Admittedly, I was just a bit skeptical, this company doesn't appear to have a US office and if you google reviews of automatic cat feeders, this one is not usually on the list. I did find, however, reviews on Reddit of someone who purchased three models, this one and two commonly available ones, and this came in heads and tails ahead of the others. Combined with the stellar reviews on Amazon, I purchased it.

It arrived yesterday. Unpacking was simple, I changed the feeder to the smaller portion sizes. In retrospect, the regular size would be fine... for example, it takes six "portions" to get 1/4 cup with the small feeder plate, I imagine it would be only three with the larger. However, if you want to give them a quick and small snack, the small plate is a nice way to do it.

Seriously, the setup is sliiiick... you need 2.4GHz broadband (i.e., *not* 5+GHZ) - this is shown in the pics of course.
So...simply, plug it in, green wifi light flashes, install the app (mine is iphone), verify your acct, a QR code pops up on your phone which you hold in front of the feeder's camera, and bam, it's all connect. All you have to do is revise your schedule from default of how many feedings per day and how much per feeding (up to six feedings/day).

The camera feature is great - fast connection, pretty low latency...perhaps a second or so. Compare this to the video on my security cameras which are 7-10 seconds... the thing is fast (and apparently I need new security cameras).

I haven't figured out one little issue - when I "listen in" on the cats, I hear a ticking sound... not sure if it's a noise floor/automatic-gain control issue but other than that, the device and app is incredibly well thought out.

Two suggestions for the app:
1. Add the ability to have multiple animal profiles instead of just one
2. Change the photos to include both cats and dogs (instead of just dogs). This is a GREAT cat feeder! (and I'm sure dog feeder...)

I will update if the ongoing experience is different than my first 24 hours.

*****
3+ week update! (April 6, 2019).
This device continues to operate flawlessly. Not a single jam! I was on another continent for 10 days and was able to communicate with the cats, give extra portions - was really fun. My experience with this feeder is exactly how it was on day one, super!
I saw some negative reviews of late...which got me concerned about the company's support. After a little research, I found that DOGNESS does indeed have a US presence, in Plano, TX. Their website is DOGNESSgroup.com and this unit is "featured" right on the homepage. Also, the iPhone app has been updated almost every week, which is super. And I checked the play store for Android and the app is "back on" (I saw that the company reported they had to take it down for a period of time to make it compatible with Android's new policies. Either way, I'll be holding onto this unit. Note I have no affiliation with the company and I paid full price for this unit, purchased through Amazon.

*****
~10 week update (May 25, 2019)
The device continues to operate as it did on day one, with one positive exception: the noise issue has been largely mitigated, I think through an app update a few weeks ago. To date, zero jams. One learning moment, during a power outage (thankfully while we were home), I noticed the device didn't dispense the food. There's a switch on the bottom I had in the "off" position. Regardless of the position, the device will function when plugged in, but needs to be "on" when one desires the system to operate on battery power. That fixed it. Lesson learned.

Also, I've traveled a number of times to different time zones - the system will ask you if you want to change the unit's time zone when you open the app in a different time zone. If you're just traveling, simply hit "cancel" - and all is good.

Pros:
Just received the pet feeder two days ago. It was fairly easy to. install the App to my iPhone. I did need to change the feeding wheel to the smaller kibble wheel which was simple to do. The actual set up of the App to the feeder was easy with the prompts to guide me through the various steps. Once the setup was finished the feeder worked as it should in the manual mode and automatic mode. Setting up auto feeding was easy as was installing the cats personal information. The video camera provides a good quality picture. I have not saved any picture as of yet but did try the system out and it works as expected. Feeding is quite accurate to the previous feeder I used which made adjusting portions simple.

Cons: Very few here. It would be nice to be provided with a greater detailed instruction manual for this machine. I had to explore the App to find out how to do much of the setup etc. Additionally, the previous feeder I used had sound and badge notifications for each feeding sent to my phone. That was nice and made it easy to know each feeding had occurred. This App does not do that. So one must open the App to find out if the feedings occurred. I think this should be added to the App as an update if possible. Also, the opening the lid to put food into the machine is a little difficult to open, having to slide the catch back and tilt the lid backwards at the same time. Will take some practice to get it open quickly.

Over all with only two days of using the feeder I am pleased with the feeder even though it was pricy purchase!

It's a cat / dog food dispenser. I am able to look at my cats via an app on my phone while I feed them. It isn't angled down enough to actually see my cats' faces while they eat. Nor can I see the amount of food in the bowl. I might see if I can mod it so that the camera is angled down better. I wish there was a "cat version" versus "dog version" where the camera was angled down for the cat version and the small kibble hopper came automatically installed. I had to unscrew the large hopper to put in the small one when I got it. I sometimes also wish it would record automatically when it sees motion. I don't like the mega bright green light on the housing. Those are the bad parts.

The good parts is that you can set a schedule. You can manually feed them. You can make up to 3 audio tracks to be played along with each feeding. It can fit half a bag of food. So, 5 lbs fit in this thing since I buy 10 lb bags of Fussie Cat dry food. That's a LOT of food!! I have been tweaking the portions. Right now, I have it going 6 times a day. Three times, it gives 3 portions. Three times, it gives four portions. I learned that 15 portions was about a cup and a half. Right now at 21 portions, that's a little over 2 cups. Which, my cat food recommends 1 cup daily for a 14 lb cat. The fat one is that big. The other one is about 10 lbs. I also really like the night vision on this thing! It is very detailed! I like that it is USB powered and comes with a 5 ft cord.

I have been watching way too much Jackson Galaxy on YouTube lately. He says automated, timed feeding, is better than free feeding. I have 1 normal size cat and then a fatty cat. So I'm trying to help my fatty more than the normal one. But either way its good. This will absolutely come in handy when I go to travel.

After trying the cheapest feeder from DOGNESS (the one without an app), we decided to give this one a try as well. We have had this feeder for a little over a week so far, and are completely loving it! Here are some of the things we love about this feeder:
1. It can hold A LOT of pellets/food, and will notify you when the food level is below 25%.
2. The app is very user-friendly and incredibly easy to set up. The feeding plan is very flexible with many options. The video/picture quality of the video is 720p, which is really good for the price of this feeder. You can see a pretty wide range, especially if you have the feeder in a corner as we do. We love that there is a feeding history so that you can see if your pets missed any meals.
3. You can record your voice and have it played each meal. The speaker is nice and loud, and not on the bottom of the feeder like the cheaper version.
4. If you plug the feeder into an outlet using the provided wire AND use batteries, it'll feed your babies even if your wifi disconnects or your power goes out.
5. It looks sleek and modern, so that's definitely a plus! I suggest the grey, as it just looks white with some sparkles (kinda like a car's paint)

As for the cons, it is a little pricey, and if you have rabbits, they can take out the metal tray. We have ours zip-tied down to the feeder. Also, the camera doesn't pan or move, so if you have smaller pets, you can't really see them while they're eating. Another thing is that the camera isn't actually on all the time, so you won't be able to get notifications of motion. It only turns on when you go into the app and only records if you manually ask it to. To us, that's not a big deal, but I know some people want to actually monitor their pets. In that case, a baby monitor of some sort and a cheaper version of this feeder without a camera may be a better combination for you. After all, this is just a feeder and as that, it really goes above and beyond. We really don't have any complaints otherwise, and feel like we've hit the jackpot with this automatic feeder!

I will say it out loud that this is absolutely a life-changing product. Last year, we went from the daily feeding bowl to the 5 portion auto-feeder, which last 2.5 days. Eventually, we got lazy and sometimes forgot to fill up the feeder. Got into quite a few arguments with my wife about who's turn was it to feed the cat. And now, this new smart feeder can load up to 45 days (6.5 lbs) of cat food at once, which saves me soooo much time.

Received this feeder one day after placing the order. It's a little bigger than it looks in the picture. Very clean looking package and super easy to set up. It took me 5 minutes to put everything together and connect the feeder to our house Wifi. After loading it with almost a whole bag of cat food, it's good to go. My cat was skeptical at first but got familiar with it the very next morning.

The camera system is very impressive too. It can be activated through the app literally within 2 secs (you can choose the picture quality from SD, HD and Smooth depend on the internet speed and remain cellphone data). It's a wide angle lens so that we can see a lot more. I was amused by just watching my cat waiting for her food every day. Besides, it has a speaker and Mic set so that I can talk to my cat with my phone. Thinking about we just got facetime with iPhone 4 10 years ago, the technology is developing so fast that I can facetime my cat with her feeder...

There are several other small details which impress me. 1, It can be battery powered if there is a power outage in my area. 2, It has a small pocket that holds 3 packages of desiccant inside the food container to keep the food dry. 3, It offers another set of dispenser with smaller portion (5g) to control the feeding more precisely.

Overall, it is worth every penny. I will give it a 10 star if I could.