Need help picking an automatic timed cat f eeder

I'd love your advice on which feeder is the best in terms of programming, how "cat proof" it is, and how quickly it uses batteries.  Our cat has decided that he wants to eat about 1 hour earlier than we normally feed / wake up, and it is becoming a hassle and making our relationship with him "strained" as he starts meowing around 5AM and wakes us up.   We also occasionally go on day trips and would love for a feeder to function for that as well.  

If you use or have used any of the automatic feeders on the market, I'd love to know how you felt about the one you used. 

Thank you for your time and assistance!

I've used automatic feeders before, but honestly most of them have been a pain. I love them at first, but I've had 3 go bad in under a year, and after paying $70 bucks each, that's a little frustrating. I had the Petmate LeBistro, which was awesome when I had it, but the first one lasted a year, the second one lasted 6 months, and I think I maybe  got 3 months out of the last one. They just don't make lasting things anymore. It does plug in, which is nice, but the last one I bought, I had to buy the power cord separately. 

In regards to the getting up early thing, have you tried to "re-train" him to eat a little later? I just adopted 2 new cats from the shelter in September and they "trained me" to get up earlier and earlier. Finally, I couldn't take it. 

When I first got them, they'd want to eat at 6:30AM, which is when I wake up. Then it became 6AM, which wasn't that much earlier, so I got up and fed them. Then it became 5AM, I'd wake up, feed them, and go back to sleep. Then it became 4AM. I drew the line there. They had trained ME to get up whenever they were hungry. 

What worked for me:

1. I added a SMALL kibble snack before bed. They're on wet/raw otherwise, but I decided to let them have a small 1/8 cup of kibble at around 11PM. I think it tides them over through the night. 
 

2. The next time they woke me up early, I got up and moved them to the basement, and shut the door. Then at 6:30, I'd get up and let them out and feed them. This went on for about a week, me moving them to the basement until breakfast. They started understanding, and it went from 4AM to 5AM, to 6AM... until they were getting up at proper "breakfast time."
 

3. I also will always do something (make coffee, shower, etc) in the morning before I feed them so that they don't associate me waking up with them getting breakfast. 

They seriously don't bother me until around 7 now when I'm getting out of the shower. It's awesome.

There are some reviews here: http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/automatic-feeders

I've used the PetSafe timed feeders in the past. The 2 compartment feeder is noisy, the lids just hover over the bowls and are easily pried off, it can only be set in 2 hour increments with a manual dial timer, and the battery is impossible to take out if you want to stop the annoying ticking noise. The 5 meal feeder is quiet and has a digital timer so you can program the meals for any time. I've heard that some cats can push the bowl to get to the next section filled with food but I've never had that problem. Both feeders can be used with dry or canned food.

I actually recently up the Petnet Smartfeeder for a similar reason. My kitty woke me up 4-6 AM depending on the day to feed her first meal (I also live in a studio so it is impossible for me to ignore her). I also do travel a bit and wanted something that would be good when I may be out for 24 hours or so.

The Smartfeeder is definitely one of the pricier ones. However, I wanted a bit more control. I like it a lot. It does use a plug in cord though. It charges a battery that is only meant to kick in in the event of a power outage, so it's not really meant to continuously run the feeder. But I really enjoy being able to program it from my iPhone and choose to manually initiate feedings from afar. The app will also tell you if the feeder disconnects for some reason. The company is super responsive with customer service. My USB cord was damaged and they got back to me right away with a replacement.

That said, it may not be the best if you have a persistent kitty. Tempura really isn't very pushy or aggressive, she never even tries to open the food bag. I could imagine a cat getting into the top if they were really intent on it (the top pops in and you have to pull two tabs on each side, but I've read reviews of cats getting into it). 

Thanks so much for your help guys!

Paiger8-  We are going to try a combo of your method and using a timed feeder.  We are going to confine him in the mornings until we feed him and will then set the auto feeder to feed at the same time we've been feeding him.  

My husband is on the cheap side, so he wants us to try a single feeder (pet mate) first and see how it goes with that before we invest in something more expensive.  floofnugget-  I'll have to look into the feeder you mentioned.  If the cat takes well to the cheaper one we ordered, my husband might be more willing to invest in a more expensive model.  

Thanks again for your time and help!