would this be good for cats dry food? looking for a "paw" proof feeder.
1483685
If your cat has access to the "shoot" and he touches it with his paw, then there will be a small amount of the fish food that will come out. Once the timer has released the fish food, there is always a small amount of food left in the shoot. Except for this small amount left in the shoot, only the timer will release more food.
1483686
I would work with small kibbles. I am feeding large pellets to my KOI and they are about the same size as cat food.
1483687
I would not recommend it for a cat. The plastic food bin merely "sits" on top of the green pedestal and a cat will be strong and heavy enough to knock this down off its pedestal. I think the feeding chute is too small to handle anything except the kitten kibble and bits type of cat food.
1483688
I used it for that purpose. You can find my review in the 5 star reviews. It was from March of this year. Also, I never had any problems with the timer nor quantity dispensed. I set up everything before installing it in the garbage can. If memory serves a #6 dispenses 1/2 cup. I also set it up with a 24 hour clock...I had read somewhere that it eliminated a lot of the confusion.
1483689
It should work. Just make sure the unit is secured so the cat cannot topple the unit. You'll also have to program it to deliver the amount of food you want at each feeding. Also, try to keep the unit in a dry area, my unit was pushed in my pond by a raccoon and was inoperable after that.
1483690
I think you would have to have it above the cats and drop into their bowl...If it was at ground level they could possibly tip it over by "pawing" at the feeder tube...If it was anchored to something, I believe it would work...You can also set it for different amounts of food to disperse...My works great with fish food that is probably smaller than most cat food...You would want to have a fairly small piece to go through the auger....Good Luck! Scott R. Dorr
1531587
I have used the feeder with morsels smaller than 1/2 inch and had no problem. The instructions that came with the feeder states: "TYPES OF FOOD; Dry dog or cat food only. Do not use canned food. Do not use moist dog or cat food. Do not use semi-moist food. Do not use treats." I hope that this helps.
377441
It should. I'm feeding cats, but raccoons have tried to get in and knocked it over - it didn't open. There is provision to screw it down, which if I had used it would not have knocked over.
1401050
My feeder is fairly new, only about a month old, and my cat is able to break into it and sometimes get out nearly a full portion of food. I'm pretty unhappy about this.
848530
I have used this bowl for the past few winters for our 2 outdoor cats but I only use it for its intended purpose, water. Our temps in northern Michigan often get 10 below zero or more during the cold days of January. I would see no problem if you use dry cat food BUT canned food may prove to be problematic; I do think the food would freeze. Hope this helps, if not please be a bit more specific on what type of food you plan to use.
351891
I only feed my cat wet food and use the automatic feeder all the time. He gets fed a small amount every 4 hours, and it seems to stay fresh when I fill it up with 5 servings. The food does not get hard and stale on top like it does if it is sitting out in a dish for hours. My kitty eats it without complaining, so it must be fine. He is picky so if it did not taste good, he would not touch it.
1037925
I use this instead of a bowl to feed my cats. I find that the 3 squiggly lines are too easy for them so I don't sprinkle food there. I use this to feed a small hard kibble, but my friend has one and uses it to feed both crunch and soft treats. I have been very pleased with it! I would NOT use wet food with this. It would get way to messy and it is hard to clean by hand. I have to throw mine in the dishwasher and that works fine but it does take up a lot of room.
1351396
As suggested by another purchaser, you could remove the inner plastic "bowl" and set your non-plastic bowl inside it. However,there really isn't a "bottom" to the feeder, so if your pet tips it over (which my cat has done several times), the dish would fall out and so would the food. So, removing the dish might work against you if you want the feeder to open at a set time, which seems to be the point of an automatic feeder.
874409
I use my feeder for portion control and to get my cat to eat more frequently -- we are trying to get her weight down. I don't use the feeder for trips, like everyone seemed to who was answering this question. So for a 24-hr period, it works fine. Just add a bit of water into the wet food if you're concerned about it drying out a bitl
1644234
One cup of dry kitty food fills it up completely and I'm not sure if it would rotate well that full, but maybe someone else has tried it. I feed one cat (once a day) and put 2/3 cup in each compartment, and it works really well and looks like about the right amount for the compartment.
611925
this is a really deep large cat box but I am not sure more than one cat could be in there with food bowls at once so don't know if it would work for feeding.
689244
Another thought -- this style is more for wet food and small portions. For big dry kibble, I'd suggest a chute-feeder more like this: topPets Large Automatic Pet Feeder Electronic Programmable Portion Control Dog Cat Feeder w/ LCD display
1512366
I feed my cats dry food from these bowls. There has always been spillage around their bowls, no matter what bowl I've used and there still is. I think it is more of an issue of how they eat rather than the bowl design. I use black "cafeteria" type trays under their bowls (and placemats under those!) to try to catch most of the mess.
2129301
Yes, ants could get into it. It is quite basic/flimsy . I bought this for the same reason you did. I feed a few stray cats outside. If I purchase another feeder, it would not be this one. Good Luck.
1879678
The unit is quite large and it would not be possible for a cat to turn the machine over. I'm not even sure a large dog could do it. The cover for the food hopper secures firmly locking in place and takes some effert to remove it so I seriously doubt an animal could do it. The only drawback is that a cat and probably a small dog can stick their paw up inside where the food comes out and they can get a few kernels that way. This seems to be a problem for most other automatic pet feeders of this type.
2217575
Yes! I have two units and two cats and both of them have mastered the art of pulling food out with their paws. They can only manage to pull out 1 or 2 pieces at a time (through a very determined and dedicated effort). Otherwise it is a great unit, we use them when we go on vacation.
783950
It will hold about 15 oz cat food (3 cans 5.5 oz) wet food. Do not know exactly dry food. It should be about 2 cups.