These FILAIRE-tested automatic pet feeders are the cat’s meow

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Others tested

Oneisall 2-in-1 Automatic Cat Feeder and Water Dispenser for $54: Generally speaking, I am a fan of all the Oneisall pet products that I have tested. Although they are not the most technologically advanced, they are still reliable and inexpensive. This model is relatively simple. To install, you’ll need to plug in the bowl racks and dishwasher-safe stainless steel bowls, fill the compartments with water and kibble, and plug in. This model runs on corded electricity but has 4 optional AA batteries in case of a power outage. There is no connected app. Simply set the clock and adjust the meal settings, and you can program one to six meals per day with adjustable servings, from one to 10 servings. I don’t like having food and water so close because cats prefer them to be separate to avoid cross contamination in the wild. I always recommend automatic pet fountains more for a fresh water source, but if you don’t have a lot of space, are on a budget, and need a temporary solution to provide your cat with fresh water while you’re out of town, the gravity-fed water system ensures the water stays relatively fresh (plus, the translucent tank makes it easy to check water levels). I’d recommend this basic option if you’re on a budget and need a temporary solution when you’re away from home (and don’t mind not having an app connected).

Closer Pets C200 2-Meal Automatic Pet Feeder for $50: This automatic loader is super simple, which is both its weakness and its strength. They’re basically two shallow plastic containers with stainless steel inserts (both dishwasher safe) and tamper-proof lids that are locked and open automatically using an old-fashioned egg-type timer that runs on an AA battery rather than electricity. Although the container contains an ice pack to keep moist foods cool, after one night it has lost almost all of its freshness. There is a lid retainer clip, a small piece of plastic that connects the lids to ensure they open at the same time, which is very useful for two-cat owners like me. I wish the timer was electric so I could program it for the exact time I want it to open, rather than guessing the timing on the little marks. However, it is a simple solution to ensure both my cats get wet food without me having to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Oneisall Wireless WiFi Automatic Cat Feeder for $70: I had high hopes for this wireless charger with a 100-day rechargeable battery and a built-in app, but it’s just too unreliable. Through the app, you can schedule up to 10 daily meals (in 1 to 12 servings each), monitor pets’ eating habits, and personalize meal calls. Unlike other apps, you can’t choose the portion size, but rather you have to multiply the number of servings. The app was giving me constant problems and would often disconnect from the charger and fail to reconnect to WiFi. Fortunately, I was able to schedule meals via the screen and buttons, but it would have been much nicer if the app had worked reliably.

Do not recommend

Catit Pixi Smart 6-Meal Feeder for $100: Like others on this list, the Catit Pixi Wet and Dry Feeder uses ice packs to keep wet foods cool and rotates meals in six compartments on a set schedule. The schedule can be programmed via the app or changed on the charger body. At this price point, application should not be so limited and problematic. The schedule is only available in military time and the app is extremely limited: you can only set the meal schedule for the same day, and when I wanted to do only two to three meals per day spread over two days, I had to reschedule meals for each new day. The feeder did not keep her cold enough to distribute meals and the wet food was not at a safe temperature for consumption. At this price point, just get the Petlibro Fleece wet feeder for a few dollars more.

Catit Pixi Smart Cat Feeder for $140: Kibble is stored in the body of this dry feeder, but it does not have a window to visually check food levels. The calendar for planning meals only shows one week at a time, and although it should repeat daily depending on the schedule, I found that on some days there would be no schedule despite having a schedule set up. The Pixi also does not tell you the quantity of food distributed; this is simply a “serving” – I measured manually and found the serving to be less than a tablespoon of kibble. After using it continuously for over a month, I found it to be extremely faulty and almost never reliably adhere to the programmed schedule, sometimes even skipping meals. This feeder is potentially dangerous and I advise pet parents not to rely on it.

Closer Pets C500 for $75: This automatic wet and dry food dispenser can program up to four pre-portioned meals (and one manually fed meal) that are opened on a timer system using three AA batteries (sold separately). The user presets the four times they want the bowls, which contain ice blocks underneath, to rotate. The bowls are quite deep and narrow and are not very easy for cats to reach, which could cause whisker fatigue. And although there were two relatively large blocks of ice, when I checked the feeder after a night’s sleep, the blocks weren’t very cold. This may be fine for kibble, but the wet food was kept at unsafe temperatures and my cats couldn’t reach all of the food.