I have an automated feeder for my 2 cats. One has a better time sense than the other and would camp out and devour both bowls when it dispensed.

We got a timer and set it to chime when the feeder went off, which helped.

The feeder has an app that triggers an alert on my phone and now if my phone makes that alert sound, they perk up and bolt to the basement.

So they’ve also learned to associate the alert sound to food….