Product Review : Super Feeder Automatic Cat Feeder

I ordered my Super Feeder on 5/21/08 and received it on 5/28/08 using standard Fed Ex shipping. Seemed like a longer wait than I would have liked, but you can have it sent faster for a little more money. Regardless, it was well worth the wait.

I paid $136.01 for the CSF-3 QUART SUPER FEEDER/BEST VALUE COMBO DEAL! This price was a little higher than even your more pricier one-piece feeders, and twice as much as some of the cheaper products out there. However, the Super Feeder has some immense advantages over these other feeders, as you will read below.

The product was sufficiently packed and definitely had a "home business" feel to it. The owner even wrote a thanks on the order form and placed his card inside. At first, I felt a bit put out as it seemed like there was a lot of assembly involved, but once I started reading the directions things quickly became clear. After ten minutes or so, I had pretty much figured it out and in another five had it ready to distribute food to my always hungry cats. I will admit that the instructions were not as intuitive as I would have liked. They were written in small print and all of the helpful images were posted in the back of the document like an index. I would recommend an improvement by re-writing the instructions so that the images are next to the actual steps and dispersed throughout the document. There is a lot of stuff to read in here, so I recommend going through the entire document before getting started. Also, I thought I would have an issue with the bowl not being attached to the base. I was sure that my four cats would push it off the base in less than a minute. This turned out not to be a problem. 4 cats and they have not moved the bowl an inch.

After setting up the product, I stood back to view it. It looked very cool sitting there, sleek and durable in a farm equipment kind of way, extremely impenetrable by even the most intelligent, willful kitties.

It worked perfectly the first time, only an hour after I'd set it up. And it has worked perfectly since, feeding my cats three times per day right on the money.

I spent the first few days watching the cats feed, making sure everyone was getting enough food and tweaking the feeder so that I could cut back to the least amount possible in order to control their weight. I have a kitten that needs more food, so I just pulled her aside every day or so and gave her an extra helping or two of wet food. Eventually I will purchase another of these Super Feeders so that the cats can eat more comfortably, but for now they don't seem to have a problem taking turns at the bowl.

Overall this is a very neat product, especially for those of you who are even the slightest bit handy and more interested in controlling some of the functionality yourself. With two of these daisy chained together on the same timer, the feed times would be exact in both bowls. I've read reviews where folks have purchased 2 cheaper feeders, and after awhile the feeding times between the two bowls become staggered because the internal clocks of the devices are off by a few seconds. Over time this could result in you fixing the clocks every few weeks or so. Not with the Super Feeder. Also, because of the way this device is constructed, cats will not be able to get food out of the hopper prematurely, another problem that was iterated by those who'd purchased the one piece or cheaper feeders. The Super Feeder is basically strapped into the base by a metal brace, and the top of the hopper is tight and can also be screwed in place! Where the device feeds, the cats cannot get their paws inside, and even if they do there is an additional piece you can purchase separately that will keep them from getting to the mouth of the feeder. I have not had a single problem with this and have not had to purchase the additional piece.

The affects of having the Super Feeder were not fully felt until a week or so after using the product. No longer do I have to worry about making it home to feed the cats on time, or working out a schedule with my girlfriend on who will feed mornings, who will feed nights, etc. The cats NO LONGER beg me for food in the morning. No more pawing at the bedroom door or crying incessantly while they run between my legs as I stumble, half awake, into the kitchen to get them food. Everyone involved is much happier, especially the kitties!

In just about every sense this automatic cat feeder is a Godsend. I recommend anyone who has cats and values their supreme health and wellbeing to order this product. A+ all the way.