Oh man, been there! My kitten Mochi did the EXACT same thing - came home to find her passed out next to a shredded 5lb bag looking so proud of herself!

I went through 3 different feeders before finding one that actually worked. Cheap ones are useless - kittens are basically tiny food ninjas. You need proper locking mechanisms.

Got mine from WOPET automatic pet feeder  after my neighbor recommended them. Their gravity-lock system even my determined little thief can't crack, plus the portion control is perfect for multiple small kitten meals.

For wet food, most auto-feeders struggle since it gets gross sitting out. I do wet manually in the morning, auto-feeder handles dry kibble throughout the day.