Smart feeders and portions

A smart feeder releases food on a clock or when it reads a microchip. That is useful in a house where someone is out, or where one cat eats another's food. It does not know the animal. This guide names no feeder, because no feeder shop page was opened for it. The feeding rules below come from PDSA and from the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

The portion is a diet decision

PDSA's diet guide says to feed food labelled complete, from a member of UK Pet Food, suitable for the cat's life stage. It says a "complementary" food is only an occasional treat. It advises a commercial food rather than a homemade recipe, because a balanced homemade diet is hard to get right. Wet food, dry food, or both are acceptable unless a vet has said otherwise. If you combine them, PDSA says you still have to work out the portions from the packets.

The same guide says many cats prefer to graze. It suggests weighing the day's food at the start. If the cat eats the lot and begs, split the same allowance into meals rather than adding more. PDSA's obesity page says cats naturally graze, so split the daily allowance into at least two meals, ideally more. If the cat is overweight, feed the amount recommended for the ideal weight, not the current weight, and reduce meal sizes slowly over a couple of weeks rather than in one jump.

Treats are where the PDSA pages do not use one figure. The diet guide says treats should not exceed 10 to 15 percent of daily calories, and that main meals should be reduced on days you give them. The Weigh Up campaign page says treats should not take up more than 10 percent of the daily food allowance, with the usual food reduced by the same amount. Where you are already worried about weight, both pages point away from extra food: play, a toy, or a groom the cat enjoys. If the two percentages matter to a diet plan, ask the vet which to follow. This site will not average them into a third number.

The RSPCA's rescue-cat guide says the same shape of thing: follow the packet, count treats and titbits inside the daily intake, and remember that cats often do better with several small meals unless a vet says otherwise. It also says not to give milk, because cats do not digest lactose well, and that even milks sold for cats can be high in fat.

What the machine can and cannot see

A timer can hold back the second half of a weighed allowance. It cannot see that a neighbour is also feeding the cat. The RSPCA's page on not feeding other people's pets says many cats will take an extra meal even when they are well fed, that this can break a special diet, and that a quick-release "don't feed me" collar is one way to tell neighbours. A feeder does not close that door. A microchip flap is a different product, covered in microchip cat flaps.

A feeder also stops if the power stops or the hopper is empty. The animal's need for a suitable diet does not stop with it. Section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence, in England and Wales, for a person responsible for an animal not to take reasonable steps to meet needs that include a suitable diet. Keep a way to feed that does not depend on the machine. Water is a separate bowl, not a feature of the feeder: pet water fountains.

PDSA says food and water should be kept well away from the litter tray, that some cats want those bowls apart from each other, and that shallow bowls which are easy to clean are kinder than plastic ones that hold odour. A feeder parked next to a tray ignores that.

Sure Petcare's UK shop footer, on the cat flap page opened the same day, says its products are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent disease and do not replace veterinary care. That sentence is a fair limit for any connected feeder, whether or not you buy theirs.

Can I set the feeder and stop weighing food?

PDSA still says to weigh the day's allowance. A feeder distributes what you put in it. If you fill the hopper without weighing, the timer does not correct the total.

My cat is on vet food. Is a feeder enough?

Only if the vet's diet is what the feeder releases, in the amount the vet or the packet describes for the right body weight, and nobody else is adding meals. PDSA says an overweight cat should be fed for the ideal weight, reduced gradually. The machine does not know that weight.

Do treat pouches in the app count?

If they are food, PDSA counts them in the daily calories. The diet page's ceiling is 10 to 15 percent. The Weigh Up page's ceiling is 10 percent. Reduce the main meals either way.

Sources

• The best diet for your cat — PDSA, accessed 14 November 2026.
• Obesity in cats — PDSA, accessed 14 November 2026.
• How to treat your cat — PDSA, accessed 14 November 2026.
• Getting ready for your RSPCA rescue cat — RSPCA, accessed 14 November 2026.
• Why you shouldn't feed other people's pets — RSPCA, accessed 14 November 2026.
• Animal Welfare Act 2006, section 9 — legislation.gov.uk, accessed 14 November 2026.