I travel for work and was having to hire someone to come by and feed and water the cat.  It was getting expensive! I bought the programmable food dispenser and it works like a champ.  I have not had any issues with it.  I have been keeping an eye on it for the past few weeks to ensure everything is working right before leaving for my next trip. (I highly recommend this after reading previous reviews.)  In my case everything has worked perfectly.  It will save me a lot of money on pet sitters. Note that I also have a cat house (heated) so my cat is not left out in the elements while I am gone.  ;)