December 01, 2025

Pet feeding reminder

Consistent feeding times are important for pet health, but busy schedules can lead to forgotten meals or double-feeding. This automation reminds you when it’s time to feed your pets and tracks whether feeding has occurred, ensuring your furry family members are properly cared for.

Use cases

Feeding consistency

  • Busy mornings - Don't forget to feed before rushing out
  • Multiple people - Coordinate who feeds to avoid double-feeding
  • Medication timing - Ensure meds are given with food on schedule

Household coordination

  • Kids helping - Remind children of their pet care responsibilities
  • Traveling - Remind pet sitter of feeding times
  • Work from home - Easy to lose track of time

Products needed

Basic setup (reminders only)

Smart home platform
Any platform with time-based automation and notifications
Home Assistant, SmartThings, Hubitat, or even phone reminders

Enhanced setup (tracking completion)

Smart pet feeder
Brands: PetSafe, Petlibro, WOpet, Sure Petcare
Features: WiFi, portion control, feeding logs
Smart button
Brands: Flic, Aqara, SmartThings Button
Press to confirm feeding (for manual feeders)
Contact sensor on food container
Detect when food container is opened
Auto-track feeding without button press
💡 Smart feeder vs. reminder
  • Smart auto-feeder: Dispenses food automatically at set times - no reminder needed
  • Reminder automation: For wet food, special diets, or when you prefer manual feeding
  • Combination: Auto-feeder for dry food, reminders for wet food supplements

Basic automation setup

IF time is 7:00 AM AND pet not fed yet today (optional tracking) THEN send notification "Time to feed the pets" AND announce on kitchen speaker

Automation 1: Morning feeding reminder

Triggers

  • Time is 7:00 AM (adjust to your schedule)

Conditions (optional)

  • Pets not fed today (if tracking)
  • Someone is home
  • Not vacation mode

Actions

  • Send notification: "Time to feed Max and Luna!"
  • Announce on kitchen speaker
  • Optional: Flash kitchen lights

Automation 2: Evening feeding reminder

Triggers

  • Time is 6:00 PM

Conditions

  • Morning feeding confirmed (if tracking)

Actions

  • Send notification: "Time for evening feeding"

Automation 3: Mark as fed (with button)

Triggers

  • Smart button pressed
  • OR Food container contact sensor opened

Actions

  • Set helper variable "pet_fed_today" to true
  • Send confirmation: "Feeding logged for Max and Luna"

Platform-specific examples

Home Assistant logo

Home Assistant

Trigger Time is 7:00 AM
Condition input_boolean.pets_fed_morning is off
Action notify.mobile_app + tts.speak on kitchen speaker
Tip: Create input_boolean to track feeding status, reset at midnight
SmartThings logo

SmartThings

IF Time is 7:00 AM every day
THEN Send push notification to all members
Optional: Use virtual switch to track feeding status
Hubitat logo

Hubitat

Trigger Time is 7:00 AM
Condition Virtual switch "Pets Fed" is off
Action Send push notification + speak on device
Setup: Use Rule Machine with virtual switches
Apple HomeKit logo

Apple HomeKit

When Time of day is 7:00 AM
Do Send notification
Note: Limited native tracking; use Shortcuts for complex logic
Alexa logo

Alexa

When Schedule: 7:00 AM every day
Action Send notification + announce on Echo devices
Tip: Say "Alexa, pets are fed" to log via voice
Google Home logo

Google Home

When Schedule: 7:00 AM daily
Action Announce on Nest speakers
Tip: Say "Hey Google, mark pets as fed"

Advanced features

Feeding status tracking

Track whether feeding has occurred:

  • Button press: Physical confirmation
  • Food container sensor: Automatic detection
  • Smart feeder integration: Feeder reports feeding
  • Voice command: "Pets are fed"
  • Dashboard display: Visual status indicator

Escalating reminders

Persistent reminders if feeding is missed:

  • First reminder: 7:00 AM - Standard notification
  • Second reminder: 7:30 AM - "Pets still waiting for breakfast!"
  • Third reminder: 8:00 AM - High priority + voice announcement
  • Final reminder: 8:30 AM - Alert all family members

Multi-pet management

Track different pets with different schedules:

  • Separate tracking per pet
  • Different feeding times (e.g., puppy needs 3x daily)
  • Medication reminders tied to specific pets
  • Special diet notifications

Dashboard status tile

Visual feeding status:

  • Morning fed: ✅ / ❌
  • Evening fed: ✅ / ❌
  • Last fed time displayed
  • Days since last medication (if applicable)

Family coordination

Prevent double-feeding:

  • Announce to household when fed: "Pets have been fed by Mom"
  • Show feeding status prominently on dashboard
  • Ask for confirmation before second feeding

Common issues and solutions

Reminder comes too early/late

Problem: Feeding time doesn't match your schedule.
Solutions:
  • Adjust reminder time to match your routine
  • Create weekday vs. weekend schedules
  • Tie to motion sensor (when you wake up)
  • Link to morning routine trigger

Pet gets fed twice

Problem: Multiple family members feeding because they don't know it's done.
Solutions:
  • Implement feeding tracking with confirmation
  • Announce to whole house when fed
  • Show status on kitchen dashboard
  • Visual indicator (physical sign or smart display)

Reminder when already fed

Problem: Getting reminders even after feeding.
Solutions:
  • Add feeding tracking via button or sensor
  • Add condition to check if fed before reminding
  • Use snooze action on notification
  • Voice command to cancel reminder

Tracking not resetting

Problem: Fed status stays "fed" and reminders never trigger.
Solutions:
  • Create automation to reset status at midnight
  • Reset both morning and evening trackers
  • Verify reset automation is running
  • Check for automation errors in logs

Best practices

Timing feeding reminders

Morning feeding:

Evening feeding:

Tracking methods comparison

Smart button (manual):

Food container sensor:

Smart feeder integration:

Pet-specific considerations

Dogs:

Cats:

Multiple pets:

Related automations:

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