Keeping up with your cats’ diet can be challenging, especially on busy workdays. Searching for friends who would agree to take care of your cats while you’re traveling is yet another pain.
If this sounds familiar, then an auto feeder would be your best bet. In this article, I’ll present my opinion on the best outdoor automatic cat feeders currently on the market. I’ll also discuss how you should pick one that fits your needs, so make sure to hang on till the end. Let’s go!
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Table of Contents
The Best Outdoor Automatic Cat Feeders
How does every feeder function? How much do they hold? Will they thrive outdoors? These are some of the questions I’ll cover in the following reviews.
SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder – Best Overall
- Key Benefits: Prevents food stealing and stress at mealtimes in multi-pet homes, keeps your pets healthier by controlling portions and helping to keep weight under control, saves money by not overfeeding expensive prescription foods and helping to avoid vet bills related to pet health conditions.
- Great for Pets on Prescription Diets: Holds 13.5 fl. oz, wet or dry pet food. The lid closes to form a seal with the neoprene lip, helping to retain moisture and to keep food fresher longer.
- Microchip Compatibility: Works with 9 (Avid Secure), 10 (FDXA) and 15 (FDXB) digit microchip numbers; if unsure of your pet’s microchip number, you can check with your veterinarian, pet shelter or animal rescue. Automatic Cat Feeder opens when the assigned pet microchip ID approaches, and closes when it moves away. Simple one button programming.
- Three Year Warranty. Veterinarian Recommended.
- Do you have a houseful of pets? Does one cat steal the other’s cat food? Does your dog steal the cat’s food? Stressful Feeding times? The Microchip Pet Feeder makes feeding times so much easier! It uses the pet’s Microchip ID or by wearing a lightweight RFID collar tag to communicate with the feeder to open for that specific pet. All feeders come standard with one tag (unit stores 32 ID’s); additional collar tags can be purchased separately if necessary. Ideally one feeder per pet.
Do you know how actors in spy movies gain access to facilities by scanning their eyes? Well, this is kind of close to how this feeder works!
Your cat should have an under-skin microchip implanted by a veterinarian, or you can opt for an RFID collar tag. Whatever you choose, this feeder won’t open its lid unless it detects the programmed microchip. Raccoons wouldn’t be able to outsmart this.
This feeder will also be perfect if you have a dominant cat stealing food from weaker ones. Program the chips of the sickly cats and let them enjoy unrivaled feeding.
Moreover, the lid closes over a neoprene lip. This provides an excellent, tight seal that would keep food fresh for long periods. It’s also possible to place wet food without worrying about spoilage.
Pros
- Reads microchips
- Racoon-proof
- Tight seal
Cons
- Small capacity (13.5 oz)
Belopezz Pet Automatic Feeder – Best Smart Feeder
- Time and amount programmable: you can feed your pet 4 meals at scheduled times, And every meals have 1-39 portion control, which can help the pet develop a good eating habit
- Capacity: 3L, around 3.5lbs dry food. An adult cat whose weight is less than 6.6lb may consume food of 30 - 50g per day. While an adult cat with weight of 6.6lb - 11lb may consume food of 70 - 100g per day. Therefore, the food can support an adult cat for about 15 - 30 days.
- Voice Recording Remind: Built-in voice recorder and speaker, this feeder can record your voice for 10 seconds to call your puppy or kitty for meals. Your personal sound will keep your pet not alone.
- High quality ABS housing, anti-abrasion and drop, and environment-friendly. Over 10 years experience in producing feeder, meeting European and U.S. standards, environment-friendly, and pollution free.
- Built-in IR Detector: For your pet’s happy meal time, the IR detector will have the right angle to prevent the pet food from clogging or overflow. Double Power Supply with Low Consumption: The feeder can be powered by power adapter or 3 type D batteries (not included), no worry about power failure when you are not at home.
With this smart feeder, go on your trip and rest assured, your cats may not even miss you! This feeder can record up to 10 seconds of you calling your cat for food, then play it right after it dispenses the kibble.
The programming supports up to 4 scheduled meals with 1-39 portion control. This gives you absolute control over your cat’s diet to make it easier to solve problems like obesity.
The thing I like the most is its convenient capacity. It can hold up to 3.5 lbs of dry food, which can feed an adult cat for 15-30 days, according to your diet plan.
What’s more, those evil raccoons won’t be able to tip it over thanks to the non-skid pads installed on its bottom.
Pros
- Can record voice
- Large capacity
- Non-skid pads
Cons
- Its clock may need frequent adjustment, or else it’d get off by a couple of hours.
Cat Mate C500 Automatic Pet Feeder – Best for Wet Food
- Material-Plastic. Five food compartments will serve up to five meals, one initial feed and four further timed feeds while you are away. Each holds 11. 5 ounces wet food.
- removable, easy-to-clean cover and bowl (also dishwasher-safe)
- battery status indicator. Two cooling ice packs and one close-fitting cover keep the feed fresh
- uses 3 x AA batteries (not included)
If your cat goes nuts over wet food, this feeder should be your best bet. It features a 5-compartment tray that rotates to give food in programmable intervals. Each compartment holds up to 11 oz.
Then why is it “best for wet food”? Well, if you lift the tray up, you’ll find 2 ice packs, shipped with the device. Together with the tightly sealed lid, these ice packs would preserve wet food till the end of the day.
I’m not fond of its relatively low weight, though. It wouldn’t even stand a raccoon cub. To solve this issue, punch a couple of holes in its base and screw it to a wooden board.
Pros
- Double ice packs
- Tight seal
- Easy programming
Cons
- Small capacity
PetSafe Automatic Cat Feeder – Best Smartphone-Compatible
- Feed from your phone: Feed your pet anytime from your smartphone with the smart feed app; App requires an iPhone or iPod device iOS 9.0 or later, or a compatible Android smartphone 6.0 or later
- Personalize your pet's meals: Schedule up to 12 meals for your dog or cat; The feed Now option allows you to feed your pet in addition to the scheduled meal times; Dry food only
- Flexible portions: Meals can be dispensed in portions of 1/8 cup to 4 cups to fit your pet's needs; Slow feed option allows food to dispense slowly over a 15 minute period to help prevent digestive upset
- Battery backup: The optional battery backup requires 4 D cell alkaline batteries (not included); If Wi-Fi drops, your pet still receives the next scheduled feeding
- Dishwasher safe: Lid, hopper, stainless steel bowl and bowl holder are top shelf, dishwasher safe for convenient cleaning; Made of BPA free plastic and stainless steel; For indoor use only
I hate it so much when a button fails on an automatic feeder. You could replace the whole device for only one failed button. That’s why smartphone feeders are increasing in popularity each day.
This feeder from PetSafe can hold around 24 cups of cat kibble. It’s possible to schedule up to 12 meals in portions of 1/8 of a cup to 4 cups.
Here’s what I like the most. From the app’s scheduling panel, you can enable the “slow feed” mode. This dispenses the same portion slowly over 15 minutes, so as to help with digestive upset.
Pros
- Supports smartphone
- Large capacity
- It can slowly dispense the food.
Cons
- Somewhat expensive
Xiapia Automatic Cat Food Feeder – Best Gravity Feeder
If you wish to devote your feeder for feral cats, you wouldn’t want one that runs on intervals. Instead, consider this gravity feeder from Xiapia.
Being a gravity feeder means that it’ll dispense food constantly as cats eat what’s in the bowl. The bottle holds up to 1 liter of kibble, which would be more than enough.
Additionally, this product comes with a similarly-designed waterer and a slicker brush, giving you the best value for your money.
Pros
- Large capacity
- No programming needed
- Safe, non-electrical design
Cons
- Some customers reported leaky waterers
What to Consider Before Buying an Automatic Cat Feeder
Now that you know the best products on the market, these are some points that’ll help you reach a decision.
First Things First, Should You Buy an Automatic Feeder?
Serving food for pets yourself is a fantastic experience. So, why should you buy a robotic, senseless device to do it for you? Here are some of its benefits:
A Freer Schedule
This is the most obvious benefit. An automatic feeder will allow you to freely travel for a couple of days without worrying about your cats.
Less Meowing
If your cats won’t stop meowing and you’ve tried everything, you might want to try an auto feeder.
Pet cats tend to be dependable, just like babies. They think of you as their one and only food source. So they keep meowing for your attention even if they’re the slightest bit hungry.
When you use an auto feeder, they’ll remember the feeding time and, hopefully, annoy you less with their cries.
For Feral Cats
Feeding feral cats yourself can be daunting. In a similar fashion to pets, ferals would attend at the designated time to eat.
Safety
Purchasing a feeder to put outdoors is a bit tricky. We’re speaking about rain, dirt, and stealthy animals like raccoons.
Luckily, protecting the feeder from environmental conditions is the easy part. Building any platform or a feeding station can get the job done.
But for raccoons, it’s not always that easy. You should buy a product that closes tightly to resist the sneaky paws. Moreover, your feeder should have a feature that prevents tipping, such as non-skid pads.
Capacity
Buy a capacity that fits your needs. If you travel for a bunch of days leaving more than 1 pet at home, then the bigger, the better.
Small devices would be an affordable option if you just want to adjust your cat’s diet and behavior.
The Verdict
If you ask me, the best outdoor automatic cat feeder is SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder. The microchip activation makes it impossible for raccoons to steal your cat’s food.
The second best is Belopezz Pet Automatic Feeder. It’s a smart feeder that records your voice and plays it back with every meal. Such a cool way to keep your cat full and loved!
Lastly, don’t forget to regularly clean whatever feeder you choose, as it may build up bacteria pretty fast. Later!
