The best automatic cat feeders to keep your pet fed while you're away

For single or multi-cat homes, the PetSafe Simply Feed(opens in a new tab) allows pet parents to program up to 12 different daily meals, ranging in size from one-eighth of a cup to four cups. The large capacity hopper holds up to 24 cups of dry or semi-moist food at a time, which should last most felines quite a while before needing to be refilled. 

One standout feature that cat owners will love is the slow-feed option. This mode dispenses your cat’s food over a period of 15 minutes, which helps prevent your kitty from bingeing and then vomiting their meal. There’s also an immediate feed button that allows you to give your feline a little nibble in between their regularly scheduled mealtimes.

It comes with its own bowl and stand, which attaches to the feeder, but you can also use it with your kitty’s favorite dish. The pet-proof dispenser keeps prying paws out, and food fresh. The majority of the parts are top rack dishwasher-safe and are made of BPA-free plastic and stainless steel. 

This feeder does it all, even if it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of some other automatic feeders. Be sure to read our full review of the Wopet feeder. It controls the portion size of each feeding (which can be scheduled up to four times a day), lets you leave a voice-recorded message for your pet letting them know it's time to eat, and looks good while doing it. 

The design of this Wopet(opens in a new tab) dispenser is different from most. Its sleek white exterior won't clash with your decor, and its narrow shape will fit just about anywhere. And don't worry about the power going out while you're away: This dispenser has a backup battery system, though batteries aren't included.

The feeder also has infrared sensors that stop the dispenser if there's already food in the bowl. This helps keep your cat's food fresh and prevents food from spilling or getting backed up.

If you have an extra special kitty who requires a prescribed diet or is on a weight-management program, this automatic cat feeder(opens in a new tab) is the one for you. It’s super high-tech, and uses an RFID collar system to only open and dispense food to the correct kitty (especially important when you have more than one cat in the house). It is also compatible with any implanted microchip for added convenience. This way, your cat gets their special food, while any other pets are access-denied. Since the SureFeed Microchip Feeder can store up to 32 microchip identifications, there’s plenty of space to store all your cats. 

It’s also an excellent choice if your cat requires medications to be dispensed during the day. Because the lid is sealed, it keeps flies, ants, and other yuckies out of your cat’s food, and is ideal for serving up wet food without drying out. It can also handle dry food as well. The batteries should last for up to four months of daily use, and the low battery indicator will let you know when it’s time to change them.

This robot-shaped Iseebiz feeder(opens in a new tab) is great for smaller cats (or other small pets) who don't need too much food to be dispensed per meal. It can hold enough food to feed your pet for up to 15 days with optimal portion control and it's rather fairly priced for having all the perks of other, more expensive feeders. It has an IR detector to prevent clogging and overflowing, and its screw-lock design keeps food fresh inside while simultaneously keeping curious pets out. Best of all, you can create an optional 10-second recording that will call your pet to the feeder when it's time to eat, even when you can't be there to do it yourself.

Pet parents can enjoy all the convenience of the best automatic cat feeder without the hefty price tag, thanks to this unit. The PetSafe 5-Meal Automatic Feeder(opens in a new tab) features five chambers that can hold up to one cup of food in each spot. Because of its covered, spinning design, it can be used with both wet and dry foods of varying shapes and sizes — there’s also nothing to get jammed, unlike with hopper-style feeders. You can set a schedule for the feeder to rotate at the same time every day.

The BPA-free, dishwasher-safe food tray makes for easier cleanup. Keep in mind that while there are five chambers, one will be available to your cat right away. The spinning system is nice, as you can check how much food your kitty has (or hasn’t) eaten at the end of the day. 

Because of its compact and lightweight design, this feeder is also a great pick for when you have to travel with your cat and want to keep them on their regularly scheduled meals. Even if you aren’t super tech-savvy, this feeder is easy to program. 

We recently had a chance to put the Cat Mate C3000 Automatic Dry Food Pet Feeder(opens in a new tab) through its paces, and were pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to assemble, program, and get started. Best of all, the top hopper can easily hold up to a week’s worth of your pet’s food, making it ideal for when you have to go away on a long weekend and can’t bring them along. We loved that everything except the base that houses the electronics is dishwasher safe, making for quick and easy cleanups. One downside we found was that its feeding units might not be 100% accurate depending on the size of your kitty’s kibble. It says 3 feeding units is equal to about a quarter cup of food, but when we measured the dispensed meal it was actually more than that – something to double check if your pet is on a weight management diet like ours. 

With the Petlibro programmable pet feeder(opens in a new tab), you can schedule up to four meals per day and up to nine small portions per meal so that your feline friend always gets the right amount of dry cat food — no more, no less. It has a capacity large enough to keep most cats fed for up to 25 days before it needs to be refilled, and its secure lid-lock design ensures that food stays fresh inside even if the cat feeder gets knocked over. The automatic feeder also allows you to record a 10-second clip that will play when feeding time is on, so you can reinforce the bond between you and your cat even when you can't physically be there. Plus, it has a battery backup in case of power outages, though the batteries are not included.

If you’re looking for the best automatic pet feeder to truly keep wet food fresh, this is the feeder you’ll likely want. It’s got five food compartments that hold up to 11.5 ounces of wet food, plus two ice packs to keep that food actually cold and fresh so that your pet isn’t eating food that’s begun to spoil. 

The Cat Mate Automatic Digital Pet Feeder(opens in a new tab) is easy to program, thanks to a built-in LCD screen so your pets can eat at precise times. It’s also got a close-fitting, tamper-proof lid to keep even the most determined cats and dogs from getting their paws on an early feeding time. It also takes 3 AA-batteries, which are easier to find than D batteries — the type of battery used by other feeders on this list — and generally those batteries will last up to 12 months with this feeder. The bowls in the feeder are also removable for easier cleaning in the dishwasher. 

The only significant drawback to this feeder is that it works best for small dogs or cats — you’ll likely want something with bigger portions than 1.45 cups if you have a large breed dog.