Why People Stop Buying Cat Self Feeder

For some pet owners, the process of leaving a pet to fend for itself when they leave town has become more sophisticated than what my mother recommends. (It should be noted that cat owners are three times as likely as dog owners to leave their pets home alone when they travel, according to American Pet Products Association 's annual pet ownership survey.) They set up cheap security cameras to keep an eye on their pets, and they buy automatic litter boxes (which we don't recommend) to scoop up the excrement. As Wirecutter's pet writer, however, I've found that the No. 1 gadget pet owners ask me about is programmable food dispensers that feed their pets when they're not around.

In the real world, however, obesity in cats leads to unhealthiness, disease, and even death. Diabetes, arthritis, urinary blockage, skin problems, and cancer are much more common in obese cats than in normal weight cats.

In the wild, cats spend most of their waking hours (not necessarily in daylight) foraging for food, defending their territory and raising their young, or looking for a mate. In today's world, domestic cats often get little exercise and find calories very easily in their bowls - no hunting required.

But here's the headline: Automatic feeders are not a substitute for human interaction. "An automatic feeder should never be used as a substitute for a pet sitter, walker or boarding kennel," says Russell Hartstein, a certified animal behaviorist and trainer with 27 years of experience and founder of Fun Paw Care in Los Angeles. "Regardless of the marketing and advertising for products, it is neither healthy nor in the best interest of your pet to be left alone."

Although cats have a reputation for not needing the same love and attention as dogs, that doesn't mean they aren't happy when you're around. A recent study sponsored in part by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company showed that cats are more confident and calm when their owners are around and stressed when their owners are away.

"Pet owners should consider their pet's needs and how well their pet copes when left alone," Kristyn Vitale, PhD, who studies feline social cognition at Oregon State University and is the study's author, said in an email. "Some animals are perfectly fine with being left alone all day. Some cats may develop separation anxiety and have difficulty being left alone." (If you suspect your pet has separation anxiety disorder, a certified animal behaviorist can help).

However, our pet experts recommend only one day of time out. "Dogs and cats are social animals and do not thrive or survive in solitary confinement," Hartstein said. He added that leaving a cat home alone for more than a day "is a recipe for a very unfulfilled, underserved cat and leads to a very dangerous situation for your pet."

Feeders tempt cat owners to consider leaving cats for extended periods of time without daily supervision from a pet sitter, a kind neighbor, or a boarding facility.

Most veterinarians are familiar with stories of calls from distraught cat owners who return from a weekend or week away from home to find that their cat is in a predicament because the feeder is broken, or the feeder is still full and the cat hasn't eaten, or the cat had a medical emergency (such as a urinary blockage) but no one was there to notice. The money saved on a pet sitter or boarding facility becomes secondary in the regret of the current reality of a sick or dead cat.

It can be annoying to have a cat wrapped around your legs every morning and evening begging for food while you're trying to get to work or prepare dinner. But those moments of carefully monitoring what your cat eats are time well spent, both in terms of your cat's physical health and in fostering the wonderful bond between you and your cat.

Also, veterinarians recommend feeding cats mostly wet food, as it better meets their natural nutritional and hydration needs. So, forgo the dry feeder and feed your cat two to three times a day.

Which feeder you should buy

If you must use an automatic feeder for a day of your absence, there are good - if imperfect - alternatives. Automatic feeders are designed to dispense a set amount of food at a set time so you don't have to worry about it. While they sound like a great solution for taking care of your pet while you're away, they're not always reliable, nor are they designed for most pets.

When I tested eight different wirecutter models, I found that most of them aren't suitable for dogs that eat more than one cup of food per serving because they have limited storage capacity and small bowls. And many of them jam when programmed to dispense more than one cup of kibble. We also checked the stability of each feeder by bumping it with a 10-pound bag to simulate a pet trying to tip it over. Most feeders were knocked over by this attack and would definitely fall under a dog weighing more than that (or even a particularly determined smaller dog or cat).

Cat’s face design bowl. Put the name of your furry friend and personalize the feeder FOR FREE. Two wooden stands in the set to put the basis on appropriate height for comfortable eating Whether your cat is a picky eater or a little on the pudgy side, they probably let you know how they feel about what you put in their bowl. Grab this at Cat Mode

Enjoy!