Methodology
This page states the limits of the data openly, because a limit that is admitted builds trust and a limit that is hidden is just waiting to be found.
No physical testing is performed
The products listed here are not bought, handled, or operated by anyone working on this site. Nothing on these pages describes first-hand use, and no claim of practical experience is made anywhere.
That is a real limitation, and it is why this site is built as a specification database rather than a set of reviews. Publications with physical access to products can describe how a feeder behaves after a month in a kitchen. This site answers a different question: what does the manufacturer actually commit to, in writing, and where can you check it yourself.
Where the data comes from
- Specifications come from manufacturer product pages, user manuals, retailer listings and standards documents. Every single value stores which of those it came from.
- Known issues come from real owner reports and forum threads, linked to the original discussion. They are stored separately from specifications and can never be presented as one: the database rejects an owner report used as a source for a specification.
Every value carries a source and a date
A value without a source link and a verification date cannot enter the database — the build fails rather than publishing it. This is enforced in code, not by discipline. The same check flags any source older than 180 days for re-verification, and pages show when a value was last checked.
Missing data stays missing
When a manufacturer does not publish a number, no number is shown. An unknown value is never treated as a "no" in the filters, because that is how a product ends up wrongly listed as working without Wi-Fi — precisely the question people came to answer.
When there is no good answer
If no product genuinely fits a combination of requirements, the page says so and shows the closest compromise together with what it gives up. Pages are not generated for combinations with too few matching products.
Links to shops
Where paid links exist, they are marked and disclosed at the top of every page. Whether a link earns a commission has no effect on any value in the database, because the values are entered from sources and rendered by template, not selected by hand.
Who maintains this
The database is compiled and maintained by Maren Penhale. More about who is behind this site.
Corrections
If a value here disagrees with the source, or a source has moved, write to contact@petgearindex.com and it will be re-checked.