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List Price: $89.95
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I bought my first one at least 10 years ago -and I actually still have it. I also bought 3 more because they were SO good -now aside from the usual teeth marks on the edges of the doors and dishes, my cats have not yet broken in.
I had 3 cats at one time and each cat had to eat in their own room with the door closed -no big deal because they had all the amenities in whatever room they had been placed. Now I have just two (RIP Princess -13 yrs old, taken by Cancer). La Large One will steal whatever food is not secured so she and Cee Cee have their own separate rooms and their own Cat Mates.
With wet food, the ice packs are good for 14-16 hours maximum, depending on the weather -even with A/C, in the summer the ice packs will melt faster, so I sometimes freeze the 14-16 hr food in its Cat Mate dish before I pop it into the Cat Mate assembly, even WITH the ice pack in the bottom of the assembly (only in the summer)-the food WILL defrost before the door opens.
The plastic dishes are top-dishwasher safe (for me anyway). The rest of the unit can be wiped with a wet cloth to clean it.
The battery CAN fall out of its niche -so I would suggest retaining/securing the battery (AA battery) with a bit of mailing tape (AFTER it has been placed inside the battery holder) to ensure that it stays where it belongs and the kitty won't miss a meal or two. Try not to get too much tape on the black box (right above the battery) that contains all the moving clockwork parts.
Turning the dial CLOCKWISE each time you set it will extend the life of the unit.
Sometimes (rare) the dials will pop out of gear -I've been able to fix that by opening up the little black box (with the clock and gears) on the back of the unit but it is a tricky/delicate operation. I can take apart cars, so perhaps I have a little more experience in working with gizmos.
DON'T drop this unit and it will reward you with many good years. The hinges (where the top of the door swings up) may wear out before the unit does -I'm a great fan of Mailing tape-it makes a great emergency hinge, and seems to last a long time. The cats don't care -as long as the dish door opens.
IF you are feeding outdoor stray/feral cats (and I hope they are all spayed and neutered), I would suggest leaving the feeders in a protected area and remember that raccoons and other critters will try (perhaps successfully) to break into it and possibly harm the kitties as well. Just a word of caution on my part.
IF your catsitter is being entrusted to feed your cats using the Cat Mate C20 feeders please post the instructions on the wall or fridge where s/he can see them -both of my cat sitters had never used the Cat Mate C20 feeders before, so the instructions were extremely helpful to them (and my kitties!!)
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This unit is made in England and significantly better quality than otherwise available in US stores. We originally bought two almost 9 years ago but one finally failed about a year ago (at the hinge mechanism that releases the food). Bought another 'similar' unit at PetSmart as a replacement that lasted 1 year. Now recently purchased the Cat Mate again and expect another 9+ years of use (the Cat Mate purchased 9 years ago is still going strong!).
Runs on AA batteries so a snap to use. Food plates lift out for cleaning. There are other units that have similar names but this review pertains to the Cat Mate C20. If it doesn't say 'Made in England' on the bottom of the unit I would send/take it back...
Have read reports that hungry cats can get into these units. I have two cats one of which is a 15 pound male with claws who is always ready for food! and have never had this happen. Maybe my cats are better behaved but the sofa would say otherwise...
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If you have highly food motivated cats, this item may not be up to the task. These feeders are pretty light weight and easily tossed around. The first time I used two Cat Mates, I came home to find the baseboards dented and one feeder turned upside down. As a result it didn't release the dry food. The next time I used the supplied screw holes in the base to attach them to a 12x24 inch board. This kept them upright, but provided enough stability for Lloyd to use one paw to grip the edge of the lid and pop it open at will. Finally I put straps on the board to hang over the top of a door. Now the Cat Mates hang vertically, and when the spring loaded lids open, disperse dry food across the kitchen floor. It's crude, but tamper proof and spreads the food widely enough so no one can hog it all. I imagine the problem now, with my five cats, when the Cat Mate opens is "If you snooze you lose."
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Cat Mate feeder
My cat figured real fast how to open it before the scheduled time. Is there any ways the company could improve the product. It is useless to me now!
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We have four cats, and they are very competitive about food, so we bought two of these, so each cat could have its own dish. The problem is that the timers are not very precise, so the dishes all open at slightly different times. This means that the more aggressive cats just eat all the food from the first dish that opens, and then wait for the next dish to open and eat all of that too. If you only have one cat, or if you have cats that share well, this product would be fine. Just be aware that the timers may be off by up to an hour or so.
