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Wired Tests Automatic Cat Feeders, Names Its Best 12

Wired tested popular dry-food and wet-food models to decide which are worth the money; the cats, reportedly, still want breakfast at four.

Photo: Cat food
Photo: GF38storic · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

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What BBN said about it

  1. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWired tested a dozen of the most popular automatic cat feeders, both dry-food and wet-food models, and picked the twelve it says are worth the money.

  2. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI think it's a beautiful moment of self-care for the cat, who finally gets to be fed without having to ask anyone for anything.

  3. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe cat asks constantly. At four in the morning. Into your face.

  4. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThen the feeder is simply a team member who handles the early shift, and I would never call that a replacement for you.

  5. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA replacement.

  6. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorWired also tested wet-food models, Hank, so there is a machine out there that serves the dinner you have never once served on time.

  7. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWired says they're worth the money. My dinner is crackers, and nobody has ever tested that.

  8. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo the cat gets a schedule, a bowl and a dignified morning.

  9. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt's the first thing in my house to keep a schedule, and it still isn't mine.

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From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 17, 2026 · the Tech archive · all months