The sound of kibble pouring into the dish is like music to your cat’s ears. Whether you have a finicky feline or a cat who will eat the scraps right from your table, your beloved furball would love to have their food served at set times each day. Don’t keep your fluffy kitty from his food simply because you wanted to sleep in on Saturday morning! Instead, you need to invest in the best automatic cat feeder.
In this article:
- Best Automatic Cat Feeder : Our Selection at a glance
- Why Choose an Automatic Cat Feeder
- Petsafe 5-Meal Automatic Dog and Cat Feeder
- Arf Pets Automatic Pet Feeder
- Petsafe Healthy Pet Simply Feed Automatic Feeder
Our selection of best cat food dispensers
| Product | Quality | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | PetSafe 5 Meals |  | $ |
 | Arf Pets | | $$ |
 | Petsafe Health |  | $$$ |
Why Choose an Automatic Food Dispenser
Investing in the best automatic cat feeder is an excellent way to ensure your cat’s meals are served like clockwork. However, the benefits can go even deeper than that. Many of the models available on the market also allow for portion control, a great feature for cats who may benefit from a stricter diet.
Take this chore off your to-do list and ensure that your feline still gets meals on time. Here are our choices for the best automatic cat feeders available.
Petsafe 5-Meal Automatic Dog and Cat Feeder
Our first contender for the best automatic cat food dispenser is the Petsafe 5-meal automatic dog and cat feeder. This is the least expensive model on our ranking at just over thirty dollars. However, the low price tag doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t a quality feeder.
If your cat eats exclusively dry food, you can quickly and easily portion five different meals in their one-cup chambers. This does require a little more effort than simply filling up the hopper in a different dispenser method. However, it does allow you to modify the serving amount based on when your cat will receive the meal.
The Petsafe 5-Meal Automatic Dog and Cat Feeder does run on batteries. Each new set of batteries is projected to last approximately one year.
Out of 2,000 reviews on Amazon, this model still retains a 4.2-star rating. Most complaints centered around a short lifespan and a decreased ability to withstand abuse from larger animals. Considering the price and the size of the average cat, these complaints should be no problem.
For the price, this product is an excellent bargain for a cat owner who doesn’t mind refilling the machine more frequently.
Arf Pets Automatic Feeder
Our second candidate for the best automatic cat food dispenser is the Arf Pets Automatic Feeder. This ranks solidly in the middle of our top three options for the best cat food dispenser when it comes to price. You get a slight upgrade in terms of features along with the small jump in price.
This automatic dispenser does allow you to fill the 1.14-gallon hopper up without any need for individual portioning. You can set the digital part of the dispenser to feed your cat anywhere from one to ten portions (with each “portion” equaling 24 milliliters or roughly 1/10 cup).
Owners can choose to feed their felines up to four times each day with this model. The lid has a magnetic lock to prevent your pet from tampering with the hopper to get a few extra bites of kibble. It can also run on batteries or with a power adapter.
The reviews on this contender for the best automatic cat food dispenser are relatively close to those of the Petsafe 5-Meal Automatic Dog and Cat Feeder. Out of the 200 reviews on Amazon, it averages a 4.1-star rating. The major complaints include food jamming the dispenser and a short lifespan. These could major concerns with any automatic feeder though, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
The Arf Pets Automatic Feeder gives a solid upgrade for cat owners who don’t want to refill their dispenser each day and who are worried about their cats tampering with the hopper.
Petsafe Health Pet Simply Feed Automatic Feeder
Last but not least on our ranking of the best automatic cat feeders is the Petsafe Health Pet Simply Feed Automatic Feeder. It may be the most expensive model on the list, but it’s definitely worth the price. Your feline will be fed in absolute style with all of the upgraded functions and features on this Petsafe model.
This particular version is great for owners who want to feed their cats several small meals throughout the day. You can actually program this feeder to serve up to twelve meals a day with varying meal portions ranging from 1/8 cup to four cups. The hopper inside can hold a maximum of 24 cups of kibble, so this should last your kitty for several days.
It should be noted that this model allows you serve both dry kibble and semi-moist food – a standout feature among our contenders of the best automatic cat food dispenser!
Do you feed your cat more than 1/8 cup at a time? If your cat has a habit of gulping food down quickly just to throw it up later, you can set this food dispenser to a slow-feed mode. This releases the portion more slowly over a fifteen-minute span to force your cat to take their time and enjoy the meal.
A change in schedule is no big deal for the Petsafe Health Pet Simply Feed Automatic Feeder. You can ask it to immediately disperse another meal or pause the settings for a brief period of time. Neither option will force you into reprogramming the entire unit.
One of the areas where this model truly shines is in its power source. This model offers an optional power adapter so you never have to worry about your batteries dying.
Out of all the reviews on Amazon, this model has the highest score with a 4.3-star rating. For those reviews that did have less than stellar remarks, the major complaints came from a short lifespan and difficulty with programming. It may take some time to figure it out, but the features on this feeder make it well worth the money!
Final Thoughts: The Best Automatic Cat Feeder
When it comes right down to it, which model is the best automatic cat food dispenser for your feline friend? This may depend on the amount of money you’re willing to spend, as all three are excellent choices. However, if budget is no concern, the Petsafe Health Pet Simply Feed Automatic Feeder does have the highest reviews, most features, and the added ability to serve semi-moist food for your cat’s ultimate delight!