The 9 Best Automatic Feeders Tested With Real Cats

Best Overall

PETLIBRO AIR WiFi Feeder

$70

$65 at Amazon View on Petlibro.com

The Petlibro Air Wi-Fi Feeder has the best balance of reliability, affordability, smart features, and ease of use among those we've tested. The Wi-Fi version of the feeder uses a large 5200mAh lithium-ion battery (higher capacity than the largest iPhone) to power it for 30 days on a single 8-hour charge. In our experience, the long-lasting battery life typically extends well past 30 days.

For an automatic feeder, it's very compact, and since it's wireless, it's easy to put anywhere in the house—even up on higher surfaces—or to move it from place to place. The rounded, squat design also makes it difficult to tip over.

One of our test cats can be very determined and spent months terrorizing his apartment's robotic vacuum. But after several nights of trying to extract dinner early, he was only able to scoot the feeder a few inches across the floor, and never got close to knocking it over.

Programming the AIR WiFi is done entirely through the app, where you can set how many portions to dispense (each portion is 1/24 of a cup), up to 16 per meal. You can schedule up to ten meal times a day. The app is relatively barebones, but straightforward to use and useful.

It's easy to toggle an existing schedule off for the day and change configuration options, like your preferred unit of measurement (we stuck with cups). It keeps a log of previous feedings, too.

The app can also be synced with multiple machines and has up to five users, making it really easy to coordinate in a multiple-cat household (our tester has two different machines, one per cat, and both are managed from the same app). It's got useful notifications too, letting you know when it's time to refill the 2-liter food reservoir or recharge the battery. You can even access a PDF version of the user manual from inside the app.

The feeder can be used with kibble between 2 and 15 millimeters (or up to the size of a keyboard key). It comes with a metal dish that can be washed separately, and most components are easy to rinse off in the sink (except for the base, which contains the battery).

While this is an app-enabled "smart" feeder, it doesn't have any of the bells & whistles we associate with similar feeders. It won't take your cat's picture, or play a pre-recorded message (we've found that cats don't need to hear your voice to know it's dinner time).

It also has a small storage capacity. But if what you want is a basic, reliable feeder that combines the peace of mind wireless notifications can bring, then the AIR is a fantastic option.

_{Maximum Capacity: About 8.5 cups | Dimensions: 12.2 x 10.4 x 7.1 inches | Weight: 2.86 pounds | Food Type: Dry | Power Source: 5200mAh lithium-ion battery | Mobile App: Yes}

Best for Multiple Cats

PETLIBRO Granary Two Cat Feeder

$90

$68 at Amazon View on Chewy View on Petlibro.com

In previous versions of this roundup, we recommended that owners of multiple cats check out the WellToBe Automatic Pet Feeder with Two-Way Splitter, which holds up to 20 cups of food and includes features like a voice recording and battery backup. After more comprehensive testing, we found the WellToBe operated effectively and dispensed food accurately. However, our testers disliked a number of design choices, including its short power cable, strange button placement, and how the two bowls don't snap onto the feeder, necessitating finicky adjustments.

Instead, our testers preferred the PETLIBRO Granary Automatic Cat Feeder for Two Cats. We believe it is the better pick for anyone who would prefer a feeder that provides a separate bowl for each cat. Plus, those separate bowls are both stainless steel, which we prefer to plastic bowls.

The PETLIBRO Granary looks a little like its namesake, with a round, silo design that reminded one tester of an air filter. The feeder has a locking lid that will keep your cats out, though one tester did find it a little too smooth to grip easily.

Overall, we found the Granary to be among the easiest to set up of any device we tested, with intuitive programming on a digital display that presented useful information cleanly. You can program up to ten meals a day and can adjust portion control down to the tablespoon, with a maximum meal serving that's more than four cups of dry food.

The Granary has other useful features, including a battery backup, a manual feeding button, and the ability to record a short "come and get it" message to your cats. Similarly to the other PETLIBRO feeder we recommend in this roundup, you can also insert a desiccant bag in the kibble reservoir if there's a chance of high humidity spoiling the stored food.

The only downside our testers noted was the meal splitter, which can be adjusted to serve different-sized portions in different bowls. In practice, we found it tricky to make precise adjustments. It was a minor flaw in a feeder that was otherwise a favorite of our testers.

_{Maximum Capacity: 5 liters | Dimensions: 13.6 x 7.5 x 7.5 inches | Weight: 4.4 pounds | Food Type: Dry | Power Source: Plug-in and three D-cell batteries | Mobile App: No}

Best Upgrade

Whisker Feeder Robot

$299 at Amazon View on Litter-Robot View on Whisker.com

After multiple rounds of testing, the Whisker Feeder-Robot continues to be the most impressive feeder we've ever tested. The adaptable automatic cat feeder has a variety of intuitive feeding options and the most useful app of any feeder we have tested. It also scored especially high marks for its features, effectiveness, timer accuracy, and portion control. But its high price and large size might be too much for many cat owners.

The design of the Feeder-Robot is simultaneously futuristic and friendly—though it's definitely on the larger side in the automatic feeder realm—so buyers should be ready for it to take up a fair amount of space. Despite its substantial dimensions, the Feeder-Robot tapers to a 9 by 11.25-inch footprint. This makes it feel a little top-heavy, though not enough to be concerned about cats knocking it over. In our lab testing, bashing it with a ten-pound sandbag didn't make it budge, so neither will your cat.

Set up out of the box is a cinch, taking us about 15 minutes, including downloading and syncing the phone application (by scanning a QR code on the back of the feeder), which is available on iOS and Android.

It's easy to dial in precise meal times and serving increments with the Feeder-Robot's robust settings, through which you can dispense up to a full cup of food as frequently as eight times a day. A dispenser that uses 1/4-cup increments is already installed in the Feeder-Robot, but you can swap it for an included 1/8-cup dispenser that provides more precise portion control—though this reduces the maximum single serving to 1/2 cup.

There's also a setting that dispenses just enough food to keep the bowl full, with the Feeder-Robot checking its level every six hours. If your cat doesn't overeat and you don't closely monitor servings, this "gravity mode" ensures that the feeder isn't dispensing an overflowing mound of food while you're away.

The Feeder-Robot's reservoir can hold up to 32 cups of dry food, though anything other than small, round kibble will likely need the included Hopper Insert. It's designed to more effectively funnel food into the dispenser but also reduces the total capacity to 25 cups—still a substantial amount of food.

The app notifications keep you updated on your cat's meals, and the included backup battery provides peace of mind by ensuring the feeder will continue to operate for up to 24 hours should the power suddenly go out in your home. You can also bypass the app and schedule feeding directly from the control panel keypad, and the Feeder-Robot stores the schedule locally, continuing to maintain the schedule even if it's offline. An easy-to-read blue indicator light highlights whether or not the unit is currently operating on a programmed schedule.

In addition to notifying you with a push notification at feeding times, the app also allows you to check food levels, build schedules, and tap a button to remotely dispense a snack-size serving. And it keeps track of feedings over time, providing daily averages and insights that can be exported to a CSV file ready for Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel which might serve as a data source to discuss with your veterinarian.

We were less impressed with the included plastic bowl, since it can't be cleaned in the dishwasher and because some cats have skin allergies (however, all components are BPA-free). A dishwasher-safe, hypoallergenic glass bowl is sold separately, adding a $30 surcharge to an already substantial investment. We would have preferred other Feeder-Robot components to be dishwasher-safe as well, though its washable components are easy to separate from the feeder's base and hand wash.

The Whiskers Feeder-Robot is available in four different color combinations, with the body available in black or white, in combination with a clear food hopper, or a more opaque smoke-colored option. It also comes with a 90-day in-home trial period in addition to its 18-month warranty. There's even free shipping for customers in the contiguous United States.

_{Maximum Capacity: 32 cups | Dimensions: 15 x 12.5 x 13 inches | Weight: 9 pounds | Food Type: Dry | Power Source: Plug and built-in backup battery | Mobile App: Yes}

Best for Wet Food

Cat Mate 5 Meal Dog & Cat Feeder

$46 at Amazon View on Chewy

$66

$51 at Petco

Similar in design to our Portable pick (the PetSafe Eatwell 5-Meal), the Cat Mate C500 Digital 5 Meal Dog & Cat Feeder uses a rotating, multi-compartment tray rather than dispensing food through a chute. This makes it ideal for semi-wet or wet food since you can load each compartment yourself and schedule when it's "revealed" to your cat or cats.

But wet and canned cat food spoils more quickly than dry food and should be refrigerated after opening, making it harder to set out in advance. The Cat Mate C500 solves this problem by including two ice packs beneath the rotating tray.

While this makes the Cat Mate C500 useful for pre-loading wet food that might otherwise need refrigeration, it's still not a great option for serving wet food when you're away. We found that the two ice packs kept the food cold overnight but weren't long-lasting enough to extend past 24 hours.

Cat owners who are likely to find the Cat Mate C500 useful include anyone who is sick of their cat waking them up and would rather the cats adjust to waiting by the feeder for their scheduled mealtime. It could also be useful for scheduling a serving of food if you are going to be at work late.

The C500 can be programmed for up to 5 scheduled mealtimes, with each compartment holding 1.25 cups of food. Programming is straightforward, but one tester advised that users pay close attention that they're distinguishing a.m. and p.m. to avoid a missed meal.

The Cat Mate C500 is also easy to clean since the top cover and the food tray are dishwasher safe.

_{Maximum Capacity: 1.7 liters | Dimensions: 12.2 x 11.89 x 3.7 inches | Weight: 14.8 ounces | Food Type: Wet or dry | Power Source: Three AAA batteries | Mobile App: No}

Best Budget

PETLIBRO Air Automatic Pet Feeder

$70 at Amazon $50 at Chewy $70 at Target

The PETLIBRO Air Automatic Pet Feeder has everything you need to reliably feed a cat on a timer, but lacks the useful app that makes the WiFi edition of this feeder our very favorite. Instead of the 30-day lithium-ion battery, this more minimalist AIR model comes with USB-C plug with a five-foot cord, with three D-cell batteries for backup in case the power goes out while you are away. An indicator on the device keeps track of how much battery life is left.

We tested the AIR in our New York lab and found that a little over seven cups of kibble was the maximum amount it could hold. The manual feeding button works well, and you can press it up to five times in a row for a larger serving.

The default portion is 1/24 cup and you can program up to six timers to dispense a maximum of 16 portions (two-thirds of a cup) at one time. But there is no indicator confirming that a timer has been set, so we recommend you monitor the feeder over the course of a day to make sure it's dispensing as you desire.

The feeder arrives almost fully assembled, except for a stainless steel bowl and the plastic tray the bowl sits in—both of which are easy to clean. And to keep unwanted pests from accessing the food tank, a rotating barrier seals off access through the feeding port. Plus, the lid has a press-to-release button that forms a tight seal to preserve the freshness of your cat's food.

The PETLIBRO Air does not connect to Wi-Fi so there is no mobile device app, but the buttons are straightforward and concealed behind a panel, making it impossible for your furry friend to change the settings.

_{Maximum Capacity: 2 liters (~8 cups) or 6 liters (~25 cups) | Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.1 x 12.2 inches (2 liters),  9.5 x 7.7 x 14.2 inches (6 liters) | Weight: 2.9 pounds (2 liters), 3.9 (6 liters) | Food Type: Dry | Power Source: Plug-in and three D-cell batteries | Mobile App: No}

Best High Capacity

WOPET Automatic Pet Feeder

View on Amazon

The Wopet Automatic Pet Feeder holds up to seven pounds, or slightly under 30 cups, of dry cat food while providing reliably timed feedings with consistently sized portions. Even with its ability to hold a significant amount of kibble, the feeder has a sleek design that keeps it from looking bulky or overwhelming a space.

The initial assembly of this automatic feeder from Wopet comes together quickly with the majority of items intact right out of the box, but the programming steps for scheduling feedings were less intuitive than other models we tested.

You must first select which feeding you are doing (e.g. first of the day), then how many portions to dispense (a portion size is less than 1/4 cup), and then the time of day for the feeding. Once we got the hang of it by carefully reading through the provided instruction manual a few times, programming variations became more straightforward. It also offers the option to trigger a manual feeding with the simple push of a button, but this feeder does not connect to Wi-Fi so there is no option to control via your mobile device.

In our testing, we used two different sizes of cat kibble along with larger dog kibble. The smaller-sized kibble was more compatible, so something to keep in mind if your cat has a preference for bulkier food or you plan to use it with a small dog.

To prevent your cat from accidentally tampering with the schedule you put in place, the keypad is located behind a plastic cover that can only be lifted by pressing an exterior button that's flush against the feeder. Plus the structure of the feeder is sturdy and difficult to tip over, so the food contained inside cannot easily be accessed by curious pets.

For humans, the lid is easy to open and the internal basket where the food is stored can be taken out for cleaning along with the easy to remove serving bowl. For peace of mind while you are away, the Wopet Automatic Pet Feeder is compatible with two power sources, a plug-in cord or three D-cell batteries as back up in case the power goes out. You can also record a voice message up to ten seconds to play along with scheduled feedings.

_{Maximum Capacity: 7 liters (~29 cups) | Dimensions: 9.7 x 12.8 x 15.2 inches | Weight: 5.6 pounds | Food Type: Dry | Power Source: Plug-in and three D-cell batteries | Mobile App: No}

Best Microchip Cat Feeder

Sure Petcare SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder

$199 at Amazon View on Surepetcare.com View on Miscota.com

The SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder has a very different function than most automatic cat feeders. Instead of regulating your cat's food schedule and ensuring they are fed whenever you are not at home, the SureFeed is more like a cat food gatekeeper.

Rather than relying on a timer, the SureFeed is designed to restrict access to specific cats, identified either by their microchip or by an included RFID tag that you can hang from your cat's collar. This makes it ideal for pet owners with multiple cats on different diets. For example, if one cat has a special diet and eats separate food, the SureFeed can ensure that no other cats in the household will eat it.

It's also a great way to make sure only your cat eats the cat food, and not your dog. While it's hard to imagine scenarios where you'd need this many, the SureFeed can be programmed to identify up to 32 cats.

The SureFeed is impressive to watch work, with a smooth, futuristic sliding door that peels back like the cockpit of a spaceship when your cat approaches. Plus, it's easy to use: our testers had it set up and working with the RFID tag in about five minutes.

Because you add food to the SureFeed using its separate plastic bowl, it can work with wet or dry food. A split bowl that allows you to serve two separate portions at the same time is also included. The feeder's covered design has the additional benefit of protecting food from flies, tamping down smells, and generally keeping wet food fresher.

Our testers did note a few downsides to the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder. For one, the bowl is a little small. It's not really a device that you can pile several days' worth of food into and forget about. Instead, it's more specifically for actively managing a cat's diet.

Also, it operates on 4 C cell batteries and doesn't have a plug. Since it has a six-month battery life (and a flashing battery indicator), this isn't much of an obstacle, but it would have been nice to have the option of using an outlet.

Maybe the biggest downside is the open back. While the SureFeed effectively prevents more than one cat from using it—quickly closing after the identified cat leaves the bowl—a really determined dog could probably figure out a way around its defenses. A rear cover is available to keep out persistent moochers, but it's a bummer paying an extra $33 for something that could have been built into the device.

Our testers felt that all of the issues they identified were minor. The SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder is excellent at what it's designed to do. While this cat feeder only works for very specific scenarios, it handles that scenario with aplomb.

_{Maximum Capacity: 13.5 ounces | Dimensions: 7.875 x 9 x 12.625 inches | Weight: 5 pounds | Food Type: Dry and wet | Power Source: Four C-cell batteries | Mobile App: No}

Best Battery-Powered

PetSafe Six Meal Feeder

$100 at Amazon View on Chewy $90 at Target

The PetSafe Six Meal Feeder is battery-powered only, using 4 D-cell batteries. While we generally feel that it's preferable for automatic cat feeders to have both the ability to plug into a wall outlet and a battery backup (in case your house loses power while you're away), there's no denying the extra flexibility a battery-powered device can provide.

Rather than being limited to a wall outlet, you can place the PetSafe Six Meal Feeder anywhere, allowing it to live wherever is most convenient. Plus, with a battery life of up to 9 months, there's very little risk of losing power while you're away, especially if you insert new batteries before a trip.

The PetSafe automatic feeder isn't the most fully featured feeder on this roundup, but its combination of easy programming, useful features, and tactile buttons makes it a sturdy, reliable option. Feedings can be programmed to any time of day (in 15-minute intervals) on the LCD screen.

It's easy to set up to six different feeding times a day. Or, set one feeding time, and the PetSafe carousel will dispense one of its six meals into the bowl every day at that same time. There's also a separate button for dispensing a meal right away. Since you fill the six compartments individually, you determine the portions—up to one cup per meal.

While these basic options make programming easy, it also means the PetSafe feeder may not work for very specific meal plans. For example, if you need to feed cats at different times day-to-day, there's no way to do that since the PetSafe dispenses at the same time (or times) every day.

"Everything about it was straight to the point, and there wasn't anything particularly bad about it," one tester noted, characterizing the general consensus that the PetSafe Six Meal Feeder was a solid, no-frills option.

While primarily used for dry food, the PetSafe also works with semi-moist kibble, though testers did find that some kibble stayed behind after feedings were dispensed, and sometimes food stuck in such a way that it got in the way of easily closing the lid. Still, these were minor issues that didn't impair any of our tests of its scheduled operation.

Overall, we found the PetSafe Six Meal Feeder simple and easy to use, with features that make it a solid pick for anyone looking for a basic feeder. Plus, the BPA-free bowl and the food carousel are dishwasher safe, making it one of the easiest automatic feeders to clean.

_{Maximum Capacity: 6 cups | Dimensions: 15.7 x 9.6 x 6.4 inches | Weight: 2.85 pounds | Food Type: Dry or semi-wet | Power Source: Four D-cell batteries | Mobile App: No}

Popular on Reddit

Petlibro Wet Food Feeder

$127 at Amazon $111 at Chewy $130 at Wayfair

The Petlibro Polar Wet Food Feeder can keep 7.4 ounces of wet food at a cool 50 degrees or below for up to three days. Its semiconductor cooling technology quickly chills a variety of wet and semi-moist foods to preserve flavor and freshness—pausing 30 minutes before scheduled feedings so food can be served at the optimum temperature for finicky eaters. The all-in-one smart app also allows you to schedule mealtimes and monitor your pet's diet.

The feeder features an integrated PawShield design that safely keeps wet food in, an anti-pinch lid sensor that keeps the lid open as long as your pet is eating or nearby, and a backup battery power source that provides 12 hours of protection against outages.

While we haven't tested this feeder ourselves, we do have plans to test it soon. It has received some positive feedback on Reddit.

_{Maximum Capacity: 7.4 ounces | Dimensions: 14.2 x 13.4 x 7.7  inches | Weight: 7.5 pounds | Food Type: Wet and semi-wet | Power Source: Plug-in and three AAA batteries | Mobile App: Yes}