Our pets have busy lives – from chasing their tails to taking a well-earned cat-nap, but one thing they never forget to do is ask for food (even when they’ve just had some!).
We pet owners are busy too – another Teams call? And, with the end of the restrictions on the horizon (fingers crossed), many homeworkers will be returning to the office – not to mention making up for lost time when it comes to our social lives! With this in mind, you might be thinking of enlisting the help of an automatic pet feeder to serve up your cat, dog or fish’s daily rations while you’re out of the house.
But there’s much more to them than simply dishing out food. Here are five key things you might not know about automatic feeders!
1. You can schedule multiple meals in advance
By serving up consistent portions of food at regular intervals, automatic pet feeders give you the flexibility to go away for a night or a weekend without putting your furry friend through the stress of a night at a cattery or kennel, or indeed needing to bribe a friend or neighbour to fill in at mealtimes.
Many feeders can schedule multiple meals in advance – for example, our Five-meal Automatic Pet Feeder with Digital Timer (C500) can programme up to five individual mealtimes for wet or dry food, while our Multi-meal Automatic Dry Food Pet Feeder (C3000) can hold up to 3kg of dry food, meaning it can last even longer. What’s more, fish feeders can deliver regular portions over the space of a month, giving you even more holiday flexibility.
Plus, if you fancy an evening out, you can do so without any feelings of guilt, knowing your beloved pet will be fed on time. An automatic feeder is a much more practical solution to leaving out extra food in the (futile) hope they ration it themselves, or giving them a bigger portion when you return home, which can cause bloating, obesity and other health issues (more on that later!).
2. They can be used for dry and wet food
When you think about automatic feeders, you might picture a dry pellet dispenser, but did you know that they can cater to both dry and wet food? While dry food is a popular type of cat and dog food, wet food is a good source of water – dry pet food typically contains around 10-12% water; wet food contains 75-78% water. Some feeders also include ice packs to keep the food fresh in between servings.
And don’t worry about cleaning these feeders after they’ve had wet food in them – many modern feeders have detachable, dishwasher-friendly bowls, meaning you can clean them as easily as your own dishes!
3. They’ll improve your relationship with your pets
Needing to stay late at the office, getting stuck in traffic, a change in social plans – they’re all situations we can relate to, but unfortunately, it’s not something we can explain to our routine-loving pets. Any unexpected change can cause anxiety (and hunger!), so if you have a busy schedule, an automatic pet feeder might just be the perfect solution for you.
But much more than that, they can actually improve your relationship with your pets, by disassociating you with feeding time (hello, weekend lie-ins!). What’s more, by saving time measuring out specific food portions, you’ll have more opportunity to do the fun stuff with your pets. So, if you’ve ever found yourself crying “I’m more than just a food dispenser”, now’s your time to shine!
4. They support good health
Just as we do for ourselves, you need to keep an eye on your pet’s weight too. Animal charity Cats Protection recently shared that one in five cats have put on weight during the pandemic. An automatic feeder will help to minimise overfeeding by measuring out the portions for you at regular intervals, supporting steady growth and development.
Pet feeders will help you keep your dog or cat at a healthy weight, whether you’re at home or out and about, and can also help pets with diabetes, or who are following a specific diet. For instance, different amounts of food can be released at different times, or a specified amount of food can be released over a prolonged period of time, as required.
5. Many are battery-operated
If you’re planning a night away but are worried about an unexpected power cut disrupting your feeder’s programming and depriving your furry friend of their dinner, fear not! Many automatic pet feeders are battery-operated (or have a back-up battery), so unexpected power cuts won’t faze them, and your pet will still have access to their much-anticipated meals.
This also means you don’t have to fit your feeder positioning around your room – especially if your nearest socket is in a prime position to be knocked over during your dog’s daily travels. Talking of which, you’ll be pleased to hear that many of our automatic feeders have the option to fasten it to a wooden board for extra stability. What’s more, they are fully pet-proof, to keep those curious paws at bay!
Discover our range today!
While we humans are craving freedom after the pandemic, our pets thrive on consistency and routine, so a programmable cat-, dog- or fish-food dispenser might be the perfect compromise!
Here at Closer Pets, our range of automatic pet feeders will keep your cute companion distracted while you’re out and about or enjoying that lie-in and getting a few extra zeds (but we can’t promise they won’t disturb your snoozing, as it’s prime cuddle time, after all!).
Check out our automatic pet feeders here, with designs from Closer Pets, Cat Mate, Dog Mate and Fish Mate.