Okay, here’s my blog post about building a wet pet food feeder, written in a casual, personal style:
So, I’ve got this cat, Mittens. Super cute, fluffy, the whole nine yards. But she’s a grazer. You know, the kind that likes to nibble a little, wander off, then come back for more. Leaving wet food out all day? Yeah, that’s a recipe for a smelly mess, especially in the summer.
I looked at buying one of those automatic wet food feeders, but dang, those things are pricey! And a lot of them seemed kinda…over-engineered? I just needed something simple, reliable, and, most importantly, cat-proof.
The “Aha!” Moment
It hit me one morning while I was messing around with some leftover plastic containers. I figured I could probably rig something up myself. I’m no engineer, but I’m pretty handy with a drill and some zip ties.
Gathering My Supplies
Here’s what I rounded up:
- Two plastic containers – one slightly smaller than the other. The smaller one would hold the food, the bigger one would act as a base. Make sure its sturdy.
- A small, battery-operated clock. The kind with the moving hands, not digital. I got the cheapest.
- Some strong tape (duct tape, of course!).
- A few zip ties.
- A marker.
- A drill (or something to poke holes).
- A small, cheap servo motor(I took it from my son’s toy)
- Some wires
- A timer switch module.
Putting It All Together
First, I prepaired the base. I poked a hole in the bottom of the smaller container to push in and fix the servo, and a hole in the bigger container, through which the smaller container can rotate, too. I taped the bigger container to the board.
Then I prepared the power.
I connected the servo motor with timer switch module.
Because my servo is 5v, I added a voltage reduction module to connect the power.
The key was the timer switch. I set it to rotate the servo every few hours. The servo arm, attached to the smaller food container, would then slowly rotate, revealing a fresh portion of wet food. I used zip ties to secure the container to the servo arm, making sure it was snug but could still rotate smoothly.
I did a few test runs, tweaking the timer and the position of the containers until I was happy with how it worked. It wasn’t pretty, but it was functional!
The Verdict?
Mittens took to it surprisingly well! It took her a day or two to get used to the slight whirring of the motor, but now she knows exactly when it’s feeding time. No more dried-out food, no more waste, and a much happier cat (and owner!).
It’s not perfect, of course. I might try to refine the design later, maybe find a quieter motor. But for a quick, cheap, and effective solution? I’m pretty proud of my little DIY wet food feeder. And it didn’t cause much money!
