Are you looking for peace of mind knowing your furbaby is fed without fuss at the times of your choosing whether you are home or not? Perhaps you are looking for an option to dispense the high value treats you often forget are in the cupboard.
The Petwant F17 Automatic Pet Feeder with HD Camera and Smart APP Control does this and more.
My clowder of 11 free-feeds high quality dry food, and lucky for me, there isn't one of the group who scoffs the lot. What I often neglect to remember is the vast number of dry high value treats I have available, and the Cat Evolution Pet Feeder is a solution to that travesty.
I found setting the unit up a breeze, only having to install the food bowl with stainless steel insert, food hopper, lid and plug in.
The Smart Life APP was easy to download and even easier to navigate. Some of the features that interested me are listed below.
- You can schedule up to 10 feeds per day and with each feed you can decide between 1 and 10 portions (noting that 1 portion of Temptation treats is approximately 10 grams).
- You can also send additional feeds with the press of a button if you decide. This additional feeding does not interfere with the existing schedule set.
- Large 4 litre capacity food hopper with a lid that screws securely in place. The hopper is also semi-see through, which is great for quick checking of food levels.
- Record a feeding time greeting to play as each feeding occurs.
- Wide dishwasher safe stainless steel bowl that prevents whisker fatigue.
- It is compatible with dry, freeze-dried and mixed foods between 2mm and 15mm, which means that the larger oddly shaped biscuits such as Hills Dental will dispense with ease.
- You will receive a low supply alert to remind you to refill the Hopper. Plus visible red light on the actual unit.
- The HD camera allows you to see every detail of your pet while they are feeding and the speaker and microphone allows you to hear and speak to them when you can't be there.
- You can record video and take pictures and they will be stored in their very own album in the app and you can also download them to your phones gallery.
- Smart Instant Activity Alerts - Motion detector senses activity which allows the camera to capture and save playful moments. You receive instant alerts to your phone to watch in real time.
- Battery backup mode - Adding in 4 D-cell batteries ensures that your feeder continues to dispense food during a power outage even if the internet connection is lost. You will not receive notifications from the app but can rest assured the scheduled feeds will happen on time.
I was less than adventurous when setting up the treat feeding schedule (I know my furbabies are spoiled rotten), having mine set to dispense 2 portions of Temptation treats every 2 hours 7 days a week between the hours of 6:30 am and 8:30 pm (it is first in best dressed in my home).
I am guilty of checking in throughout the day and will often dispense extra if I see the bowl is empty. Watching the camera to see who runs up first is a level of excitement I didn't think I would experience. When I am home on my couch, it is hilarious to see 4 or 5 of my kitties tearing through the house when they hear my recording and the treats clinking into the bowl.
What I didn't realise was how deprived of treats my furbabies had actually been because it has taken nearly 4 weeks for them to stop sitting beside the unit waiting for the next scheduled feed. I will say how impressed I am that even with the multitude of additional treats I dispensed in addition to the 8 scheduled feeds each day, the whole hopper lasted nearly 2 weeks.
I have also used the feeder for the other love in my life Millie my little Staffy and can say with confidence that it operated no differently with dog biscuits than it did with cat treats and biscuits.
I want to talk about cleaning and how effortless this is. Disassembling the feeder is simple (refer picture and steps below).
- Unplug Type-C cord from the bottom of the unit.
- Twist the lid anti-clockwise to unlock and remove
- Click Food bowl from the bottom of the unit.
- Tip out any remaining biscuits
- Twist the hopper anti-clockwise and lift off
- Lift out dispenser mechanism
The dispenser mechanism does come apart but requires a little finesse as the paddle needs to line up with the gap in the anti-jam plate (pictures below)
Many of the parts are dishwasher safe but please be mindful of the temperature and detergent used as high temperature may change the shape of the plastic parts and strongly fragranced detergents can stick to those same parts (which our pets do not like).
I prefer to pop everything except the body into some warm soapy water and give it all a good wash. I allow it to all dry completely before I re-assemble and fill it back up.
Once you plug it back into power, it will look for the internet connection and be back to the business of dispensing the scheduled feeds.
Im more impressed than I expected to be, and very happy with going auto in the treats department for my gang!