People buy animals because they are cute and cuddly and they are always happy to see you. Then reality sets in and they realize that this is a living thing needing around the clock care. Cats are a more self-sufficient animal needing less attention than a dog or other smaller pet; however, you still need to feed them and change their litter. So now, your cute and cuddly cat is a lot of work that you do not have time for. To take some responsibility off your shoulders and lengthen the intervals when you need to refill a food dish, try using an auto cat feeder. When first introduced these devices were nothing more than an overturned jug full of food that dropped more out when the cat ate. They relied more on gravity and physics than actual engineering and cat care. They worked, but worked harder to make your cat overweight. Today’s auto feeders feature timers, 12 month batteries, and predetermined servings. Now your cat is actually being cared for instead of eating a pile of food off the floor for a week.
Different designs, manufacturers and pricing can be found all over the internet for automatic feeders. They are perfect for the working family or cat owner that just cannot be around all the time to make sure the cat or cats have food. Auto feeders are also handy when traveling so you do not have to ask a family member or friend to go and feed your cat for you. Of course, if you are a more loving than attentive parent to your cat, they are good for the lazy bums that do not want to get up every so often to feed the cat.
Most designs for auto cat feeders resemble the traditional non-electronic versions first introduced. They look sort of like an odd coffee maker with a wide base except with a bowl protruding out the front to catch the food. Your cat’s cuisine is stored in a large clear container that rests upside down in top of the base and allows for gravity to move the food once a mechanism inside the machine does its thing and releases the food. For these models, the portions are measured by time intervals of a door opening to release the food. The door stays open based on pre-programmable intervals for example 1 second for a quarter cup and 2 seconds for 1 cup. Obviously, that is just a rough estimate but you get the idea. One such model found on the internet called Petmate Le Bistro retails for 67.99 and has features like portion control, programmable feeding times and portions, as well as being dishwasher safe.
A newer design is the saucer shaped auto feeder. This model does not rely on gravity to help release food as more traditional models do. It is in the shape of a circle and has cutouts all around the circumference sort of resembling a pizza. Another piece on top of the circle with one triangular opening rotates to uncover uneaten food portions. These designs usually can hold only so much per portion however; less can be put into the preformed triangular sections. They also have programmable feeding intervals and can be stored in smaller spaces because they are not as tall as traditional tower feeders. The model this writer found on the internet is the Koolatron pet dish. Features include feeding intervals of six, twelve and twenty four hours, memory for different interval programs, 6 food trays that can hold up to two thirds of a cup of dry food or five and half ounces of moist food, refreshable inserts, removable lid, made of sturdy ABS plastic and also comes with a one year warranty. This particular model retails for 39.95 online.
These two examples are typical of most auto cat feeder models on the market. There are variations in some designs such as larger portion dishes or a wider range of programmable settings however they are generally the same. More advanced models can hold much larger amounts of food and even have remotes! Models like this however can reach into the hundreds of dollars and may be overkill for your particular needs. Most adequate auto feeders are in the 40 to 70 dollar range and would be perfect for a week long vacation away or everyday use.
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