The Best Automatic Cat Feeders
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An automatic cat feeder just may change your life. No more screeching at 4 am. Plus, it can give some peace of mind while you're away from your fur baby. As seen with the rise of automatic litter boxes and pet tracking, technology has made it so we can closely monitor our pets without having to do a lot of the manual labor normally involved.
Automatic dry-food dispensers like our top pick, the Petlibro Granary ($160), were invented nearly a century ago, but today most automatic cat feeders utilize Wi-Fi and are connected to an app on your phone that allows you to make a schedule or feed on demand from afar, all while monitoring your pet’s eating habits. Automatic wet-food dispensers—our top pick in this category is the Petlibro Polar ($130)—are relatively new, often using ice packs or mini-refrigeration cooling systems to ensure the food stays as fresh as possible.
Automatic feeders are also helpful for pet parents who want to monitor their pets' health, have specialized schedules, or want to foster healthier eating habits (a customizable automatic cat feeder can help with the endless gorging-vomiting cycle many cats struggle with). Nearly all of the automatic cat feeders on this list are marketed toward cats, but some can be used with smaller dogs, and I’ve noted these below.
Check out our related guides, like the Best Automatic Litter Boxes, Best Cat Water Fountains, Our Favorite Fancy Cat Furniture, and the Best Cat Toys. More of a dog person? We've got you covered; see our Best Accessories and Tech Essentials for Your Dog guide.
Updated April 2025: We've added the Pawsync Smart Pet Feeder, Tkenpro 2K Pet Camera Treat Dispenser, and Enabot Rola PetPal Robot Pet Companion. We moved the Catit Pixi Smart 6-Meal Feeder, Closer Pets C500, and Catit Pixi Smart Cat Feeder to “Do Not Recommend,” and updated prices throughout.
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Why Use an Automatic Feeder?
Automatic feeders are great for pet owners who want to help manage their pets’ weight and monitor eating patterns. Plus, they allow for a lot more control and precision for owners to learn exactly how much their cat is eating and when. Because cats are naturally more nocturnal, many have the annoying habit of waking you up in the early hours demanding food, and these allow you to set up a schedule that fits more to their schedule without inconveniencing yours.
Of course, it’s never recommended to leave pets alone for long periods, but these automatic feeders give more peace of mind and are a whole lot healthier for your pet than leaving a huge amount of food for free-feeding while you're away for the night. Simply put, it’s an easier way to feed and monitor your cat’s health with less work for you, the human.
How Long Can I Leave My Cat Alone?
Although cats are generally thought of as less high-maintenance than dogs, it’s still not good to leave your cat for prolonged periods. Under dire circumstances, you can leave a cat alone for 24 to 48 hours with scheduled feedings and a clean water source, but it’s not ideal—especially for cats with health issues, kittens younger than a year, or very elderly cats. Although these feeders are automatic, and meals can be scheduled in advance and over multiple days, our pets still need their human pals around for enrichment, care, and well, love.
How I Tested
I have two rescue cats, ages 3 and 4, and they eat two wet-food meals a day and small amounts of dry kibble for snacks throughout the day. Vets (and TikTokkers) have successfully persuaded me to move toward a primarily wet-food diet, however, which has a higher water content. This provides more moisture in their diet, which helps with potentially life-threatening problems like UTIs, which are especially prevalent in male cats. I still like to give smaller dry-food meals throughout the day for them to satisfy their need for crunch.
For dry food, I use Hill’s Science Diet, and for wet food I use Friskies' Shreds variety. (Yes, only Shreds. Fellow cat owners will understand.) I know there are better, more protein-rich brands, like the ever-popular Tiki Cat, but it's out of my budget.
I used each of the feeders for a week at least and stuck to my cats' usual meal schedule.
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best Dry Feeder
Petlibro Granary Smart Camera FeederAlthough this isn’t the most expensive automatic feeder on this list, it’s reliable, tech-savvy, and highly customizable. It's controlled via an app and dispenses food from its 5-liter capacity based on the feeding schedule you create. It has a 1080p HD camera with night vision so you can watch and hear your pet eat even when far away, and you can communicate with them via speaker. Through the Petlibro app (for Android and iOs), you set up a feeding schedule (up to six meals a day) or feed snacks with your desired amount, from one-twelfth of a cup to four cups. The app is easy to use with extremely customizable feeding plans with meals that you label individually. My cats will have to live in a surveillance state, because I’m a helicopter mom, and I love being able to see, hear, and talk to my pets even when far away with this automatic feeder.
Can be used with cats or small dogs.
Compatible food types Dry only App Yes Power source Power cord, three D backup batteries Capacity 5 liters Warranty Two years - Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best Wet Feeder
Petlibro Polar Wet Food FeederThe Petlibro Polar Wet Food Feeder solves pretty much every gripe I had with other automatic feeders aimed at storing wet food—it’s essentially a mini-fridge guaranteed to keep food fresh, and it’s connected to an app where you can schedule and customize feedings while a log tells you how long a cat was at the bowl and when the feeding time finished. Food is given in three wide, shallow bowls (less chance for whisker fatigue, although I wish they were stainless steel), and when it’s time to feed, the cover slides back from the hole and reveals the food beneath.
The refrigeration uses thermoelectric cooling and stays at 50 degrees Fahrenheit or below, and cooling is paused 30 minutes before scheduled feeding time to make sure it’s at ideal temperature when feeding begins. You have the ability to alter the schedule, open the lid to manually feed on demand, and control how long it's opened—there's even a sensor to make sure it doesn’t close while your kitty is feeding. This is the best automatic wet feeder on the market in my opinion—I even bought a second one for my other cat.
Can be used with cats or small dogs.
Compatible food types Wet only App Yes Power source Power cord, three backup AAA batteries Capacity 7.4 ounces Warranty Two years
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Runner-Up Dry Feeder
Whisker Feeder-RobotThis expensive, tech-y automatic feeder looks like an espresso machine, with buttons on the interface and an app where you control feeding schedules and food amounts, including monitoring levels to make sure there is enough (it alerts you via app and a light on top of the feeder if the food levels are low). I love how customizable meals are: You can set multiple schedules for different days of the week, and it dispenses anywhere from one-eighth of a cup to half of a cup of food. It also has gravity mode, where the feeder checks levels every six hours and dispenses food automatically if the bowl is empty.
The app is intuitive and easy to use with customizable settings, and it also tracks every time a cat is fed. Although the plastic food bowl is food-safe and BPA-free, plastic is still prone to harbor bacteria and I’d prefer stainless steel. (Whisker has a stainless steel insert for $20 or glass bowl insert for $30) I can’t really find any faults in this feeder. I prefer the Petlibro Granary because of the camera feature, but the Feeder-Robot has worked perfectly and just feels sleek and elevated.
Can be used with cats or small dogs.
Compatible food types Dry only App Yes Power source Power cord Capacity 13 cups Warranty One year - Photograph: Molly Higgins
An Affordable Option to Monitor Pet Health
Pawsync Smart Pet FeederI was super pleasantly surprised by this automatic feeder from relatively unknown (at least by me) brand Pawsync. This relatively affordable automatic feeder sets itself apart from others by having a scale in the bottom of the stainless steel bowl, which makes sure your pet is getting the exact right amount of food. It'll even alter how much it dispenses based on how much is left in the bowl, ensuring your pet isn't overeating. The feeder has anti-jam technology, low food detection sensors, and a backup battery in case of power failure.
From the app, you can schedule and alter feedings with an optional meal call recording, and it logs when and how much your pet has eaten. This is super helpful to better track and understand your cats' eating habits. But because I have two cats, the tracking feature isn't as reliable, as the feeder doesn't know which cat was eating when it logs. For that reason, some of the cooler aspects of monitoring feedings with this feeder work best for single-pet homes. Regardless, I've had no complaints with this reliable, tech-savvy automatic feeder and have kept using it as my main feeder, along with my top Petlibro pick.
Can be used with cats or small dogs.
Compatible food types Dry App Yes Power source Plug-in and backup battery Capacity 3.5 Liters Warranty 1-year limited warranty. Register your product for 2-year extended warranty
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best for Selfish Pets in a Multipet Home
Petlibro One RFID Smart FeederThe One RFID Smart Feeder from Petlibro shows just how far automatic cat-feeding technology has come. For this feeder, the pet wears a collar with a tag in which the feeder’s lid opens only with that tag. There's a cover that retracts automatically when the pet with the collar approaches the stainless steel food bowl (which is removable for washing and is dishwasher safe). The sensor in the pad in front will be activated, and the cover will retract over the kibble when the cat leaves, ensuring that only the chosen pet with the collar can access the food. Through the app, you can create up to 10 feeding schedules whose amounts can be modified anytime, including on-demand feeding. The automatic lid is customizable too, as you can switch on the app to leave the lid in “open mode” or adjust how long the lid stays open after your pet walks away from it.
Overall, I think this is a nearly perfect device for a particular kind of pet owner. I think it works best for a cat in a dog home where the owner doesn’t want the dog getting into the cat’s food, if each pet in the home has a One RFID feeder, if one particular cat has special dietary needs, or if you have a multi-cat home with an aggressive eater. In these cases, I truly think this product would be a life-changer. (If you get a One RFID for each pet, it’s recommended that you space them at least 10 inches apart to avoid any interference.)
Can be used with cats or very small dogs.
Compatible food types Dry only App Yes Power source Power cord, three backup D batteries Capacity 13 cups Warranty Two years - Photograph: Molly Higgins
A Wet Feeder for Multiple Cats
Closer Pets C200 2-Meal Automatic Pet FeederThe Closer Pets automatic pet feeder is super simple, which is both its weakness and its strength. Unlike many of the high-tech cat items on this list, the C200 doesn’t require a lengthy setup or even electricity. It’s essentially two shallow plastic containers with stainless steel inserts (both dishwasher safe) and tamper-resistant lids that are locked and automatically open on a timer. The timer is an old-school egg-style timer, which just requires a AA battery rather than electricity.
Although the container has an ice pack to keep the wet food cool, after a night it had lost virtually all of its coolness. There’s a lid-link clip attachment, a small piece of plastic that links the lids to ensure they will open at the same time, which is super helpful for owners of two cats. I wish the timer was electric so I could program it to the exact time I want it open, rather than guesstimating the timing on the little marks. However, this is a simple solution to help make sure both my cats are given wet food without me having to wake up at the crack of dawn.
Can be used with cats or dogs.
Compatible food types Wet or dry App No Power source One AA battery Capacity 14 ounces of wet food Warranty None
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
An Automatic Feeder That's Also a Camera … and Toy
Enabot Rola PetPal Robot Pet CompanionIs it a toy? Is it a pet security camera? Is it an automatic feeder? With this li'l robot, there's no need to decide. This rolling camera robot has the best of intentions, but the sometimes-glitchy app makes the toy a little unpredictable. With two attachments, one with balls and a tassel for playing and the other a storage container for food, this camera always kept my cats intrigued. Through the app, you can watch your cats on the security cam and drive the robot around, pressing buttons to do tricks and, of course, dispense dry food or treats. This little weirdo on wheels shouldn't be your main way to feed your cats, but it is a fun way to keep their attention and you can manually feed your cats at any time with the press of a button. It only dispenses about a tablespoon of kibble that shoots out before the robot rolls away from the confused cats. This silly little camera-toy-feeder combo is a fun way to change up the way you feed your cats and always keep them on their toes—er, paws.
Can be used with cats or dogs.
Compatible food types Dry or freeze-dried App Yes Power source Charging dock Capacity 200 ml Warranty One year - Photograph: Molly Higgins
A Camera First, Feeder Second
Tkenpro 2K Pet Camera Treat DispenserWhile my top Petlibro pick is feeder first, camera second, this smart security cam is an excellent camera that also has abilities to dispense treats or kibble at random, along with scheduled feedings through the camera's app. This food-dispensing pet cam has PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) capabilities, crystal-clear live video feed, and you can take photos and record video from it. Through the app, you can pan the camera nearly 360 degrees, talk and listen to your pet through the microphone, schedule repeated regular feedings through the app, or toss them a kibble snack whenever you feel like it. Do we need to combine security cameras and treat dispensers? Why not?
Can be used with cats or dogs.
Compatible food types Dry or freeze-dried App Yes Power source Plug-in Capacity 0.5 Liters Warranty None
Do Not Recommend:
Catit Pixi Smart 6-Meal Feeder for $130: Like others on this list, the Catit Pixi wet and dry feeder uses ice packs to keep wet food fresh and uncovers the meals below in six compartments in a rotating schedule. The schedule can be programmed via the app or changed on the body of the feeder. At this price point, the app shouldn’t be this limited and glitchy. The schedule is available in military time only, and the app is extremely limited—you can only set the meals schedule for the same day, and when I wanted to do only two to three meals a day spread over two days, I had to reschedule the meals for every new day. The feeder didn't keep it cold enough to spread the meals out and the wet food was not at a safe eating temperature. At this price point, just get the Petlibro Polar wet feeder.
Catit Pixi Smart Cat Feeder for $110: Kibble is stored in the body of this dry feeder, but it doesn’t have a window to visually check food levels. The calendar to plan meals shows only a week at a time, and although it should repeat daily based on the schedule, I found that some days there would be no schedule despite setting one up. The Pixi also doesn’t tell you how much food was dispensed; it just refers to it as a “portion”—I manually measured and found the portion was less than a tablespoon of kibble. After using it continuously over a month, it was extremely glitchy and almost never reliably stuck to the programmed schedule, sometimes skipping meals altogether. This feeder is potentially dangerous, and I'd caution pet parents against relying on it.
Closer Pets C500 for $70: This automatic wet and dry feeder can schedule up to four pre-portioned meals (and one meal given manually) that are opened on a timer system using three AA batteries (sold separately). The user presets the four times they want the bowls, which have ice packs underneath, to rotate. The bowls are quite deep and narrow and aren’t super easy for cats to reach, which could cause whisker fatigue. And although there are two relatively large ice packs, when I checked on the feeder after a night’s sleep, the packs weren’t very cold. This may be OK for kibble, but wet food was kept at unsafe temperatures, and my cats couldn't reach all of the food.
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