8 ms·

Furiosa's Cat Feeder (2016)

244 points by a_t48 5y ago

protomyth 5y ago
Its amazing how the iteration of test and fix turns into armor plated cat feeders and armored-up code. You look at the end point and go "surely that wasn't necessary", but anyone who was around for the development knows that it was just the iterations dictating a crazy looking but complete solution.
dmitrygr 5y ago
A pretty fun read, but the site is struggling. If it does not load for you, here's a cache: https://web.archive.org/web/20210619021044/https://blondihacks.com/furiosas-cat-feeder/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210619021044/https://blondihac...
- a_t48 5y ago
  Whoops, sorry Quinn (if you see this)
  - andrewxdiamond 5y ago
    Quinn is a software engineer IRL, so she very well may!
    - a_t48 5y ago
      I hope so. Quinn is very very indirectly related to me getting into software engineering in the first place. :)
darknavi 5y ago
> You might say I’ve won this battle. However I just spent 20 hours armor-plating a cat feeder. I think we know who’s really in control here, don’t we? The stuff we do for our pets. I use this nifty feeder/hopper in conjunction with an outlet running ESPHome for scheduling: https://superfeederstore.com/wall-mount-cat-feeder-csf-3xl-basic-pack-1-5-gal-hopper/ https://superfeederstore.com/wall-mount-cat-feeder-csf-3xl-b... It's dumb and it works great!
323 5y ago
Why google for 5 minutes when you can weld for 5 hours :) https://petspruce.com/tamper-proof-automatic-cat-feeder/ https://petspruce.com/tamper-proof-automatic-cat-feeder/ https://felinefollower.com/top/tamper-proof-automatic-cat-feeder/ https://felinefollower.com/top/tamper-proof-automatic-cat-fe... Also, is this site hosted on a solar powered raspberry pi? It's down with 5 comments and 20 upvotes.
- wlesieutre 5y ago
  Just because a cat feeder says it's cat proof doesn't mean it is cat proof
  - dwild 5y ago
    There's definitely some that are. I pet sitted the cat of a friend which had a feeder and the cat always tried to do the same technic of putting his paw into it and it never worked. The crazy thing is that it was clearly a cheap product as it was powered by USB and both side of the cable was USB A.
    - wlesieutre 5y ago
      Ha! I may have the same one. Round porthole window on the front where you can see how full it is?
- borski 5y ago
  The one she modified also said pet proof ;) “PET-PROOF: The feeder is designed to keep prying paws from sneaking food before scheduled mealtimes”
- Smoosh 5y ago
  That first link has some weird repetitive text about the litter box. Odd.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  Both these websites reek of SEO spam.
podiki 5y ago
What a journey! My vet recommended more puzzle feeders and moving to get rid of the free dry food (I do wet food in morning/night), both to control how much the cat eats and to give them something to do. After all, in the wild food is not free, they have to hunt for it. One they recommended was something like [0] which is what I've been using. Works pretty well in that most of the time the cat knows he can't get food from me (though smart enough to know I fill them up and hide them). Adds a little game and great if you'll be out of the house for a while. So there's no longer a bowl for dry food at all, he has to "hunt" for his mice. Though I'm guilty of sometimes giving some bonus food, I think it is a helpful system. I think he'd be all over an autofeeder just like in this story (already have to hide the big dry food bag as he'll get into it). [0] https://docandphoebe.com/ https://docandphoebe.com/
- a_t48 5y ago
  I wish I could feed mine wet - but one of them requires specialized dry food (Ultramino) that doesn't come in wet :(
- amelius 5y ago
  The problem with this approach is that you'll have spilled bits of cat food all around the house.
  - heyheyhey 5y ago
    Yep, had this problem with one of those "ball feeders". My solution was to put it in bathtub.
    - kelnos 5y ago
      We have a ball feeder, but this ends up not being a problem; he eats every scrap of the food that comes out, even if there are smaller crumbs. I guess it helps that we feed him on a wood floor, not carpet, too.
      - Breza 5y ago
Sniffnoy 5y ago
(2016)
jasone 5y ago
Previously discussed: - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13230904 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13230904 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13271746 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13271746
hycaria 5y ago
I would've stopped at the part where the cat can make them fall one by one with her paw. Let her grab food that way, that will make her busy longer than when dropping the meals.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
RicoElectrico 5y ago
Do we know whether it's potentially possible to rewire cat behavior, or are their brains set in stone after some time? - Like in the TFA, food insecurity - Un-feralizing cats reliably It seems that cats are odd one out with respect to adaptation. Dogs can have temporary issues when adapting to new owners or envinonments, but given some time they can cope. Even wild animals we don't consider domesticated can adapt better than cats.
- stormbrew 5y ago
  I don't even know where to start with this. Do you really believe cats are somehow uniquely incapable of adaptation or learning? House cats are, for whatever reason: - very routine driven, - very sensitive to food availability, - get bored really easily. This combination means that if you regularly disrupt those things you force the cat to constantly adapt. Most animals (including humans!) don't deal well with that. Honestly I think most bad behavior for cats is that third point. People think because they're smaller than dogs they're ok with tiny uninteresting spaces but that's not really how they work. Especially if you have more than one, but if you do only have one then they're gonna get incredibly bored. Anyways, in my house we have 4 cats and we managed to "train" them into more or less free feeding from all being pretty food insecure by just using rfid-controlled feeder bowls that only open for the right cat, so there's some anecdata for being able to change cat behaviour.
  - RicoElectrico 5y ago
    > This combination means that if you regularly disrupt those things you force the cat to constantly adapt. I did not imply regular disruption. But take this example - I have read/heard about semi-feral cats which were regularly fed for over a year by somebody before allowing to be touched. At this rate you could make it so for wild animals typically found at human settlements like squirrels and corvids. So, no change after the beginning, yet it took a year for the cat before realizing humans are friendly. > Honestly I think most bad behavior for cats is that third point. People think because they're smaller than dogs they're ok with tiny uninteresting spaces but that's not really how they work. On that one I have to agree - some people are surprised their cats ignore them, but they don't play, especially to spend energy during the so called zoomies.
tasha0663 5y ago
I love the final look. Dirty steampunk art deco. Like something out of BioShock. Needs some barnacles.
Elof 5y ago
Got the HN hug - https://web.archive.org/web/20210619021024/https://blondihacks.com/furiosas-cat-feeder/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210619021024/https://blondihac...
mousefad 5y ago
I sub to Quinn's youtube channel on the subject of metal machining, and recommend it if you're into that kind of thing. https://www.youtube.com/c/Blondihacks https://www.youtube.com/c/Blondihacks Quinn is both a skilled maker and a wonderful teacher (not to mention having a superb wry sense of humour). The channel is one of the most informative places on "maker youtube". Quinn's amazing!
- camtarn 5y ago
  Agreed! It's great to see Quinn turn up on HN. Her channel is an excellent source of very relaxing machining content.
- Steltek 5y ago
  It's funny how all the machinist youtubers share the same sense of humor. Like, you'd think Quinn and This Old Tony were siblings or something.
h2odragon 5y ago
I half expect the cat to be securing a supply of explosives. "finally convinced her to give up" ... there's a touch of tragedy in that. "We had this lovely game, human, until you spoiled it."
0x002A 5y ago
Thousands of years ago felines decided to domesticate the hoomans for two reasons: continuous and scheduled supply of food and door opening functionality on demand.
tantalor 5y ago
HAMMOND: Yes, yes, yes. That's why we're taking extreme precautions. GRANT: Do they show intelligence? With their brain cavity... MULDOON: They show extreme intelligence, even problem-solving intelligence. Especially the big one. We bred eight originally, but when she came in she took over the pride and killed all but two of the others. That one... when she looks at you, you can see she's working things out. That's why we have to feed them like this. She had them all attacking the fences when the feeders came. SATTLER: But the fences are electrified though, right? MULDOON: That's right, but they never attack the same place twice. They were testing the fences for weaknesses, systematically. They remember. https://youtu.be/DwAOHVBKTwg?t=92 https://youtu.be/DwAOHVBKTwg?t=92
- podiki 5y ago
  :) In the case of some puzzle or hidden feeders (in my other comment), my cat definitely remembers where I've hidden them before. I can watch him go through spots in order to see if it is there first, before trying less used or new ones.
- kingcharles 5y ago
  Clever girl...
- vpribish 5y ago
  that was a roller coaster since first I thought it was Top Gear, then it added Mythbusters, and then X-Files - then I got it.
kelseyfrog 5y ago
> Interestingly, Sprocket has shown zero interest in probing this new feeder for weaknesses. It’s almost as though there’s a psychological effect of the imposing structure that is keeping her from even trying. Imagine this effect worked on people. Could architecture or user interfaces be designed to dissuade people from probing their weaknesses. Where would it be used? To what effect? Just a silly thought.
- Gare 5y ago
  ADX Florence comes to mind: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence
  - wiml 5y ago
    See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon
iio7 5y ago
Just as a side note: NEVER feed your cat dry food! And don't fall for the VET's special dry food. It cannot be overstated just how important this is! https://catinfo.org/ https://catinfo.org/
- sdwr 5y ago
  Yup, that kibble crap is no good. You (hopefully) wouldn't eat Bachelor Chow, why feed it to your pet? It's barely even a cost issue with cats, their body weight is so low compared to people.
- zrobotics 5y ago
  "Soy contains phytoestrogens and soy also negatively influences the thyroid gland" Sorry, stopped reading here. Do you have a source that isn't verging on anti-science nutbar crap? Genuinely interested in the health benefits, but after reading that sentence I can safely say that any claims on that site are suspect at best. The only other times I've run across the soy/phytoestrogen argument have been from anti-vaxxers or Alex Jones level conspiracy BS. And the constant references to Man's ignorance definitely didn't help.
- natdempk 5y ago
  I feel like the arguments laid out on this website are pretty poor and border on nonsensical without sources to back up any of the claims. Are there any sources to back up any of the claims here? Why should we believe this? To refute this website by googling I easily found a fairly well sourced article claiming that the two are basically equivalent and there’s no conclusive research showing dry food is worse for health: https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/cats-and-food-september-2019/ https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/cats-and-food-septemb...
sdwr 5y ago
Looks like it's meant to keep out bears!
agapelojong 5y ago
I don't trust automation to dispense life-essentials like food and water for my cats. Machines fail.
octokatt 5y ago
This was one of the first articles on HackerNews in a while to genuinely make me laugh and enjoy the web. Thanks for posting.

244 points by a_t48 5y ago

Its amazing how the iteration of test and fix turns into armor plated cat feeders and armored-up code. You look at the end point and go "surely that wasn't necessary", but anyone who was around for the development knows that it was just the iterations dictating a crazy looking but complete solution.

dmitrygr 5y ago

A pretty fun read, but the site is struggling. If it does not load for you, here's a cache: https://web.archive.org/web/20210619021044/https://blondihacks.com/furiosas-cat-feeder/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210619021044/https://blondihac...

a_t48 5y ago
Whoops, sorry Quinn (if you see this)
- andrewxdiamond 5y ago
  Quinn is a software engineer IRL, so she very well may!
  - a_t48 5y ago
    I hope so. Quinn is very very indirectly related to me getting into software engineering in the first place. :)

darknavi 5y ago

> You might say I’ve won this battle. However I just spent 20 hours armor-plating a cat feeder. I think we know who’s really in control here, don’t we? The stuff we do for our pets. I use this nifty feeder/hopper in conjunction with an outlet running ESPHome for scheduling: https://superfeederstore.com/wall-mount-cat-feeder-csf-3xl-basic-pack-1-5-gal-hopper/ https://superfeederstore.com/wall-mount-cat-feeder-csf-3xl-b... It's dumb and it works great!

323 5y ago

Why google for 5 minutes when you can weld for 5 hours :) https://petspruce.com/tamper-proof-automatic-cat-feeder/ https://petspruce.com/tamper-proof-automatic-cat-feeder/ https://felinefollower.com/top/tamper-proof-automatic-cat-feeder/ https://felinefollower.com/top/tamper-proof-automatic-cat-fe... Also, is this site hosted on a solar powered raspberry pi? It's down with 5 comments and 20 upvotes.

wlesieutre 5y ago
Just because a cat feeder says it's cat proof doesn't mean it is cat proof
- dwild 5y ago
  There's definitely some that are. I pet sitted the cat of a friend which had a feeder and the cat always tried to do the same technic of putting his paw into it and it never worked. The crazy thing is that it was clearly a cheap product as it was powered by USB and both side of the cable was USB A.
  - wlesieutre 5y ago
    Ha! I may have the same one. Round porthole window on the front where you can see how full it is?
borski 5y ago
The one she modified also said pet proof ;) “PET-PROOF: The feeder is designed to keep prying paws from sneaking food before scheduled mealtimes”
Smoosh 5y ago
That first link has some weird repetitive text about the litter box. Odd.
Nextgrid 5y ago
Both these websites reek of SEO spam.

podiki 5y ago

What a journey! My vet recommended more puzzle feeders and moving to get rid of the free dry food (I do wet food in morning/night), both to control how much the cat eats and to give them something to do. After all, in the wild food is not free, they have to hunt for it. One they recommended was something like [0] which is what I've been using. Works pretty well in that most of the time the cat knows he can't get food from me (though smart enough to know I fill them up and hide them). Adds a little game and great if you'll be out of the house for a while. So there's no longer a bowl for dry food at all, he has to "hunt" for his mice. Though I'm guilty of sometimes giving some bonus food, I think it is a helpful system. I think he'd be all over an autofeeder just like in this story (already have to hide the big dry food bag as he'll get into it). [0] https://docandphoebe.com/ https://docandphoebe.com/

a_t48 5y ago
I wish I could feed mine wet - but one of them requires specialized dry food (Ultramino) that doesn't come in wet :(
amelius 5y ago
The problem with this approach is that you'll have spilled bits of cat food all around the house.
- heyheyhey 5y ago
  Yep, had this problem with one of those "ball feeders". My solution was to put it in bathtub.
  - kelnos 5y ago
    We have a ball feeder, but this ends up not being a problem; he eats every scrap of the food that comes out, even if there are smaller crumbs. I guess it helps that we feed him on a wood floor, not carpet, too.
    - Breza 5y ago

Sniffnoy 5y ago

(2016)

jasone 5y ago

Previously discussed: - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13230904 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13230904 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13271746 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13271746

hycaria 5y ago

I would've stopped at the part where the cat can make them fall one by one with her paw. Let her grab food that way, that will make her busy longer than when dropping the meals.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

RicoElectrico 5y ago

Do we know whether it's potentially possible to rewire cat behavior, or are their brains set in stone after some time? - Like in the TFA, food insecurity - Un-feralizing cats reliably It seems that cats are odd one out with respect to adaptation. Dogs can have temporary issues when adapting to new owners or envinonments, but given some time they can cope. Even wild animals we don't consider domesticated can adapt better than cats.

stormbrew 5y ago
I don't even know where to start with this. Do you really believe cats are somehow uniquely incapable of adaptation or learning? House cats are, for whatever reason: - very routine driven, - very sensitive to food availability, - get bored really easily. This combination means that if you regularly disrupt those things you force the cat to constantly adapt. Most animals (including humans!) don't deal well with that. Honestly I think most bad behavior for cats is that third point. People think because they're smaller than dogs they're ok with tiny uninteresting spaces but that's not really how they work. Especially if you have more than one, but if you do only have one then they're gonna get incredibly bored. Anyways, in my house we have 4 cats and we managed to "train" them into more or less free feeding from all being pretty food insecure by just using rfid-controlled feeder bowls that only open for the right cat, so there's some anecdata for being able to change cat behaviour.
- RicoElectrico 5y ago
  > This combination means that if you regularly disrupt those things you force the cat to constantly adapt. I did not imply regular disruption. But take this example - I have read/heard about semi-feral cats which were regularly fed for over a year by somebody before allowing to be touched. At this rate you could make it so for wild animals typically found at human settlements like squirrels and corvids. So, no change after the beginning, yet it took a year for the cat before realizing humans are friendly. > Honestly I think most bad behavior for cats is that third point. People think because they're smaller than dogs they're ok with tiny uninteresting spaces but that's not really how they work. On that one I have to agree - some people are surprised their cats ignore them, but they don't play, especially to spend energy during the so called zoomies.

tasha0663 5y ago

I love the final look. Dirty steampunk art deco. Like something out of BioShock. Needs some barnacles.

Elof 5y ago

Got the HN hug - https://web.archive.org/web/20210619021024/https://blondihacks.com/furiosas-cat-feeder/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210619021024/https://blondihac...

mousefad 5y ago

I sub to Quinn's youtube channel on the subject of metal machining, and recommend it if you're into that kind of thing. https://www.youtube.com/c/Blondihacks https://www.youtube.com/c/Blondihacks Quinn is both a skilled maker and a wonderful teacher (not to mention having a superb wry sense of humour). The channel is one of the most informative places on "maker youtube". Quinn's amazing!

camtarn 5y ago
Agreed! It's great to see Quinn turn up on HN. Her channel is an excellent source of very relaxing machining content.
Steltek 5y ago
It's funny how all the machinist youtubers share the same sense of humor. Like, you'd think Quinn and This Old Tony were siblings or something.

h2odragon 5y ago

I half expect the cat to be securing a supply of explosives. "finally convinced her to give up" ... there's a touch of tragedy in that. "We had this lovely game, human, until you spoiled it."

0x002A 5y ago

Thousands of years ago felines decided to domesticate the hoomans for two reasons: continuous and scheduled supply of food and door opening functionality on demand.

tantalor 5y ago

HAMMOND: Yes, yes, yes. That's why we're taking extreme precautions. GRANT: Do they show intelligence? With their brain cavity... MULDOON: They show extreme intelligence, even problem-solving intelligence. Especially the big one. We bred eight originally, but when she came in she took over the pride and killed all but two of the others. That one... when she looks at you, you can see she's working things out. That's why we have to feed them like this. She had them all attacking the fences when the feeders came. SATTLER: But the fences are electrified though, right? MULDOON: That's right, but they never attack the same place twice. They were testing the fences for weaknesses, systematically. They remember. https://youtu.be/DwAOHVBKTwg?t=92 https://youtu.be/DwAOHVBKTwg?t=92

podiki 5y ago
:) In the case of some puzzle or hidden feeders (in my other comment), my cat definitely remembers where I've hidden them before. I can watch him go through spots in order to see if it is there first, before trying less used or new ones.
kingcharles 5y ago
Clever girl...
vpribish 5y ago
that was a roller coaster since first I thought it was Top Gear, then it added Mythbusters, and then X-Files - then I got it.

kelseyfrog 5y ago

> Interestingly, Sprocket has shown zero interest in probing this new feeder for weaknesses. It’s almost as though there’s a psychological effect of the imposing structure that is keeping her from even trying. Imagine this effect worked on people. Could architecture or user interfaces be designed to dissuade people from probing their weaknesses. Where would it be used? To what effect? Just a silly thought.

Gare 5y ago
ADX Florence comes to mind: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence
- wiml 5y ago
  See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon

iio7 5y ago

Just as a side note: NEVER feed your cat dry food! And don't fall for the VET's special dry food. It cannot be overstated just how important this is! https://catinfo.org/ https://catinfo.org/

sdwr 5y ago
Yup, that kibble crap is no good. You (hopefully) wouldn't eat Bachelor Chow, why feed it to your pet? It's barely even a cost issue with cats, their body weight is so low compared to people.
zrobotics 5y ago
"Soy contains phytoestrogens and soy also negatively influences the thyroid gland" Sorry, stopped reading here. Do you have a source that isn't verging on anti-science nutbar crap? Genuinely interested in the health benefits, but after reading that sentence I can safely say that any claims on that site are suspect at best. The only other times I've run across the soy/phytoestrogen argument have been from anti-vaxxers or Alex Jones level conspiracy BS. And the constant references to Man's ignorance definitely didn't help.
natdempk 5y ago
I feel like the arguments laid out on this website are pretty poor and border on nonsensical without sources to back up any of the claims. Are there any sources to back up any of the claims here? Why should we believe this? To refute this website by googling I easily found a fairly well sourced article claiming that the two are basically equivalent and there’s no conclusive research showing dry food is worse for health: https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/cats-and-food-september-2019/ https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/cats-and-food-septemb...

sdwr 5y ago

Looks like it's meant to keep out bears!

agapelojong 5y ago

I don't trust automation to dispense life-essentials like food and water for my cats. Machines fail.

octokatt 5y ago

This was one of the first articles on HackerNews in a while to genuinely make me laugh and enjoy the web. Thanks for posting.