Automatic Cat Feeder with Battery Backup

We "inherited" a couple feral cats when Momma Cat had three kittens in our backyard. Eventually, two of them disappeared, but the Tortoiseshell momma cat and the little black kitten, we call "Spook" were still around. Momma cat is pretty wild, and we didn't find the kittens until they were too wild to domesticate. The Animal Defense League of Arizona has a spay and neuter program run by volunteers who loaned us a couple cat traps and have an arrangement with a local animal clinic to spay and neuter feral cats for a very reasonable charge. The requirement is that after they are released from the clinic, we should release them back where we trapped them. We had begun putting food out for them for humanitarian reasons. We skipped their food for a couple days so they were very hungry. Then we set the traps with extra enticing food (sardines). We caught Momma Cat and Spook and got them "fixed". We were putting a moderate amount of food out twice a day, but there weren't really our "pets". We can't get within ten feet of them. We think they will provide a deterrent to a "Roof Rat" infestation we have around here.We sometimes travel and didn't think it was fair to ask our neighbors to take over putting food out twice a day for our feral kitties. It seemed that an automatic pet feeder would solve the problem and make it easier to support our feral kitties. I looked at specifications and reviews of many automatic pet feeder systems and learned that most of them had problems. Some were only for indoor use, and we needed an outdoor system. Some had a very limited capacity, not enough to support two cats for two or three weeks when we traveled. The Pet Feedster PF-10 Plus Cat feeder had the best reviews and had all the important features we needed, including a 10-lb food storage capacity. Although it is designated for outdoor application, it should not be exposed directly to rain and needs to be in a sheltered location. To solve this problem, we found a Petmate BarnHome III Medium dog house that makes a perfect shelter for the Pet Feedster.The instruction manual for the PF-10 is quite understandable, and I didn't have any difficulty in setting the clock and setting the time and feed amount for the two feedings we use. The unit can be programmed for up to eight feedings! A useful feature of this unit is a quite effective ant trap that sits under the unit. It is cleverly designed so ants cannot get up into the food without going into the vinegar/water solution under the unit. It is designed so that most animals can't open the food storage compartment. Perhaps an intelligent monkey could figure it out, but it would be difficult to open without fingers. Also, unlike some units, a cat can't reach in through the food chute to reach the food pellets. The unit operation is very smooth and quiet, but these cats anticipate the feeding times. Spook waits up in a nearby tree and when she hears the unit, she comes down in a flash. Momma cat waits in a different tree, further away, but she seems to know when the food comes out. She gets to eat first and Spook has to wait around until momma gets done. The interaction is interesting to watch.Our unit sits away from the house, so I had to dig a 46' trench for a buried 120v electrical cable to the unit. It does contain 6 D-cell batteries, but they are primarily for backup power in case the A/C power goes out. The cable connects to an exterior receptacle on our house with GFI protection.

I bought one about six months ago. And everything worked great. So I ordered two more. As I have many pets. Then the machine started jamming. I have tried several different sizes of food. I have even adjusted the size of the food inside the chamber of the unit. Still nothing worked. Every single one of the units jam every single time. I’m constantly checking to make sure of my pets have plenty of food. This is a real problem. If I have to keep watching the bowls every single day because I don’t trust this unit, why should I Have an automatic feeder

I have two cats, and have had two feeders before this. Based on how they went out after far too short a period, I had some pretty strict criteria for a feeder (especially one that is an investment like this one). They used to jiggle the flap to get out extra bits of food whenever they were hungry, and between the two of them poking, they got food whenever they wanted until it broke. They are so mischievous that they broke the hopper off the top of my last one and could open the lid from it as well- my husband and I went away for about four days and they'd ripped the thing open and eaten at will until we came back. The Feedster is different.-The hopper is not detachable from the motor unit like on other models that are cheaper, so it's very secure.-It has a heavy base and is more bottom-heavy when filled than detachable hopper models, so it can't be tipped over.-Its feeding quantities are VERY specific- other models only allow your to serve in multiples of 1/4 or 1/3 cup, which is too much for my cats- you can give just a few teaspoons at a time on this if you want, so my cats are never overfed. It's a little hard to adjust with the controls at first, so keep the manual handy and watch videos if necessary.-The lid that opens to the hopper absolutely cannot be removed with animal paws, mouths, or prying. It requires a human grip.-The food dispenses from inside the feeder and drops down a long tube before exiting the machine, and the tube you screw to the front gives you a couple extra inches so your animal can't mess with the dispensing mechanism to get extra food out at will- so it's a far better choice for weight control than other feeders. My cats are well-behaved, but when they get hungry, they try to wrestle with the feeder to get out anything extra they can.The Feedster anticipated all of the issues you typically encounter with other feeders. Do yourself a favor and buy this one FIRST. You get what you pay for. If I had known less expensive feeders wouldn't do the job, I would have bought this one two years ago and never bothered with the others- this is less expensive in the long run than buying two or more feeders that don't hold up to weasel-y animals. Save yourself time, rest easy knowing you're feeding your animals the right quantity at the right time, and save money over the long haul over boarding and care (and any other worthless feeder).