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Works for my cat, with a slight modification
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I was hesitant to get one of these after reading the other reviews, but decided it was worth a shot for the price.
First, regarding programming the thing - it's true that it's not intuitive, but the directions are accurate. Certainly don't lose them, but I don't see this as a major issue.
Second, regarding cats being able to break into them - I think it depends on the cat. If they do tip it over, the lid will probably come off. If you have an exceptionally clever cat, it's probably not the thing for you. Our cat is on the "slower" side - she did figure out where the food comes out of and could reach her little paw up the opening and manually spin out some more food. So, we had to glue a piece of plastic over half the opening so she can't get her paw up there. That took care of the issue for us. She doesn't try to tip it over but we also placed it between two pieces of furniture on the floor so she doesn't have a lot of opportunity to tip it over either.
Our cat adores this "magic food machine". Literally. She sits about a foot away from it 90 minutes before it goes off and gazes at it lovingly. It took her about 3 weeks before she stopped yowling at us to feed her, and now she just sits there patiently and waits. We've used it for over a month now and are very happy with it.
Rating: 
(4
out of 5) @ 2008-12-03
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not good
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I bought this for my cat. In no time he figured out how to tip it over and get all the food. And the rotating system stopped working the first week with new batteries.
Rating: 
(1
out of 5) @ 2008-12-03
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BEST PRODUCT I HAVE PURCHASED IN YEARS!!!
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I read the amazon reviews before buying and cannot believe people give this anything less than 5 stars! I paid $80 at Petsmart for this exact item because I had to have it that evening because I was going out of town - so I can assure you this is a great deal! It is so easy to use. My cats are fed in the morning and evening (you can also do a lunch time if you like) and no longer bother me for food and seem to be less stressed because they are not begging for food all of the time. So easy to use and they have never tried to get into the food container/storage. There is really no way they could - it is all super secure. I highly recommend this to make your life easier!
Rating: 
(5
out of 5) @ 2008-12-02
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Works Great
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The 10 pound model is the newer one and programming is so easy that you dont need to read any manual. I think most people who are complaining about programming are providing feedback for the 5 pound model which I agree is a pain in the S. It took me over 20 minutes to figure out the programming of the 5 pound model while at the same time consulting the manual over and over. With only $10 dollar difference between 5 and 10 pound models, I would highly recommend the 10 pound model. The 10 pound model allows to have differnt meal portions for every meal whereas with the 5 pound one, you can only set one meal portion for all meals.
In the 10 pound model, the dish can be detached and washed which is not the case with the 5 pound one. Both of them use 3 D batteries or optional Power adapter. During my test, I noticed that the roatary plastic food dispenser would always stop at the the optimal angle whereas in the 5 pound model it would drift slightly from its optimal angle after food dispensing. One out of two 5 pound ones was defective out of box so I returned it back to Amazon. I also think the 10 pound model has been redesigned and is more reliable. At the end, I highly recommend this product.
Rating:
(4
out of 5) @ 2008-12-02
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does the job
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I have 2 cats and ordered 2 of these. 1 worked great, the other not at all. I returned it and got a new one and the replacement seems fine. The programming isn't as bad as what I've read in other reviews. It takes a few minutes and I haven't had to do anything since. I've had both of them for about a month now. The only drawback is that my cats aren't the smartest (they're old) and there's no sound/ bell/ etc that goes off when the food is dispensed. (they're food is on the lower level of a 3 story house) When I'm home they still beg for food at times and I walk over to the dishes and the food is already there. That is getting better but is taking longer than I thought it would. If you have a smarter cat it shouldn't be an issue. When I'm gone these feeders are perfect. I recently moved and don't have anyone to come in to feed them when I'm out of town, so they're serving the main purpose. Other models seem to be way more money and other than a bell or something when food dispenses I can't seee how they could be much better.
Rating:
(4
out of 5) @ 2008-11-30
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