| $ Basic Automatic Pet Feeders: $40 - $80 | $ $ Advanced Automatic Pet Feeders: $100 - $200 |
Feeding time is always a great moment to share with our pets and to continue bonding with them.
Yet nowadays, we are so busy that we might sometimes miss feeding hours or even medications that our pets need.
This can have a deep impact on their health and general well-being.
When our schedules don’t allow us to properly feed our pets, automatic pet feeders could be a great option for them and us.
In the next sections, we’ll review basic information about them and how much automatic pet feeders can cost.
Table of Contents
What Is an Automatic Pet Feeder?
An automatic pet feeder is a device that provides certain amounts of food for your pet at a specific time or following a schedule.
They are usually for one pet in the household, but some can be used for two pets at the same time, or several pets at different times.
There are various models of automatic pet feeders, depending on your pet’s needs, its features, and your budget.
Some models are meant only for dry food, like kibbles, while others have special features that allow the use of wet food for your pet.
These are mostly recommended for cats, or for dogs that have special nutritional requirements.
Should I Buy an Automatic Pet Feeder?
This will depend on your own preferences as well as your pet’s size and your schedule.
Advantages
The main advantage of automatic pet feeders is that they will give food to your pet when you can’t do it yourself.
Whether you want to stay in bed longer on certain days, or if you’re too busy at work, you can set up a particular time for your pet to be fed.
This also applies to medicines that your pet might need or treats that you want to give your pet during the day.
Automatic pet feeders can use electricity to function and/or batteries.
This could be of great help if you can’t be at home for several hours or for the rest of the day.
Some automatic pet feeders come with a special slow feeding option, that supplies food at specific intervals of time instead of all at once.
This will help with your pet’s digestion and control its weight.
If you have more than one pet, some of these devices come with a microchip that activates only when the pet with the corresponding microchip approaches them at a specific time.
Disadvantages
Automatic pet feeders are generally recommended for small pets, such as cats or small dogs.
If you have a large dog, these might not have the right proportions to supply the quantity of food your pet needs.
An automatic feeder should never replace the time and attention you should constantly provide to your pet.
Some veterinarians suggest using automatic pet feeders only sporadically because you might not notice if there’s something wrong with your pet’s eating habits.
It’s not recommended either if you’re planning to be out of town for several days and leave your pet all alone in your house with nobody to take care of it.
Automatic pet feeders might malfunction, your pet might knock them over (especially larger pets), or anything that could prevent your pet from getting its food.
How Much Do Automatic Pet Feeders Cost?
The price will depend on the size of your pet, how many pets you have, and what features you want the feeder to have.
The most basic automatic pet feeders generally cost between $40 and $80.
If you’re looking for extra features, such as Wi-Fi, a camera, ice packs for wet food, a microphone, and a speaker, you could be spending from $100 to $200.
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