Cat (or Dog) Powered Food Dispenser

I recently got a letter from instructables telling me about an automatic food dispenser I could make for for my pet cat (or dog too I quickly realised). The project itself can be found at:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cat-Powered-Auto-Feeder/

The Device In Action








How The Device Works

It is really a very simple gravity feeder. When nothing is touching the device the elastic band pulls the ball into the top of the bottle making it act as a stopper. When the pet in question touches the bottle a gap appears and food falls out; the pet is then free to eat. When they feel that they have eaten enough they don't tap it anymore.

My Recommendations
It really is a great project to try out. After you get all of the parts then it might take you about 5 to 15 minutes depending on how quickly you want to assemble the parts. And what you end up with is quite awesome; incredibly useful. It was amazingly cheap, I had all the parts lying around the house already so it did not cost me a cent and most people will find the parts naturally too.

How Zebbie (my cat) Reacted
On day one the cat was rather oblivious to the function of the device. We sat there trying to teach her to use it but after looking at it for a while she merely went back to her bowl in search of more food. From now on though we will merely guide her to the dispenser and give her food from there until she gets hungry enough one day to get the food out herself. And then our problem has solved itself. We have a self feeding cat, that gives us good company and is happier because she is always well fed.

Should you happen to make any great cat bowls or have any good ideas please post them here.