Super Simple Cat Feeder

Sometimes, along comes a hack that is just that. A kludged collection of parts thrown together quickly to solve some problem. [mightysinetheta]’s Upcycled Cat Feeder is just that – no pretensions.

It’s a cat feeder built out of a drill, wall switch and mechanical clock timer for under $10. Pretty much the simplest electric cat feeder you can make. Survives power outages just fine, is single serving, but due to the noise and motion it makes, it is a perfect Pavlovian trainer for the cat. The best way to describe it is as a Rube Goldberg machine.

Set the timer for the planned feed time (up to 12 hours in advance). At the appointed time, the timer triggers, the drill rotates, the old, broken screwdriver chucked in the drill turns. The cord tied to the screwdriver winds up like a winch. This pulls up the lid covering the cat’s dinner plate. The noisy drill announces it’s dinner time. When fully raised, the lid pushes up a short piece of PCV pipe. This flips a switch, that shuts off the drill. If you need build instructions, fear not. [mightysinetheta] has detailed build instructions although the pictures are probably all you’ll need.

Check the video after the break.

 

24 thoughts on “Super Simple Cat Feeder

      1. How dare you talk about that cynical asshole like that. He’s a freaking genius with a splash of Vicodin addition and maybe codeine. But that’s all irrelevant, he’s awesomely horrible and deserves nothing less than the proper respect… which mean you will use the proper title of “dr.” (yes, common case since it’s an up and down thing with him) in all insults involving him and cats.

  1. So let’s see…an enticing, dangly string and the minimal weight of a pot lid is all that stands between kitty and being fed right away? He don’t know cats vewwy well, do he?

    Worse, the cat is going to show up every time the drill is used. Every. Freakin’. Time.

    1. Already bad enough when it gets on the keyboard. Though, things might just turn deadly for the cat if you’re not careful. Unless you’re building a box, then it’s anyone’s guess.

    2. I have two cats and a commercial cat feeder, one of them right away figured out how to stick an entire front arm up the chute to rotate the dispenser to get more food.

      The other one is more of a thinker, it took her 2 months of just waiting and watching, and then she figured out how to spin off the top hopper fill lid and she just eats from the top.

      I would add a screw into the lid, but I dont want the cat to figure out how to use a screwdriver.

  2. Do you even own a cat?

    Or is it that my cats are evil geniuses…… lol
    They opened the door to my extra room and opened a drawer where I had their snacks. Ate them all lol

    Good ideal though, I would have placed some weights so that cats like mine would not flip the lid off.

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