Ergo 8-Day Auto Pet Feeder

• Veterinarian recommended for diabetic pets.
• 8 Day feeder - Holds over 96 ozs of food - 12 ozs of canned food or dry food per compartment.
• Provides wet canned food for pets that have to be given canned food.
• Removeable bowl for easy cleaning
• Includes cool pack to keep food fresh up to 8 hours

Very pleased with this.:
I bought this in 2003 and the model I have has proven to be very sturdy. In this time, have had to change the batteries only 4 times and have it set to open once a day. From reading other reviews, it seems the older one I have must be more sturdy - it would need to be turned on its' side for my cats to pry the top off since the lid post "locks" in place. I've had a few problems with it fully opening when the batteries are low and the recording is a bit tinny but my cats respond to it. Someone mentioned it being set on military time but it can be set on either (read directions). It's easy to clean, easy to fill, and bowls are wide enough for a medium-large dog to access -- a German Shepherd or Rottie might destroy it when hungry! I give it an 8 out of 10 rating.

Not very rugged:
We purchased this product, and within a week one of our dogs broke the plastic top. This product is not very rugged and is not a good fit for bigger or energetic dogs.

Not too many problems:
I have had this feeder for about 6 months. Here are my observations: 1-The instructions are useless and don't even talk about the same feeder 2-I can see how an agressive cat could probably yank the top to get at the food in the next bowl. Mine never did, though 3-It does rotate only the top, so it really can't be stuck in a corner without the animal having to crawl over it to get to the corner-side of the machine. 4-You can't delete your recording without taking the batteries out and resetting EVERYTHING 5- The recording part of it was stupid, anyway. My cat never fell for it. 6-The battery indicator is wrong. It said I had enough battery, but when the machine started acting strange (only turned 1/2 way at a time, got REAL loud when turning on, randomly would beep for 20 minutes at a time)...only then did I check the batteries....but they did last about 3 months. 7- When it started making a lot of noise b/c of the dying batteries, my cat became scared of it and now refuses to go near it. So now it's useless to me and I'm in search of another one. :(

Good.. but not for the smart cats:
Works really will but not for intelligent cats! They will learn how to unscrew the top & break the turning mechanism over time. Mine first learned how to losen the screw that held the turning cover in place. Over time (Maybe six 2-5 day trips over about a year) my cat learned how to force the lid to move enough to access the adjacent comparments. Eventually my cat cracked and then broke the mechanism that turns the lid. So in sum, if you don't have a curious kitty... this is a well designed product that has voice recoding and plastic compartments to keep wet food cold for a few hours.

Cats are vandals, not cat proof:
Maynard figured out how to turn the cover backwards in order to get food out. The mechanism is really light duty and no match for a cat with lots of spare time. I caught him on video and that is exactly what he did. He turned it backwards one eighth of a turn, thus exposing the previous food compartment. I don't recommend this for cats.