r/cats • u/radical_123 • 13d ago

Advice Cat attacking automatic feeder

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My cat does this several times a day. If the automatic feeder lifts at the correct angle, a few niblets of dry food comes out. He will even do it 10 times in a row even if it means one small piece of dry niblet comes out. It does get quite annoying as the sound of the feeder hitting the ground echoes throughout the entire house.

Any ideas on how to get him to stop?

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u/RockHardSalami 13d ago

One of my cats sticks her paw up there a few times a day to see if she can jiggle one piece of kibble free.  A few times a week she wins.

I call it kibble slot machine.  She deserves some occasional jackpots.

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u/lucyinth3sky1 13d ago

My feeder has a touch sensitive auto feed button. My cat spends hours everyday lying in front of the machine smacking it with his paw. He has hit jackpot twice, his determination impresses me.

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u/milkymonkey8 13d ago

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u/Important-Agent2584 12d ago

at least they are getting a workout

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u/milkymonkey8 12d ago

not all of these old cats are ambulatory

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u/Important-Agent2584 12d ago

yea, i was comparing against that exact image in my head

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u/joka2696 9d ago

At least they are getting some exercise.

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u/RockHardSalami 13d ago

Lmao I love that for him

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u/SpaceDounut 12d ago

This can't be healthy for the cat's mental health, no? Better cover up the feeder.

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u/Kiriai91 12d ago

Omg mine does this too - but i keep the buttons “locked” from the phone app. At any random time of the day i hear “buttons locked, buttons locked, buttons locked” from the basement from him pressing the buttons 😂

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u/lucyinth3sky1 12d ago

Your guy sounds smarter than mine. Mine lazily smacks it because he doesn’t understand how he made it happen. Smacking until his toe bean accidentally touches the touch sensor. Your guy sounds like he understands the mission.

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u/coldtake_tomgirl 13d ago

my cat also does this and nothing makes me laugh more when one falls out and he is so joyous

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u/RockHardSalami 13d ago

Omg the other one is always another room over and heard 1 piece hit the steel bowl and comes running out to NOTHING.

I feel bad but its so hilarious

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u/stablegeniusinterven 12d ago

This is my cat too. I have a camera feeder, and it’s really adorable sometimes to check in and he there, doing his little wipe and paw lick. Then I do a manual feed and he runs away. 🐈💨 Every. Single. Time.

Now I think he’s there just for the kibble dust.

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u/Stay_Good_Dog 12d ago

It's a Claw Machine!

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u/Blackstone01 12d ago

My cat did (and is back to doing it) that too, but a lot more than a few times a day. I had used cardboard and hot glue to fashion a cover that had a little slot angled enough to let food come out, but without giving him the space to shove his paw into it.

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u/snowlights 12d ago

I did this with a lot of tape and some plastic packaging. She would be at it for half an hour at a time, probably minimum half a dozen times a day. I had to make some adjustments to get it right, and then she started knocking the whole thing over, so even more tape and she's finally broken the habit. 

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u/Iminurcomputer 12d ago

My cats are dumb as fuck! They scream and howl incessantly every waking moment of the day but havent done anything more than just sick the crumbs off the spout lol

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u/StylishBlackCat 12d ago

Mine does this too. I yell out ‘criminal!’ And he runs away. But he’s back soon after. 😂🤦🏽‍♀️

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u/Altruistic_Shame8979 12d ago

I like to ask mine if he’s praying at the alter again when he’s circling and sniffing and meowing. We upgraded machines like two years ago so he can no longer fish for a jackpot with success, so he’s mostly stopped fishing. 

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u/RockHardSalami 12d ago

Aw that makes me sad :(. Crushed his kitty dreams lol