Comments on: The 8 Best Automatic Cat Feeders in 2026 – We Tested Them All

By: Denisa

Denisa — Sun, 02 Mar 2025 09:50:43 +0000

I own Pet Mate 5000 but was looking for some “safer” option that does not rely purely on batteries. Would you recommend Petlibro Polar for raw foods as well? My original thinking was that having sth to guarantee the temp instead of just having ice packs should, in theory, work better for raw feeding, but then I saw Petlibro recommends using Polor for commercial wet foods only …

By: Cats.com Editorial Team

Cats.com Editorial Team — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 20:13:53 +0000

In reply to Thomas.

Hi Thomas,

We have not tested the Catlink RFID feeder to date.

We recommend contacting Catlink directly on this issue

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 00:50:33 +0000

I purchased the Catlink RFID feeder-standard. Overall I do like the product. It’s cheaper than Surefeed. It’s easy to wipe down and the bowl rotates so you can separate the wet and dry food. My main gripe with the feeder is sometimes the RFID tag looses connection temporarily with the feeder while my cat is eating its dinner. I lowered the tag on my cats collar and it does seem to work a little better. Now I have tried using a garlic RFID tag and it was useless. I am wondering g if cats.com looked into this feeder and had similar issue?

By: Kate Barrington

Kate Barrington — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 17:39:08 +0000

In reply to Heidi Gaultney.

Hi Heidi, that’s a valid concern. Most automatic pet feeders are designed for indoor use, so they’re not perfectly pest-proof. Placing the feeder on an elevated platform about 40″ high may help keep raccoons out without restricting access by cats. Just be sure to place it away from anything a raccoon could climb.
If you’re DIY-included, The Hundred Cat Foundation has some tips for building a raccoon-proof feeder here: https://www.hundredcats.org/raccoonprooffeeder.html
As for the camera, it sounds like a wildlife camera might do the trick. Someone at your local home and garden center might be able to recommend a good fit.

By: Heidi Gaultney

Heidi Gaultney — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 15:36:05 +0000

I think an outdoor feeder needs to be ant and raccoon-proof. Those are two very different features but I have a hard time finding info about either of those in most reviews. Can you recommend one that is good for that? I would like a camera also. It needs to stand up to the swings in temperature of an outdoor temperate zone, environment. I’m asking a lot, but that’s what I am hoping to find.

By: Mallory Crusta

Mallory Crusta — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 04:02:48 +0000

In reply to Kylynn. Hi there! I'm working on an updated review at the moment, to be published on our YouTube channel next month. You'll be able to refer to that soon!

By: Kylynn

Kylynn — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 16:32:36 +0000

In the video you had reviewed the SureFeed microchip feeder, but the links (as of when I’m looking on 12/19/2023) show the MiBowel as the recommended microchip feeder. Can you provide a comparison of the two? We’re a multi cat household with food thieves and differing prescription diets, so I’ve been researching solutions to ease meal times and still allow my cats access to portioned food throughout the day.

By: Rod Stasick

Rod Stasick — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 19:42:44 +0000

Only one of the cats would have a problem with the tag because he complete spazzes out with anything around his neck – to the point of even hurting himself. I got another Sureflap to replace the old one. We’ll see how that works … but, yes! the tag could work for most people on the various feeders. The microchip inconsistencies should probably be made clearer at a company’s website, Amazon, and any future reviews.

By: Mallory Crusta

Mallory Crusta — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 19:27:26 +0000

In reply to Rod Stasick. Thank you for sharing this! Helpful information. Would you feel comfortable using the included tag on your cat's collar? That's usually a good workaround for cats who have no microchip or an incompatible ID.

By: Rod Stasick

Rod Stasick — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:26:29 +0000

We’ve been using Sureflap feeders. I started looking at others because the one that’s 10 years old started having problems by opening and closing randomly and after a reset wouldn’t recognize the cat’s microchip. Also, it does allow a bully cat to get in the food. This is why I thought about getting the MiBowl, but I’m reading that old-style microchips (one of our cats has a 10-digit ID) don’t work. it has to be a 15-digit ID, so, keep that in mind the next time you have to compare feeders. It’s a bit frustrating with the Surefeed company because their US phone line for help is no longer in service.