So, you’ve decided to purchase an automatic cat feeder. This might be because your irregular work day or hectic lifestyle don’t allow you to feed your little furry friend on time, or you want to be prepared for an unexpected emergency… or you’re just a little lazy, without that being entirely bad.
No matter the circumstance, an automatic pet feeder will provide a far better solution to handling the daily calorie intake of your cat than just over-filling its bowl for the whole day. It is true that most animals should instinctively stop eating when they’re satiated, but the type of fish-based or oil-based additives they put in today’s cat food might prove too irresistible for little Thomas not to gorge.
Furthermore, the sedentary lifestyle of a house cat might make the animal depressed or bored, which will encourage overeating. All of us who’ve lived for a significant amount of time in the countryside might remember seeing full bowls of untouched cat food sitting in the yard, but this will be a rare sight if the poor critter is confined within the walls of an apartment with nothing much to do for most of its day.
That’s why, besides providing a great deal of convenience to your life, an automatic pet food dispenser will also prove a great solution for keeping the pet healthy by preventing overeating.
These nifty devices generally come in two types. One that uses gravity to fill a small tray at its bottom and another one which employs an electronic mechanism to dispense pet food at regular intervals.
The first model might be attractive because of its simplicity, which means a far lower purchasing cost and also fewer things to go wrong with it. However, in its basic form, this won’t really allow you to precisely regulate the pet’s food intake, as the small bowl will usually get filled as it empties. There are a lot of minor adjustments you can do to circumvent this problems, some of which are documented on this site.
Any way you look at it, the electric programmable model will always allow for greater freedom and provide you with more option. These generally feature up to 6 cups that can be filled with food in one go and dispensed at regular intervals into a small bowl. The best of these even have pressure sensors so the tray doesn’t get overfilled, in case your pet didn’t have an appetite.
Since these are programmable by the owner, their real-life effectiveness will be to a great degree determined by the input you give it. To make the most out of the device, you have to know and follow your pet’s dietary habits, or what these should ideally be if you’re dealing with an over-eater.
Most cats like to eat 4 to 6 times a day, with smaller ones requiring smaller portions at closer intervals. If you want to cut back on the cat’s food intake, it is advisable to decrease the portion, not the number of times you feed it a day, since cats have fairly fast metabolisms.
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