The advantage of a feeder on the network is not automation, which any timer does. It is the ability to change your mind from somewhere else: to shift tonight's meal back an hour because the train is delayed, to check from the office that breakfast actually went out, or to add a portion for a cat who was sick in the morning. That is worth having, and it is the only reason to prefer an app over a dial.

Underneath the connectivity it is a rotating-compartment feeder rather than a hopper, which means it holds a set number of meals rather than several days of kibble, and it will handle wet food as well as dry. The tray comes in stainless steel or plastic, and steel is the better choice if wet food is the plan, since it wipes clean and does not hold smell the way plastic does over time. Four style options are listed alongside the tray materials.

• Rotating meal compartments for wet or dry food
• WiFi app control for schedules and portion timing
• Choice of stainless steel or plastic tray
• Four style options listed
• Sixteen variants combining tray, style and plug region

Check the plug, and have a fallback. And any connected feeder depends on your router and the maker's servers staying up, so never leave a pet with this as the only source of food for a whole weekend.

Who it's for: Owners who feed to a schedule but keep unpredictable hours, and want to move a meal from their phone rather than come home to do it.