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Pet Dish 6 Days

Description: Pet Dish- 6 Day: Dispense up to six meals, automaticly. Simply program the Automatic Pet DishTM to dispense up to six meals Our Automatic Pet DishTM (PD06) is a quick and easy solution for busy, on-the-go owners.

Reviews (4):

Is anyone aware of a better unit?
Reviewer: Avid Reader Seattle, WA USA 11-20-2005
I bought 2 of these for my cats, and they worked fine for a while. It's a smart design, but they've got many flaws.

They use a LOT of batteries - the 9 volts die after 2-3 weeks (so you have to keep a *close* eye on it), and they turn very slowly because of the weak, poorly designed motor. They both died within about 6 months, and I had to replace them.

Also, it's not really a 6-day unit - it's a 6 *meal* unit. Each tray only holds up to 1/2 cup. Since my cats (normal size) eat 1/3 cup per meal, I must set the unit to go off twice a day. I can't imagine this working for a large dog. And, since the sixth compartment is perpetually open, you can only set it for 2 1/2 days in advance. Not much help for vacations.

The person who said their unit has been working for 8 years is either mistaken or lying. This Asian company is barely 3 years old. I have a sneaking suspicion that the seller wrote a review of their own product, using their "imagination" & hyperbole.

If anyone knows of a better system, please let us know or post a review.

Hassle free and reliable
Reviewer: Avid Reader Milwaukee, WI 09-25-2005
This feeder works as advertised. Put the food in and switch it to the time period desired. We tested it out before leaving the cats alone for the weekend, but it still made us nervous the first time we used it. Being gone for four days- there was no way to check if the feeder was working.

But, we've used it for two different weekends, and it worked flawlessly both times. My only suggestion for improvement would be to make the unit verifiable. Put in a phone jack and a computer chip, then you could plug it into an extra phone line when you leave home, and call the unit to see which compartment it is on. That would be peace of mind, without having to ask anyone to enter your home and check on your pets.

Btw, the "6-day" label is slightly misleading. Because there are 6 compartments, one of them is always exposed, leading to pet access. It would be more accurate to call it a 5 day, but that's only trivial.

Drains battery too fast, and moves too slowly
Reviewer: P. Smith Washington, D.C. 06-21-2005
I bought one about 6 months ago, for the same problem as the other reviewer--my cat would pester me at 5:30am. At first, it seemed like a godsend, but I quickly found some major issues with it, and now it's broken. My issues:

1)The 9v battery lasted only about 2-3 weeks, which gets pricey after awhile to keep changing;

2)I had to time my refills of it with the next scheduled feeding (every 6 hrs for my cat), or else his schedule would be thrown off. There was no way to 'set' feeding times. It resets itself every time you refill it. So for example, if I was leaving for the weekend at 2pm, and I normally fed my cat at 6am/pm and 12am/pm, then I had to make sure I cleaned/refilled the feeder precisely at 12pm, or else it would get off-cycle. Perhaps not a big deal for most, but it was frustrating for me to make sure I was home at 12pm or 6pm so I could set it to his schedule. I thought this was supposed to make my life easier?! I found I often had to overfeed him, or let him go longer than 6 hours without a meal in order to coordinate times.

3)At times when I couldn't coordinate the feeder refill to my cat's schedule, and set it for whenever I could, when I got back from being away, there was no way to tell if he had eaten recently or not. My cat certainly wasn't telling me he was full! So I probably ended up overfeeding him at times because he is a master manipulator, and I couldn't tell if he was really hungry or just begging! I started marking one side of the feeder as TOP, then I'd have to count the number of times it rotated to see when he last ate.

4)On that same note, the feeder doesn't know when it's full or not, so if it's turned on, it just keeps rotating until the battery runs out. I once forgot to refill it, and it kept rotating, empty. My cat ended up clawing it to try to get to a full food compartment. Poor kitty! Bad mom!

5)The dial turns VERY slowly, as it is also automated, drawing on that same 9v battery, which is why it drains so fast. My cat waits for the feeder to kick in, so as soon as it starts, he's got his head stuffed into the compartment, and he inadvertently (or purposely!) pushes the lid along, which I think caused it to break.

For me, there were too many factors making it not worth replacing. I ended up spending more at Petsmart on another feeder (C50 Auto Pet Feeder) which only does 5 meals, but it runs on 1 AA battery, and you can 'set' the timer anytime you want. Only the timer draws power. The rest of it is on a simple hinge mechanism, so it swings very fast, is QUIET (unlike the first feeder, which is loud), and isn't dependent on what time of day you refill it. One other feature is that it has a finite turning radius, so when the feeder is empty, it knows, and it won't keep rotating. To restart it, I have to reset the clock, then turn the lid back around on that same simple hinge mechanism, in the opposite direction. It's REALLY easy to reset, but what's good is that if I forget to refill it, it doesn't taunt my cat with an empty bowl by continuing to rotate.

It also has a battery-life counter so you can see when your battery needs replacing, as well as a cover for the timer mechanism so your cat won't bump it or otherwise damage it.

I've had it 4 weeks now, and the same AA battery is going strong, and it's a breeze to use. I only wish it had more compartments, but I'm more than satisfied with it!

Good item
Reviewer: Anonymous Southern California 06-08-2005
I've had mine for 8 years and it has been a lifesaver. My cat used to wake me up at 4am to be fed and now instead- the feeder goes off and he waits for it instead of waking me up. It just broke though- but I liked it so much I am buying a new one. The connection wire from the battery to the unit eventually broke from constantly changing the battery (a 9 volt only lasts about 2 weeks). That is the only downfall to this product (battery operated), I wish it had an AC adapter since there are those mornings when the timer doesn't go off- so in case you are going on vacation be sure to put a fresh battery in before you leave! Otherwise I think it's a great product.

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