PETLIBRO Automatic Cat Feeder with Camera, 1080P HD Video & Night Vision

Why it's worth it

This is essentially our top pick with a 1080p night-vision camera and two-way audio bolted on. If you travel often and want to confirm your cat actually came to eat, the video and motion alerts are worth the extra money.

The camera answers the question you'd otherwise stew over all week. Did she eat? A 1080p sensor with a 145-degree lens and infrared night vision shows you the bowl at 2 a.m. as clearly as at noon. You can record clips to a microSD card of up to 256GB, though the card isn't in the box. For a cat who's been off her food, that's real information, not just reassurance.

Two-way audio does more than let you talk to yourself. There's a microphone and a speaker, so you can call your cat over in real time or record a meal-call message of up to 10 seconds that plays at each feeding. Cats that get anxious when the house goes quiet often settle faster with a familiar voice. It also helps you confirm the feeder actually ran when you weren't there.

From our review of 10 automatic cat feeders, by James Bennett, Associate Editor

What we like

• +The camera answers the question you'd otherwise stew over all week
• +Two-way audio does more than let you talk to yourself
• +Alerts cover both the machine and the cat
• +Everything good about the top pick carries over

What to know

• –The lens doesn't move, and the view is tight
• –Longer video history means a subscription
• –Adding a camera doesn't change what it can serve