As the owner of two cats and a dog, I know how difficult it can be to make sure they are properly fed while I'm away for a few days. Since the dog instantly devours everything in sight, I either take her with me or leave her with a lucky family member. However, the cats are a different story; nobody wants to babysit a cat, let alone two of them, and they don't travel well. As a result, I leave them at home with a clean litter box and a couple of bowls filled with food and water. The problem is, one of them is a bit of a glutton and will blow through three days worth of food in one day. So when I heard about the Feed and Go Automatic Pet Feeder ($299), I decided to give it a shot.

The Feed and Go connects to your home network via Wi-Fi or a wired LAN connection and uses a Web-based dashboard to schedule feeding times. It sports a built-in camera so you can watch your pets chowing down, and it will notify you when your pet has been fed. Its $299 price tag is a bit over the top and it lacks a battery backup, but it works as advertised, is easy to set up, and offers peace of mind while you're away from home. The idea is similar to the iCPooch, and while it's twice the price, it doesn't need a tablet to work.

Design and Features

The Feed and Go feeder is big. It measures 4.0 by 15.7 by 19.6 inches (HWD) and has a glossy white finish with rounded corners and a curved lid. The 15.0-by-14.5-inch lid covers a round food tray containing six separate triangular compartments that can hold around 1 cup of dry dog or cat food (you can also use wet food). This is fine for most cats and for smaller dogs, but if you have a bigger breed or multiple pets, the feeder may not be a good fit unless you buy more than one.