An animal feeding system, comprising: a housing ; a container dimensioned to hold pet food in pellet form, the container having an upper end and a lower end , with the lower end having an opening through which the pet food travels; a receptacle for receiving the pet food as it gravitationally falls through the opening in the container; a conveyor system for moving the dry pet food from the receptacle and to a feeding bowl , the conveyor system residing within the housing and having a conveyor belt , raised ribs spaced apart along the conveyor belt forming compartments for holding designated volumes of the pet food , and a drive motor for causing cycling of the conveyor belt , and wherein the conveyor belt is angled upward at least 15 degrees relative to horizontal forming a first lower end and a second upper end ; the first lower end of the conveyor belt positioned within the receptacle , wherein the first lower end is configured to pick up designated volumes of the pet food during the cycling of the conveyor belt , wherein the second upper end of the conveyor belt is configured to gravitationally drop the pet food from the compartments through a housing chute and into a feeding bowl during the cycling of the conveyor belt , wherein the picking up the designated volumes includes the raised ribs rotating through a portion of the receptacle ; a user control unit (170, 170', 170", 470, 570, 670A, 670B, 670C, 770) having a user interface by which a user may program the animal feeding system to dispense food according to a schedule; and a micro-processor in electrical communication with the motor configured to deliver start and stop signals to the motor in response to the schedule selected by the user. a housing ; a container dimensioned to hold pet food in pellet form, the container having an upper end and a lower end , with the lower end having an opening through which the pet food travels; a receptacle for receiving the pet food as it gravitationally falls through the opening in the container; a conveyor system for moving the dry pet food from the receptacle and to a feeding bowl , the conveyor system residing within the housing and having a conveyor belt , raised ribs spaced apart along the conveyor belt forming compartments for holding designated volumes of the pet food , and a drive motor for causing cycling of the conveyor belt , and wherein the conveyor belt is angled upward at least 15 degrees relative to horizontal forming a first lower end and a second upper end ; the first lower end of the conveyor belt positioned within the receptacle , wherein the first lower end is configured to pick up designated volumes of the pet food during the cycling of the conveyor belt , wherein the second upper end of the conveyor belt is configured to gravitationally drop the pet food from the compartments through a housing chute and into a feeding bowl during the cycling of the conveyor belt , wherein the picking up the designated volumes includes the raised ribs rotating through a portion of the receptacle ; a user control unit (170, 170', 170", 470, 570, 670A, 670B, 670C, 770) having a user interface by which a user may program the animal feeding system to dispense food according to a schedule; and a micro-processor in electrical communication with the motor configured to deliver start and stop signals to the motor in response to the schedule selected by the user. <EOS>