Has anyone had any issues with cats outsmarting the bowl? I am afraid our fat cat will sit next to the bowl and wait for another cat to come up and eat and then eat while th bowl is open for them - can this happen? We have 5 healthy cats who free feed...
1631056
we got this bowl for our dog. our cat has cystitis and dry food makes her flare up worst. she kept eating our dogs food so we got the bowl. she hasn't figured out how to open the bowl on her own but a couple times she has tricked our dog over to the dish so it would open.
1889159
No problem there, but have a problem with it working properly. Left on vacation for a week came back to find a starving cat. This product is not reliable. As a suggestion, you might try super gluing the bowl to the feeder.
262636
I have a cat that does that as well. The pump bowl section is pretty heavy. I haven't had any problems with it.
1351396
As suggested by another purchaser, you could remove the inner plastic "bowl" and set your non-plastic bowl inside it. However,there really isn't a "bottom" to the feeder, so if your pet tips it over (which my cat has done several times), the dish would fall out and so would the food. So, removing the dish might work against you if you want the feeder to open at a set time, which seems to be the point of an automatic feeder.
1730377
Basically I just put a pinch on the floor and cats either eat some of it or sometimes they roll around in it. Either way they end up a little "cat drunk." If you have several cats, makes sure each gets a little pinch so they don't get jealous. I've also mixed a little into some food - generally when one of them is sick and doesn't want to eat. It did work, but doesn't on a continuous basis. Placing it on the floor though is what we've done for many years and it works great!
1492662
Honestly, this isn't the same bowl that we had. The ones we did have though kept them from knocking them over, however 1 ferret liked to stick her paws in there and dig still. So there we'd find ourselves scooping it up and putting it back into dish.
1794625
We use it as the primary food bowl and it has worked rather well. There were probably 3 weeks of "screaming" by the cat, but he's gotten the hang of it now and doesn't protest anymore. He's slimmed down a lot. He looks just about like a normal sized cat, instead of one that swallowed a bowling ball. We have it set up inside of a serving tray with a ~2 inch lip on the floor and he's never even tried to knock it over. He's a smart guy and stubborn as a mule, so I'm honestly surprised he hasn't knocked it over. The tray must be enough of a deterrent.
41601
I have three cats and two of these bowls. If I fill both bowls up in the morning, it will last them all day but they also get some wet food in the mornings. It depends on how much your cats eat each day, but I would not say that it would last them for two days if you only have one bowl. Maybe you should measure how much it takes to fill the bowl and see if they eat it all in one day. If cats get bored, they tend to nibble more, too.
1103985
I have two cats and I have been away for 5 days without a problem. That is the maximum amount of time I've ever left the cats (with food too, as they have unlimited access) without someone to check in. I do always leave a spare bowl of water nearby just in case they need more. And you'll need to add water as soon as you return.
107092
Two cats cannot eat together because the doors can only fit ONE head between them. If another cat pushes the one at the bowl out of the way the feeder instantly detects its tag and accrues feeding to the new pet. If the new pet has no allowance available then the doors close.
1209145
I actually invested in one feeder for each cat. It was the best investment I ever made! As long as I keep food in it, it shoots out the exact amount at the exact time I set it to deliver. Both cats have weight problems. I have the feeders set up for five small feedings a day and I am very, very slowly adjusting down until they reach the correct weight. I had tried other feeders but they were not reliable and I could not get the times set to feed both cats at the same time. I am able to get these to deliver within two seconds of each other.
690292
Aloha..I have never came across this issue since only one cat, kibbles very small. I fill weekly. I purchase from Amazon the Merrick before grain, tuna favor. That's a great question. I have a habit of checking once in awhile, never shake use my finger once in awhile. I trust this container, since my kids never check on my cat, she ran out of food. The water dish she likes small, took the filter out use different type of mineral water. Hope it helps.
1284935
I would say that a cat would have no problem eating from this dish. I have a bull dog puppy and he's able to eat from it. However it didn't really have the effect of really slowing him down as much as I would have liked. I'd like to find a bowl that has the smaller grooves and tracks that the animal would need to pull the individual peices out of. The other thing I found slows them down quite a bit is to elevate the bowl some. When they can't crowd over the bowl they cant scarf it down as fast.
1878866
Oh yes, it happens in my home. One of my cats acts like I never feed him, we'll call him fatcat. I use the Wonderbowl for skinnycat and put it on top of the refrigerator so its a little deterrent for fatcat. However, I have caught fatcat up there many times waiting for skinnycat to decide to eat. I don't really have a solution but canned air seems to bother fatcat, so I use that as a deterrent. Mealtime is a circus in my home :)
2217575
Yes! I have two units and two cats and both of them have mastered the art of pulling food out with their paws. They can only manage to pull out 1 or 2 pieces at a time (through a very determined and dedicated effort). Otherwise it is a great unit, we use them when we go on vacation.
628368
Yes, but I would suggest you don't put them close together. The cats will figure out they can just go to the bowls in pairs to eat from both.
1830418
My cats will not eat this by itself. I give them a 1/4 teaspoon in their wet food. They get about two tablespoons of wet food. I'm not sure how it mixes with dry food. Is having separate bowls an option for wet food?