[oniMaker]

Unfortunately your common sense is in the minority of opinion here. HN is plagued by overeager engineers who endlessly discuss the how without addressing the much more important why.

Why bother having a pet at all if you're not going to personally care for it?

[nommm-nommm]

Give me a break.

The author was giving two meals a day and often got home late in the evenings. Only the evening meal was from a machine. Don't act like the cat is being abused. The author looks like she is providing the cat with a very nice life.

"Whys?" It helps prevent tripping incidents when the cat knows its food time and is rubbing on your feet as you walk. It helps with anxiety associated with irregular feedings. That's just two reasons I thought of off the top of my head.

[dominotw]

>The author was giving two meals a day and often got home late in the evenings.

"An automated feeder would save me one chore per day, and I wouldn’t have to worry about getting home late in the evenings."

You seem to have ignored "save me one chore per day" which is what my original comment was in response too. Occasional late meal is not a big deal at all, you don't need to go about inventing ridiculous machines for that.

[nommm-nommm]

>Occasional late meal is not a big deal at all

How do you, personally, anonymous Internet commenter, know how much stress this specific cat has when the evening meal is late?

You can give constructive comments about the benefits of manual feeding vs auto feeding without being rude and speaking in absolutes. There's certainly benefits of both options that differ with individual cats and circumstances.

[dominotw]

>without being rude

def not my intention. Can you point out where i was rude so i can keep that in mind for future.

What I said of course is not true for special needs cats, do whats best for your cat if its special needs. I assumed we are talking about the 99% general case because original article didn't mention any special requirements that her cat had. I doubt anyone reading that blog would get the impression that her cat is special needs. Would you tell you someone "not speak in absolutes" to if she says "don't don't declaw your cat" ?

I know many cat owners who "play" with their cat by dangling a feather on its head, telling them to improve the play by creating intrigue and mystery during the play by hiding the source of noise is not an insult, I wouldn't think so. I made many pet owner mistakes myself. Unfortunately cats have the misguided 'easy maintenance' reputation which works against their well being.

[astrodust]

"Why" is having control over frequency and quantity. If you have an over-weight cat you may need to dial that down gently over time to avoid too much protesting.

The writer clearly indicated this is just for one meal of the day. People are losing their shit here as if this cat is locked in a room for months on end with no human contact.

[coldpie]

No one is losing their shit.

[nkrisc]

I was with you until the second line. You're extrapolating how much they care about their pet based on just this?