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Ergo Auto Pet Feeder, Small | 
 enlarge | Brand: Ergo Systems
Category: Pet Products
Buy New: $108.00 (On sale from $145.80)
You Save: $37.80 (26%)
New (18) from $108.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 22295
Media: Misc.
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Size: 9''W x 14''H x 16''D
Shipping Weight (lbs): 7.5
Dimensions (in): 10 x 10 x 19
MPN: 2000GS
Model: 2000GS
UPC: 083497500017
EAN: 0083479500011
ASIN: B0002YQX46
Release Date: April 16, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days
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| Features:
| • | Helps overweight pets | | • | Helps pets with Reflux Disease | | • | Helps Diabetes Pets | | • | All feeders feature digital timers with battery backup for programs, manual override switch, 8 program settings per day and daylight saving feature | | • | Metal over molded self-lubricating nylon auger prevents jamming and provides a smoother and quieter performance of the feeder. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Small, 5 pounds, light gray, for small pets, consists of a storage container, a feeding bowl and an 8 setting programmable digital timer, veterinarian recommended.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 54 more reviews...
 OK Feeder October 6, 2008
Recently bought this to replace a "Pet Bistro" feeder which was useless. This one is a little better, but difficult to figure out the right portion amount when feeding my cat. They have since taken care of the problem of the cat's ability to get into the chute to obtain more food. But the timer, programming is tricky. Got this for when we travel and it should be ok.
 Highly recommended, with one big flaw October 1, 2008
We have a cat who was gaining weight quickly when we got her, so we got this feeder for weight control. If you have cats who wake you up in the morning to discuss their immediate need for food, it has the added advantage of becoming the object of her meowing and nagging when she's hungry -- instead of walking on our faces at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning, she goes into the other room and lodges her feline complaints with the feeder instead of with us.
It's also great when we go on vacation, though we still have someone come over once a day to make sure it's working and the cat is OK overall.
I would almost give this product 5 stars just for giving us our morning sleep back, except that, as many others have said, Smart Kitty figured out after about a year (slower than other cats on the uptake, I guess!) how to insert her paw into the spout at just the right angle to get kibbles out. (I have the old model that doesn't have the tube-like spout.)
I rigged up this whole duct tape and cardboard barrier to keep her out of the spout, but that only lasted a few months before she figured out how to get past it.
My question to others who have this feeder: Theoretically, could she paw out 5 cups worth of kibbles if she's persistent enough? Or is there a limited amount of food stuck in the auger and that's all she can get out? I've noticed that when she's especially vigorous with her pawing, it takes a few extra seconds for food to start dispensing the next time the timer goes off, which makes me wonder if by pawing between meals, she's still getting the same total amount. Please respond using the Comments button if you have any insights on this.
Overall, though, I'd still recommend this product because of how much easier it makes your life!
Oh, and I forgot to say, the first feeder I ordered, I made a mistake and set it to go off from 2:00 p.m. to 2:01 a.m. (instead of p.m.) -- when I came home from work, it was making a horrible buzzing noise because it had dispensed kibbles until the bowl filled up and the motor jammed. (A very stuffed and happy cat was sitting next to the feeder, having just won the feline version of the lottery.) I couldn't get the thing to work again after that because the motor was burned out. So I called ErgoSystems and was very up front about the fact that it was my own stupid fault, but they replaced the whole thing for free. I thought that was above-and-beyond excellent service!
Works Best with Larger Morsels September 28, 2008
We have 2 cats weighing between 10 and 15 lbs. One of them tends to overindulge. When we'd go away for the occasional weekend trip and leave a big bowl of food, we could swear that Elmo was noticeably bloated when we got back. A friend recommended an automatic feeder. The first one (Le Bistro) was junk. It doled out inconsistent amounts of food, and on our first weekend away stopped working altogether. We came back to a couple ravenous fellas.
Then we bought the Ergo. Since our cats go through food pretty quickly, we got the medium - which is marketed for cats and small dogs. However, right away we found that it did not do well with typically sized cat food. It would sometimes eject too much food, and as many others have commented, it was easy for the cats to squeeze a paw in and pull out more. So we switched to Science Diet Oral Care which has much larger morsels. Since, then it has worked great. (And our cats teeth sparkle!) I have measured the portions and they are very consistent. The controls could be a little easier to learn, but we've gotten used to them. Given how many automatic feeders out there get poor reviews, I would definitely recommend this one.
 Great idea in theory- But not cat-proof August 27, 2008
Pros: The IDEA behind this device is wonderful. Great for city dwellers or people with erratic schedules. It stopped my cat from whining all day, since he's confident he'll be fed at the same time every day. Much healthier than leaving unlimited portions of dry food out. Keeps his weight to a healthy level.
Cons:
Even the small feeder is pretty large- and plastic and ugly.
Takes up a lot of space in a small apartment.
Many dry catfood kernels are smaller than the minimum size requirement for this machine, so there's only a limited number of brands you can use with it.
And finally, my cat figured out in ten seconds how to reach his paw in and pull food out. Even the newer model with the tube-like spout isn't cat-proof. I don't understand why the manufacturer wouldn't just make a real tube to dispense the food- something too narrow to fit a cat paw inside. The current dispenser consists of what looks like the top-half of a tube. There's plenty of room underneath for a cat to stick his paw in and grab at the kernels. It's absurd that they would put a product like this on the market. In my eyes, this model is still unfinished.
Major design flaws July 2, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've been using this feeder for the last 4 years before it died last night. I took it apart and saw the gears inside the motor that turns the auger stripped. I guess it was its time (4 years is not too bad). However, this is not the only problem the unit has. Here's a list of issues I ran into:
1. My cat also figured out pretty soon that he can get a bit of extra food by sticking his paw behind the auger's front cover. However, he didn't understand (or did and just didn't care) that the next meal would be smaller because of that. Eventually the cover broke off, and the whole container worth of food spilled into the bowl. The cat had a blast. I made another cover out of a sheet of aluminum, making it longer and wider then the original. My cat couldn't cheat the unit any longer.
2. The unit comes with a regular digital timer that you might use for your Christmas lights. You plug the timer into an outlet, and then plug the feeder into the timer. The timer is pretty horrible in terms of user friendliness. It is way to easy to program it incorrectly. You could however replace it with any other digital timer.
3. When there's about 1/3 of feed left in the container, the unit fails to dispense the remaining food. This is because the bottom of the storage container is not steep enough for the food to fall into the auger's mouth. You will have to shake the whole contraption to get the remainder of the food or just refill with more fresh feed. The manufacturer should have designed in an agitator (vibratory, or rotating arm) or just made the bottom steeper.
4. Price, this thing is way overpriced for what it is. The unit is essentially a plastic shell with a 120VAC 1.5RPM gear-motor, that you get for $5 at any crafts store.
Having said that, I'm still ordering the exactly same feeder to replace my failed unit. This is mostly because I know how to address all of its shortcomings and because the competing products, I feel, are even worse.
UPDATE: The new unit I received had an updated auger cover. The picture on this website and even on the packaging itself still depicts an old spring-loaded cover. The new cover is a long spout. Although, I wish the fit of the new cover was better (I ended up adding two screws to make it tighter), this new cover eliminates the no. 1 problem I had with the feeder before. I would change the rating to 3 stars, but amazon wouldn't let me.
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