Snackproof Automatic Feeder?

I have a formerly overweight cat who REALLY likes his food. I'm usually an early riser but if he didn't think I was up in time, he's tap my shoulder to get me up. It wasn't a big deal as long as it was a reasonable (for me) hour.

The problem now is it's become unreasonable--usually around 4AM, but sometimes earlier. He goes around the room scratching his paws against something that will make noise. If that doesn't work he's on the bedside table knocking stuff off. I've tried ignoring. I've tried putting him in the pet taxi when he starts at a ridiculous hour. He doesn't give up, especially when he's in one of his food obsessed periods, which he's going through now.

I'm really tired. I need more sleep. This morning I tossed him in the pet taxi at 4AM and caught a little more, but it wasn't good sleep. Unless someone has a better idea I'm looking at an automatic feeder and I'd flip his canned food feeding to afternoon. In reading the reviews I'm seeing that many cats find a way to get more food out, and that won't work because he'll overeat.

Thanks for any ideas. You can imagine how pleasant I am when my cat has me awake at 3:30AM.

Yes I have been there. It isn't nice. Or pleasant. My cat is an adult but still feels the need to wake sleeping people and animals up. It is annoying, but she is my cat and that is how she is. I have learned to just go with it over the years, since there is no real training the cat. Dogs, yes. Cat, not so much.
Two questions are you feeding him enough times a day? He might need to be fed more frequently.
How much exercise does he get in a typical day? You might need to play with him more at night, like an hour before bedtime with a laser light or other toys.
If you do get a feeder you might need to tweak it. We had to build a wooden box type contraption around ours to prevent her from helping herself. We only leave the feeder out when we are not there for a scheduled feeding for whatever reason.
Good luck. How old is your cat?

It's not cheap but this is what I use. My cats haven't tried to tinker with it but it's pretty hard for a cat to mess with it. And because it relies on a regular timer, you have an almost unlimited feedings per day. I only use it once a day for light snacking because I feed wet food twice daily. When I travel, I set it for for 3-6 feedings per day, dependent on the sitter's schedule.

http://www.super-feeder.com/csfcombos.html

Oh and the point of the unlimited feedings is that you can then set it to feed every couple of hours and that may placate your cat and allow you to catch some zzzz. The feeder also allows for you to adjust the feeding size. So you can have it drop a tablespoon of kibble every hour if you wanted to dole food out sparingly.

Word of caution, it's not an especially easy machine to use. It's not hard, but it's not intuitive and does require you to read the manual carefully. Follow the instructions and everything works. I found that the guy who runs the site is also very responsive. I had a set-up question and he actually modified my feeder stand to accommodate my situation.

Also, are you feeding his main meal at night? Perhaps if he got his main meal just before bed time, it may tide him over to a more reasonable morning hour.

I feed my cats at about 7:30am and 10pm. And they do not bother me at night. On the weekends, if I'm not up by 8, they do start to gently bug me but luckily nothing too drastic. I can and do ignore occassionally...but the days of sleeping in until noon are over.

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. I really appreciate the ideas and suggestions.

Pippin is a 4 year old neutered male. He was over 19 pounds when the vet seriously cautioned me about his being at risk for diabetes plus he was showing first signs of crystals in the urine. I switched his food to Evo, canned in the morning with a few kibbles and dry in the evening (which has morphed into a late afternoon feeding), total of 1/2 cup per day. Also increased his exercise and he lost 3 pounds in 5 months without really seeming hungry (I had no idea he was losing that quickly). I think he's arrived at the weight he's going to land at and am wondering now if he's not needing a little more in the way of calories to maintain. I'll also play around with his PM feeding schedule--I know it's early for a PM feeding but that kicked in before the change in diet and he seemed pretty well satisfied then. These days it's mostly mornings when he thinks he's starving.

Here's my big guy:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...88&postcount=2

Originally Posted by Pippen

Here's my big guy:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...88&postcount=2

Click to expand...

He is really cute

I've had a lot of luck with the C 10 automatic feeder. You have to set it at night to open in so many hours, and it's best for dry food. The plastic tray lifts out, and I've replaced that with china dishes. I keep it up on a counter, wedged behind a hot plate so that Jamie can't get it open by shoving it to the floor. He broke a couple by smashing them against the wall, hence the counter and hot plate. It's pretty cheap and reliable, and doesn't have to be plugged in.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2751315

I use this. Some reviews say the cats can move the dish around, but you'd have to have a MIGHTY strong cat. I have a 16 lb glutenous siamese and he hasn't managed to open it. I've found it really easy to operate and very reliable... a cheaper alternative? 5 meals as well, I feed him 3X dry a day using this (2 wet by hand) and if I go away for the weekend I set it to 2 feedings and it lasts from Friday night until Sunday night.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

To my surprise I found 2 of these Cat Mate C50's at the thrift shop last week. I called home to have someone check the reviews and found they weren't all that great, but decided that for $4 I could at least probably find out if an automatic feeder had the potential to work before shelling out.
http://www.amazon.com/Cate-Mate-Kitt...6250509&sr=8-2

I brought both home and was glad because the first one I tried didn't work at all. I heard my cat batting it around and then he came to wake me to feed him. I switched to the other one and it took a few days for me to get the timer set to where I needed it, as it's not highly accurate. My cat hasn't managed to help himself to any snacks so far.

I'm happy to report that my cat no longer wakes me up for his 4am breakfast. Now he eats his breakfast on his own, then he wakes me up to let him outside.