PetSafe Healthy Pet Simply Feed Automatic Feeder Review

Product Overview

After your purchase, here’s what you will find in the box;

• The Main Unit Healthy Pet Simply Feed pet feeder
• A stainless steel bowl
• A bowl plastic holder
• A quick start guide
• A user manual

Product Description

Mechanism

The feeder is fully programmable, dispensing your pet’s meals according to the portion and schedule you set. This automatic pet feeder uses a conveyor belt to dish out food allowing it to control the portions more accurately.

Food type

Most dry kibble will be good with this feeder which also works with semi-moist pet foods.

Portions

The Healthy Pet Simply Feed automatic feeder serves your pet’s food with flexible portions depending on what you program it to do. The portions range from 1/8 to 4 cups per schedule.

Schedule

This automatic feeder can dispense up to 12 meals per day in the portions that you set.

Slow Feed

The Healthy Pet Simply Feed comes with an option called Slow Feed. This option allows you to hand out food to the pet slowly within a period a period of 15 minutes to ensure that your cat or dog doesn’t experience gulping, vomiting or bloat.

About the bowl

The bowl is made of stainless steel. This material makes it very hygienic and preferred for your pet. It’s also very easy to clean.

Portion Control

By controlling the portions your pet eats, and maintaining a certain consistency, you are able to check your pet’s weight.

Product Features

• The feeder comes preset to feed your pet twice a day but you can reprogram this to ensure it schedules upto 12 meals a day.
• Modify the feeder to provide meal portions in flexibly from 1/8 to 4 cups.
• The conveyor system is patented by Petsafe, and can put up with most dry and semi-moist foods of various shapes and sizes.
• Slow Feed feature allows slow dispensing of food in 15-minute phases when cup is above 1/8.
• The mode for immediate feed dishes out the next set meal instantly.
• Uses D batteries (4 in number, not included in package); A power adapter is available, optional and sold separately.
• Pause feed option can stop feeding temporarily.
• Customer care specialists’ contacts come with the product.
• Lockable lid keeps food away from the pets.
• Translucent lid & hopper makes it easy to view food level
• 5-button navigation LCD screen ensures easy programming
• Hopper can hold upto 24 cups of dry food.
• Bowl holds upto 5 cups of food.
• The main unit is made from BPA-free plastic while the bowl is made of stainless steel.
• 1 year average battery life.

How it works

Using a conveyor belt, the food is carried up and released at programmed schedules. The conveyor belt features rigid plastic divisions that hold each stipulated cup of food until when the time to release it arrives. These plastic divisions also act as guards that are strategically placed at the feeder’s chute (opening). By blocking the chute, pets cannot steal the food using their paws.

A stainless steel bowl that can easily be removed for cleaning is held under the chute by a plastic hoop that ensures it is tightly gripped onto the main unit.

The Healthy Pet Simply Feed uses (4) D batteries as the power source. These batteries are however not included in the box when your purchase the unit. There is also an AC adapter available for purchase separately in case you want to use electricity.

The locking lid is airtight to prevent your pet from getting the food from above. The translucent lid allows you to monitor the food levels by viewing from above.

Evaluation

This feeder is a convenient device to have for your cat. It’s easy to use, just set it and go. The setting should take you about 30 minutes maximum if you are following the user’s manual to programme your pet’s feeding schedules.

The pre-set schedule when you buy this feeder is twice a day, in the morning and evening, one meal for each session. This pre-set module is convenient if you just bought the feeder and would like to rush somewhere before getting back to program your preferred schedules.

The feeder functions like a clockwork once programmed properly. Even when you are gone for a week, there is every likelihood that your cat will have about 2 or 3 meals every day.

It’s also important to note that the batteries last a whole lot of months, on average a set of 4 D batteries should go for as long as 12 months or more.

Pets need to eat from clean devices and bowls. In view of this fact, this feeder is very easy to disassemble and give a thorough wash every so often. The stainless bowl is much easier to hook and unhook when you need to clean it.

This happens to be one of those feeders whose manufacturers allow you to return the product within 3030 days with a guarantee to get your money back. Most other compnies would say they can’t take it back after you’ve put food in it. This therefore looks like a better value for the risk of buying it.

As with all good products, there will always be downsides. The Healthy Pet Simply Feed is a great product, but the fact that the AC power adapter and/or batteries are sold separately is a bit absurd. Either the batteries, or the AC adapter needs to come with the main unit as a whole composition when you purchase, which isn’t the case.

The feeder is not very good for use with more than one pet. It comes with just one bowl. As you would already know from owning pets, they don’t like to share, especially food. And cats are notorious for this aspect. While it’s possible to improvise your own method of getting the food dished out onto separate bowls, it is a bit surprising the manufactures don’t provide a mechanism of splitting the meals onto two bowls if you have more than one pet. An attachment to split the meals into two could be a great addition, even as a separate purchase.

The programming could be made simpler. For now, you have to use the user’s manual for a while to get the hang of it, which isn’t bad at all really, but could be better.

What to watch out for

• This is an indoor feeder. Using it outdoors leads to inefficiencies especially during low temperatures that affect proper food dispensation.
• The Petsafe Healthy Pet Simply Feed is more for cats and medium-size dogs. Big dogs will probably not have food to their fill if you get them this unit.
• In small amounts of feed, the slow feed mode isn’t as efficient as it is when used with larger amounts. You have to test this feature to know what amounts of food work better for your pet when dispensed over 15-minute periods.

Verdict

This automatic pet feeder will guarantee you can sleep a little bit more in the morning without your pet waking you up to ask for food. Or you can go away for a few days at peace that your pet won’t starve. All the features work as advertised, an amazing feat by the company. The programming could be better, the user interface more intuitive and a mechanism to feed at least two pets could be worked on. For now, this is a study, reliable and satisfying automatic pet feeder sure to make you and your pet happy for years. The consistency it provides also ensures you can stay in control of your pet’s weight. A bit expensive than most pet feeders, but definitely worth every penny.

Buy Petsafe Simply Feed Automatic Feeder for $129