Automatic cat feeders are a convenient way to feed your cat. They might seem like gadgets designed for lazy cat owners, but they can actually be very helpful. Cats do best when fed on a schedule, and automatic feeders can help you maintain that consistent schedule when you’re away from home. Automatic feeders can deliver precise amounts of food on a pre-determined schedule. Some even have electronic programmers.

If you’re on the hunt for an automatic cat feeder in Canada, check out our reviews of the best ones available this year.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites 2024

The 10 Best Automatic Cat Feeders in Canada

 1. Cat Mate C3000 Programmable Dry Food Feeder – Best Overall

 The Cat Mate C3000 programmable dry food feeder tops our list as the best overall automatic cat feeder. While it doesn’t have all the features, it has the best balance of features and value. This is a fully programmable feeder that will release up to three meals per day. These meals can be served over several hours if you use the “frequent feed” feature.

The LED control panel is simple to use, so you can adjust the size of each meal individually, change meal times, and add or reduce feedings. The food hopper holds enough food for about one month of feeding for a single, adult, average size cat.

The one downside with the design is that the “cat-proof” buttons can also be “human-proof.” They’re hard to push. The dispenser can be a bit loud, so it may scare some cats when the food is released.

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2. Van Ness Auto Feeder – Best Value

If you’re looking for a simple auto feeder without all the bells and whistles, the Van Ness Auto Feeder is the best value for the money. It’s available in three different sizes; 1.5 lb, 6 lb, and 10 lb food hoppers.

This auto feeder isn’t programmable as it only contains three parts, a bowl, a food hopper, and a removable lid. There’s a hole in the bottom of the hopper that’s designed to release a small amount of food at a time. As the bowl gets empty, more food will be released.

If you have a cat who has difficulty maintaining a healthy weight, this feeder may not work for you, as it leaves food in front of your cat at all times. The same goes for cats who like to gorge themselves on food or eat too fast and choke. You can’t change the rate that food comes into the bowl with this feeder.

What this feeder will do is make sure that your cat’s food supply doesn’t run out. If you routinely go away for the weekend or on short business trips, this is a great solution to ensure your cat stays fed.

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3. SureFeed Microchip Cat Feeder – Premium Choice

 The SureFeed Microchip Cat Feeder is the ultimate automatic feeder. The number of features and its price point are what make it our premium choice.

For multiple cat households, the SureFeed feeder stops food-stealing altogether. Microchips inside the feeder are “keyed” to each individual cat. Each cat gets a program, and the feeder will only open if a cat’s microchip matches up with its “feed time.” This feeder can recognize up to 32 different microchips and decide when and if the feeder will open. You can use wet food, dry food, or both, as the lid on the SureFeed feeder is airtight to keep your food fresh.

Given the advanced technology in SureFeed, there are some insecurities. There are a few blind spots on the bowl with no sensors. Particular sneaky cats will learn where the loopholes are so they can sneak food. This feeder also has the potential to close on the cat’s head when they approach. It’s not heavy and won’t cause injury to your cat. However, it could turn them off the feeder, rendering your high-priced automatic feeder completely useless for the cat it hit.

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4. PetSafe Healthy Pet Simply Feed Programmable Cat Feeder

This programmable, conveyor-style feeder from PetSafe achieves near-perfect portion sizes and allows for scheduling of up to 12 meals per day. These portions can range from 1/8 cup to 4 cups each, which is why we rated this automatic feeder as the best for kittens. Kittens need frequent feedings and small portion sizes; this feeder allows you to do just that. Any meal can be set to a “slow feed” option to dispense the food over a period of 15 minutes.

The dishwasher-safe bowl isn’t attached to this feeder. It allows for easy removal and cleaning, but it also means your cat can push it around. The dark-tinted hopper is aesthetically pleasing, but it’s hard to see how much food you have left.

The PetSafe feeder is electric-powered but doesn’t come with a power source included. Unfortunately, that means you’ll have to spend a little extra on batteries or an AC adaptor.

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5. Arf Pets Automatic Cat Feeder

The Arf Pets feeder is a high-end model of automatic feeder with a tamper-proof seal. This programmable feeder uses an LED display but offers a lot of options not yet seen in other feeders on this list.

This feeder has a built-in alarm that alerts you when the food hopper needs filling. You can even record a voice message telling your cats it’s time to eat.

With the ability to schedule only four feedings per day, this won’t be an option for diabetic cats. All meal sizes are served in 24 mL portions, but you can serve up to 10 portions at once.

The biggest issue with the Arf Pets feeder is that it’s not durable long term. The trapdoor loosens over time, eventually allowing your cats to dispense their own food simply by bumping the hopper.

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6. HoneyGuaridan Automatic Cat Feeder for Two

The HoneyGuaridan automatic feeder has two bowls and allows you to schedule up to 6 meals per day. It includes battery backup in the case of a power outage and an infrared sensor to reverse the direction of food flow in the case of a blockage.

This feeder is user-friendly and features “pet-proof” buttons to keep your cats from stealing food, while the lid seals to keep food fresh at all times. It also allows the recording of a voice message to call your pets to dinner.

Skittish cats may not like this feeder, as it’s very loud when dispensing food.

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7. Aspen Pet LeBistro Programmable Cat Feeder

The Aspen Pet LeBistro cat feeder has a food container, hopper, and trapdoor that release food on a schedule you choose. The bowl itself is removable and dishwasher safe; the other parts are not and are actually quite difficult to clean.

Unlike some of the other automatic feeders in this list, the Aspen Pet LeBistro doesn’t finely tune portion sizes. Regardless of the portion size of your program, this feeder can be inaccurate to up to ½ cup, which is a lot if you’re feeding a diabetic cat or one on a weight loss program. The other issue with this feeder is that cats can manipulate it by sticking their paws in the chute, allowing the feeder to dispense food at noon-programmed times.

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8. PetSafe Eatwell 5-meal Automatic Cat Feeder

This automatic cat feeder has a much different design than the others. It has five feeding compartments arranged like a pie in one serving dish. It has a lid covering the whole bowl, and at the pre-scheduled mealtime, the bowl rotates to open one compartment. This, of course, means you can only put five meals at a time in the feeder, which might be enough for a weekend, but not enough for a longer trip.

The bowl lid on this feeder doesn’t provide an airtight seal, so you will be limited to feeding dry food. Customer reviews also state that sometimes the motor doesn’t turn the bowl, so make sure to test that the feeder is working before leaving it with your cat.

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9. Cat Mate C20 2-bowl Automatic Cat Feeder

The Cat Mate C20 automatic feeder is made by the same manufacturer as our best overall pick, but the C20 doesn’t have the lengthy feature list of the C3000. This feeder can hold either wet or dry food and has two bowls with separate programmable lids. You can feed two cats at the same time or use it to feed two separate meals to a single cat.

One big plus with this feeder is that it has a built-in ice pack to prevent wet food from going bad. Since you can only fill this feeder with two meals worth of food, it will at least keep your cat’s food fresh throughout the day.

The limited functionality of this feeder is compounded by its faulty door mechanism. Although the door is supposed to open on a timer, it often doesn’t open. Sometimes one door opens, sometimes both, or neither, which defeats the entire purpose of having an automatic feeder.

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10. DOGNESS Automatic Smart feeder

This unique automatic cat feeder connects to WiFi and incorporates it into a Smart Home system. It’s a relatively simple concept. The feeder connects to an app on your phone, and you can signal it to dispense food remotely. It even has a night vision camera built-in so you can watch your cat through the app and use a voice recorder to talk to them. If this isn’t your thing, you can still program mealtimes directly on the feeder.

There’s one huge problem with having a cat feeder that’s “smart.” This feeder is completely useless unless it’s connected to your home WiFi and your phone. So, if it’s essential, it should just connect automatically, right? Wrong. The Dogness feeder chronically fails to connect to either, and if it doesn’t connect, your cat doesn’t eat.

The app is a bit dysfunctional as well. While it’s supposed to notify you when the feeder dispenses food, it often shows food being dispensed incorrectly. You’re notified that your cat has been fed, but back at home, the feeder has disconnected itself from your network, and your cat is hungry. Overall, it’s a mess.

Buyer’s Guide: Picking the Best Automatic Cat Feeder in Canada

You can see from this list that there’s a lot of available options when it comes to automatic cat feeders. There are so many that no two automatic feeders on the list are exactly alike. Let’s look at a few factors to consider when deciding on a feeder.

How long does your cat need to be “auto-fed” for?

This is critical in choosing a feeder. Do you only need your cat to be fed while you’re at work during the day? Over the weekend? Or do you frequently travel for a week or two at a time? Some feeders hold only a few meals worth of food, while others can hold up to a month’s worth. You can use long-term feeders in the short-term, but it doesn’t work the other way around.

Does your cat have special dietary needs?

If your cat is overweight, has digestive difficulties, or is diabetic, you will need a feeder that meets their needs. Some feeders provide very accurate portion control, while others leave food in front of your cat all the time. The number of meals you can program is important two. A diabetic cat, for example, will need small, frequent meals as opposed to large ones only twice a day.

Do you feed wet or dry food?

Not all feeders allow for using wet food; in fact, very few do. If you feed your cat wet food on a regular basis, make sure you buy a feeder that lets you do this.

How many cats are you feeding?

A single cat won’t need as much food as multiple cats. Stealing food can be an issue in this case as well. If your cats like to steal food from each other, you might want to consider a microchip feeder that only dispenses food to the cat it belongs to.

Which features do you really need?

While there are several feeders on the market with fancy programming features, how many of them would you actually use? Do you need to remote program it from your phone, or could you do without the app function? Do you need to change portion sizes with every feed, or would three meals of the same size be enough?

Carefully consider what you actually need the automatic feeder to do and which features are useful to you and your cat. The fancier the feeder, the more it costs, and the more things there are to go wrong. Stick to buying one that meets your needs.

Conclusion

We’ve provided you with reviews of the top ten automatic cat feeders in Canada to help you choose the best one for you and your pet. We recommend the Cat Mate C3000 as the best overall automatic feeder. It has all the features you could ever want, including multiple meal settings, a slow feed option, and easy cleaning. The preciseness of portion measurements is unmatched with any other automatic feeder.

If you’re looking for a more cost-effective option, the Van Ness feeder is the best value for the money. It’s not as fancy as the C3000, but it will still portion out food for your cat over several days. We recommend the PetSafe Healthy Pet Simply Feed programmable cat feeder for kittens due to its ability to feed extra-small portions up to 12 times a day. This feature makes it a great option for cats with health issues as well.

Automatic cat feeders are a safe and convenient way to make sure your pet’s dietary needs are met while you’re away. These reviews are sure to help you find the best feeder for you.

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Featured Image Credit: Kylbabka, Shutterstock