The invention relates to a device for tracking the consumption of foodstuffs by an animal, comprising: a front wall, a rear wall and side walls defining therebetween a chamber, and an opening formed in the front wall in order to allow an animal to gain access to the chamber; a receptacle in the chamber, defining a cavity for storing foodstuffs; a foodstuff retrieval element for retrieving foodstuffs discharged from the cavity and not consumed by the animal, which element extends substantially from the cavity as far as one of the walls; and a weighing system which is configured to determine the weight of foodstuffs that have been taken from the cavity and not retrieved by the retrieval element over a period of time.

A controller for an animal feeder uses image recognition to classify a species, and optionally an age and gender, of an animal at a dispenser for the feeder. Based upon the image recognition, the controller enables access or denies access to feed based upon permitted and non-permitted species, gender and age.

A top surface of an elevating stand of a pet feeding system defines bowl receptacles into which respective food and water bowls may be removably installed. A first zone of the top surface of the stand includes an upwardly convex ring that laterally surrounds a respective bowl receptacle. A second zone of the top surface of the stand laterally surrounds the first zone, except as interrupted by a finger notch. Each bowl has a peripheral lip with a lower surface formed as a downwardly concave ring that fits over the upwardly convex ring of the stand. An edge of the bowl rests on the second zone at a location below the upper limit of the convex ring. A base of the stand cooperates with upstanding ribs in an elastomeric mat to prevent lateral movement of the stand and to prevent rotation of the stand around the stand center.

This invention general relates to animal feeders, an animal feeding monitor and a method of training an animal to use a feeder. An animal feeder may have a housing comprising an aperture for a food bowl (8) and having a door for covering the aperture, the feeder comprising a door mechanism to control movement of the door over the aperture, wherein the feeder comprises a sensor to detect when an animal has moved away from the aperture, and the feeder is configured to be operable in a training mode wherein the door mechanism is operable to control the door to cover a portion of the aperture in response to a said detection and to respond to one or more later said detections by controlling the door to cover a portion of the aperture larger than the preceding said portion.

This invention generally relates to animal feeders, an animal feeding monitor and a method of training an animal to use a feeder. An animal feeder may have a housing with an aperture for a food bowl and a door for covering the aperture. The feeder can further include a door mechanism to control movement of the door over the aperture and a sensor to detect when an animal has moved away from the aperture. The feeder is configured to be operable in a training mode wherein the door mechanism is operable to control the door to cover a portion of the aperture in response to the detection and to respond to one or more later detections by controlling the door to cover a portion of the aperture larger than the preceding portion.

A dog feeder that includes a base, a lid, and a coupler. The base includes a left wall and a right wall that extend vertically away from a tray between the left wall and the right wall. The tray is configured to contain dog food. The lid includes a front side and a back side, where the front side includes a protrusion that protrudes outwards away from the back side. The coupler couples the base to the lid such that the lid is capable of swinging between the left wall and the right wall. The protrusion is configured such that when a head of a dog pushes against the protrusion to swing the lid to expose the tray, ears of the dog do not reach an edge of the lid.

A pet-only feeder may include a facial recognition device that triggers the opening of a lid so that a pet can eat when the pet appears in front of the facial recognition device.

An insect resistant platform with a base assembly having a plurality of vertical posts on an upper surface that support the bottom side of a cover assembly. A sticky pad is on the upper surface of the base assembly with apertures that surround each of the posts. There is a gap between the base assembly and the cover assembly except at the posts. Any crawling insect will become captured by the sticky pad before being able to climb the posts heading toward the cover assembly. The top of the cover assembly is adapted to support an item such as a pet food bowl.

Means and methods for preventing crawling insects from infesting a site where food, water, or garbage is located. In particular, this relates to creating a non-poisonous barrier in the path of the insects by coating a surface with a layer of high viscosity index petroleum based gel (HVIP-gel). One embodiment is an insect deterrent cup that is comprised of an inverted (upside down) cup whose inner surface is coated with a layer of PetrolGel. The insect deterrent cup is positioned between the food site and the crawling insects, blocking their path. This prevents crawling insects from accessing the food, water, or garbage.

A controller for an animal feeder uses image recognition to classify a species, and optionally an age and gender, of an animal at a dispenser for the feeder. Based upon the image recognition, the controller enables access or denies access to feed based upon permitted and non-permitted species, gender and age.