the canned food in an ice-cube tray so that it slowly thaws out while in the feeder.
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Old November 7th, 2009, 02:06 PM
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MissPurryJess MissPurryJess is offline
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Thank you! That's exactly what I'm looking for. I feel like a bad kitty mama not being able to personally feed them every meal, but I think that has more to do with me being a crazy cat lady than anything else.

They don't sell them in my area, so I will probably have to buy it online, hopefully I can find a store with a good return policy. I wonder if the kids are going to be willing to eat out of it.

If that works out we're taking the leap into kibble-free territory! So far they're really diggin' the AvoDerm chicken and Weruva chicken, so I haven't heard any complaints from feline family members yet.

ETA: Shnikes - I just read about that product and it's made of plastic. I've never fed them out of anything but stainless or people plates; I'm worried about the plastic irritating their little chins (according to the product reviewers this was really common). But I have a feeling that one made out of stainless or ceramic would be insanely expensive! Gah. Search continues...if anyone has one that has non-plastic bowls that they love, definitely LMK!

Last edited by MissPurryJess; November 7th, 2009 at 03:23 PM.
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