do you know what’s better than your dearest little creature coming and cuddling all over you and mewping cutely for dinner? knowing that none of the affection expressed by your adored furry fiend is merely a request for its basic physical needs to be met.
it is difficult to express how much more positive it feels to have a relationship with cats that isn’t tainted by their perceiving you as the food dispenser. (you might need to be careful to refill the feeder while your cat(s) are closed out of the room to avoid them making the connection.) you can always go a step further to separate yourself from your cat(s) associating you with its needs being met with the addition of a filtered water fountain and an auto-catbox. having all three is ideal, i believe, but the auto-feeder will get you 90% of the way there when it comes to their seeing you as someone else living in their house too instead of their provider. (although, not having to scoop litter daily while also providing them with a fresh place to do their business literally every time is truly excellent.) if you /want/ them to see you as their provider.. what is wrong with you?
auto-feeders can help your cat’s health too. many of us don’t have a schedule which supports many smaller meals for our pets, but exactly that can be best for many cats. in addition to making smaller, more frequent meals an option, auto-feeders make putting your cat(s) on a diet - if your vet recommends it - v easy. when cats connect you with food, if they are hungry they will annoy you about it /so/ much. it can be stressful not to cave and feed them either out of pity or just to stop the annoyance. frustration or pity aside, it is v important to only slightly cut back on a cat’s caloric intake when it needs to lose weight. an auto-feeder helps with both of these issues.
as i am writing this, you can buy a cheap one can be as little as $31 and if you are paying more than $50 you are likely wasting your money. make sure you are buying a programmable feeder and not a gravity feeder. if you get one, choose one with a well sealing lid (ideally with a gasket) so the food stays fresh - your cat(s) will thank you <3