I get many “pitches” from companies often offering me products to review, and am very selective. In late August, I received an offer to receive the newly released Pawsync Smart Pet Feeder for a possible review, but I was not compensated to provide my opinion.

Why Cats Need Multiple Meals

What Is The Pawsyc Smart Pet Feeder?

Billed as the “world’s smartest Smart Pet Feeder,” the product launched this past summer. It holds and dispenses predetermined amounts of food on the schedule you design (multiple meals), with set up and monitoring via your smart phone.

FEATURES INCLUDE:

• Automatic Food Tracking: Automatically track your pet’s food intake via the Pawsync app to monitor eating habits.
• Dynamic Feeding Modes: With Slow, and Smart modes, food can be dispersed intermittently, detect when leftover food is still in the bowl and self-adjust the quantity accordingly for the next scheduled meal.
• Smart Jam Fix Technology: Avoid blockages that leave your pet hungry with this innovative auto-reverse rotating technology.
• Personalized Meal Calls: Record a personalized voice message to play at mealtime to make your pet feel the love.
• Smart Control and Notifications: Control the pet feeder from anywhere, create feeding schedules, and receive real-time eating notifications and alerts when the tank needs to be refilled.
• Integrated Weighing Scale: The built-in scale allows for precise measurement and feeding for pets who rely on that accuracy for their wellbeing.
• Stainless Steel Feeding Bowl: Made from 304 food-grade stainless steel with a BPA-free plastic holder, pets eat with the same safety standards we set for ourselves.
• Secure Locking Lid: Seals food inside for freshness, while pet-proofing the feeder. A separate adjacent compartment for the desiccant pack additionally protects the longevity and quality of the food.
• Low Food Detection: Built-in sensors let pet parents know when food is running low.
• 6-day Backup Power Supply: To ensure operation in case of emergencies such as power outages, battery mode brings 6 days of backup power.

How to Set Up

1. Unbox. My Smart Pet Feeder came in a sturdy cardboard shipping box, with the unit packed inside a second an interior box.
2. After lifting out the unit, slide the Lid Release Switch to the unlocked position.
3. Remove the feeder scale, stainless steel bowl, power adapter, and dessicant pack from inside the feeder tank.
4. Discard the outer plastic packaging from the desiccant pack, and place into the specified compartment–to keep food fresh. They recommend replacing the pack each month.
5. Open battery compartment on the back of the unit, and attach the power adapter. Alternatively, you can install 3 x 1.5V D dry batteries (not included). NOTE: Recommended to ALWAYS use the power adapter and only rely on batteries as a backup.
6. Press the feeder scale firmly onto the dock at the front of the unit.
7. Place the stainless-steel food bowl on the scale. Plug in the feeder.
8. Scan the QR code to download the Pawsync app (on the Quick Start foldout paper guide included). Or search for “Pawsync” in either the Apple App Store or Google Play store.
9. Open the app, log in, or sign up.
10. Follow the in-app instructions to set up your smart pet feeder.
11. Calibrate the feeder scale, making sure feeder is on a level surface and bowl is empty. The feeder then keeps track of how much your pet eats, as well as dispensing predetermined amounts of food.
12. Fill the tank with your optimum dry food ration.
13. Press FEED once to distribute and stir food, then FEED again to dispense.

How We Tested It

Trinity had to get her paws and nose into everything as soon as I began unboxing the new unit. It took me a while to get the phone app correctly to sync. But after that, playing with the various settings worked well.

You can choose various amounts to feed, in ounces: 0.4, 0.7, 1.1, 1.4, 1,8, 2.1 and so on up to 3.5 ounces at a time. You also can schedule at very specific times throughout the day–every day or only specific days/times. I found it worked well to schedule a feeding at about 6:00 am, the time when both Karma and Trinity decide they want “first breakfast.” LOL! That let’s us sleep until a more reasonable wakeup time.

When in the room, the cats immediately heard the food dispensed. Trinity took to the feeding right away. You can also record YOUR VOICE with a word/phrase that tells the pet that food has been dispensed. Shortly after they empty the food bowl, the app lets you know they’ve eaten X-amount of food.

The app also lets you input the brand of food, along with your pet’s body condition, to calculate ideal amounts to feed. That’s a nifty option. I tend to vary brands of food–because I want my animals to readily accept a variety–so that doesn’t really help me.

I set up the app to dispense the smallest amount 0.4 ounces five times a day, just to test. Yes, it worked great! However… While Karma-Kat showed interest, he can no longer easily leap to the countertop. That means finding a secure floor placement with an electrical outlet. It also means Shadow-Pup could easily scarf up the floor level food. That wouldn’t be a problem if the dog’s at his boarding kennel, but for everyday use, it proves challenging.

Also, Trinity-Kitty gets to the food first and eats it all. Karma gets none, and the youngster doubles up on nutrition. I must feed my cats separately for that reason, and would need to invest in a second feeder and isolate the cats/feeders to different parts of the house for this to work for me for everyday use–or if away.

Final Thoughts

This product offers a lot of benefits and great flexibility. In particular, it works great for pets able to share the bowl, or for singleton pets under 20 pounds. With busy schedules, I like offering the option to pet parents to provide convenient ways to schedule feedings. I could see this especially as a boon to pets with health challenges that rely on regular feedings (like diabetic kitties, for instance).

What happened when we were gone five days to visit Dad? Our pet sitter visited Karma and Trinity 4-5 times every day, wow! And by the final couple of days, they even accepted petting and playtime, so we didn’t have to rely (this time) on the feeder. But I’m very glad to have it for times when we need it.

What about y’all? Have you used automatic feeders successfully?

About Pawsync

Pawsync is focused on designing, manufacturing, and delivering premium and smart pet products that promote wellness while giving peace of mind to pet parents. As part of the VeSync family of brands, Pawsync joins award-winning brands COSORI and Levoit in the mission to improve wellness in the home with smart solutions. To learn more, visit www.pawsync.com.