Got it. By the way, next time you are setting up a camera, make sure to use Frigate so that you can turn it off in case a kid enters your bathroom.

I am providing respectful advice.

The implication that people are just leaving these running and never checking in on anything is a pretty big accusation.

Similarly, it is also a stupid one. Because if the feeder stops working? Then you literally just have a really expensive food dish.

ALSO: Many of the gravity based ones with battery backups are designed to fail open rather than fail closed. The idea being that if a sufficiently low battery level is detected the gravity hopper just opens up and your furry friend eats until they vomit.

There is a way to point out flaws. Something like “Hey, be careful with the rotary kind. If they fail, your pet can’t even force open the latch to get more food”. Which still has implications of neglect, but is a much more polite version than

If this is something that you’re wanting to use for long-term unattended food needs, I think you might want to reconsider.

which is an accusation of neglect that also fundamentally misunderstands how these devices even work (or what their capacities are).

And while I will tolerate a lot of stupidity and ad hominem accusations of lying if someone thinks differently: I draw the line at being accused of animal neglect.

Then maybe, just maybe, you don’t need to pop into a thread (on a board about home automation solutions) about someone asking for recommendations for a product that you don’t like? I don’t go into threads about crocs and tell people they are bad shoes. And I especially don’t then imply that they are bad parents if they haven’t had their children checked out by a podiatrist to see if they need additional support before even considering getting them a pair of shitty plastic clogs.

And if you still need to make sure your voice and “wisdom” is heard: Maybe don’t instantly assume everyone is a neglectful asshole? Because that mostly just speaks to your personal thought process.

You are the one who rolled up and accused someone of being a neglectful pet owner because they are looking for a quality of life improvement for their companion.

And you did that in the context of “What happens if this all fails and you just have a food bowl?” as though it were actually an argument.

Also: Not all animals are good at portion control. Some animals, particularly a lot of rescues, will hoover up that extra food bowl the moment they see it and get sick. That is WHY people get automated feeders. Same with portion control. Rather than dealing with a little fur baby climbing me while I am using the scales, I can just check to make sure there is food in the bowl a few minutes after feeding time and know that “close enough to” the appropriate portion has been dispensed.

Also: I know from experience that it is a lot better when a friend says “hey, can you check in on Fluffy in the evenings? Make sure it looks like she had food in her bowl and clean her box” rather than “Okay, dinner time is at 6 and if she doesn’t get that she will destroy the house. Also, she doesn’t like to eat when people are in the room so make sure you feed her, go downstairs to clean her other box, and then wait until she is done before you clean her main box”.

But hey, good to know you don’t like automation. That means you don’t have to respond to this thread. Rather than come in, throw shade, accuse others of being neglectful, etc.

If the power goes out (and you have no UPSes or similar backups) or your entire infrastructure falls over, there is really no difference between having nothing. Same with if you decide to never refill the food hopper because you are an asshole.

Whereas, if things work, you have a nice tool to cover nights when you might not be home for whatever reason or to make things easier on friends checking in on your little buddy while you are out of town.

But hey, thanks for responding to a question about autoamted feeders with your misunderstanding of how animals are fed or what they are used for.

Also, the model you specifically looked at has a battery backup for exactly that reason