A new feeder at your cat's pace
Help your cats try a new feeder by keeping meals familiar, giving each cat space to approach, and watching their first servings. Some cats investigate immediately; others need more time. Let their comfort and reliable access to food guide the introduction.
Keep the meal familiar
Start with your cat's usual food and planned portion. Avoid changing the diet, feeding location, and entire routine at once; a familiar meal makes it easier to see how the new feeder is working.
Keep a familiar feeding option available during the transition, accounting for all food in the daily plan. Do not withhold food to make a cat use the feeder. The American Association of Feline Practitioners recommends introducing new feeding methods gradually and checking actual food intake in its guide to feeding cats.
Make room to approach and leave
Choose a stable indoor spot with a clear route to the feeding opening and an easy exit. Keep the camera unobstructed, with good lighting and enough room for a front approach.
Let each cat investigate without pushing or lifting them toward the opening. If another cat crowds the entrance, give the quieter cat a separate opportunity. Keep additional feeding locations when your cats need distance or visual separation to eat comfortably.
Check each cat's profile and meal
For Temora Vision, register clear face photos, assign each cat's meal compartments, and select face-recognition feeding for individual meal access. The feeder recognizes registered cats without collars or tags, then rotates the tray to present the assigned compartment.
Side guards provide a physical barrier. If face recognition identifies another cat taking over, the original meal rotates away; protection depends on successful recognition and the selected settings. Self-service mode is a separate option and does not provide the same cat-specific access.
Watch the first meals before relying on the arrangement. If recognition is inconsistent, check the profile, lighting, approach, and assignments, changing one thing at a time. Cats with very similar faces can be harder to distinguish; use a separate feeding arrangement if access is not reliable for your cats.
Your first-meal checklist
- Approach: Can the cat reach the feeder and leave without being blocked?
- Meal: Does the intended compartment appear?
- Eating: Does the cat eat? Check the food yourself; looking at the camera is not proof of intake.
- Next step: If the cat backs away or receives the wrong meal, pause and keep familiar food accessible while you adjust.
There is no fixed number of sessions every cat needs. Continue checking meals in person. For sudden changes in eating or drinking, contact your veterinarian, as Cats Protection advises, and follow any prescribed-diet instructions.
Explore Temora Vision for feeding modes and product details, or visit Paw Ballet Support for setup help.