Feeding 2 Cats While Away

I now have two cats.......never had two at the same time before. Because of our busines, we have to be away from home several times during the year. We have purposely put off traveling until our two cats get use to each other but we are going to have to go away for a few days towards the end of April (our daughter is graduation college in another state) and I'm already worrying about it.

My biggest question has to do with feeding while we are gone. Jake (original cat) was easy, we just put a bowl of food down for each day we would be gone and twice as much water and he did well. There was always food and water left when we came home. However, Lucy is a feral rescue and she eats a LOT. In fact, she nearly cleans up the food as soon as we put it down.

Now my dilemna........how do I make sure these cats stay fed? Having someone stop in and feed them each day is not possible. We live way back in the woods and have no family or close friends here as we haven't been here long. Asking someone to drive way back here each day won't work. What about automatic feeders? Do these contraptions really work? Does anyone have any experience with them? I'd be grateful for any help. Thanks in advance.

I know that Airprincess uses an automatic feeder with great success. Your secondary problem is the litter box. One of my cats would make my house a litter box if the box wasn't cleaned daily. So when I go away, I have to have somebody in. The Litter Maid is an option you might think about.

The Furry Feeder would work for you- here is a link to others

Meowhoo

Thanks for the tips. I'll look into the feeders. Both cats have their own litter boxes. Jake has had the same one since he was a kitten and will not go in any others. We have left him two side by side when he was an only cat and he wouldn't use the new one. New cat, Lucy, has a covered litter box because she kicks litter everywhere, both seem quite devoted to their own boxes. We are rarely gone for more than 4 nights and I think the litter box thing will be fine. It's the feeding that is my worry.

Maybe you could use automatic feeders and have someone stop in once or twice during your absence to check on the cats food supply and clean their litter boxes.