Sure Petcare SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder with Sealed Lid, RFID Collar Tags Compatible, Works for Wet and Dry Food, White, 4 x C Cell Batteries Required, Not Included

Very happy with these, worked perfectly! These bowls were so easy to set up, there is an instruction manual that goes through the steps but it is incredibly simple. You just need to press the 'register a pet' button, then place the pet you wish to register the bowl to under the little arch and you're ready to go!There is a training mode so you can get your pet used to the lid being open/partly open, before going into normal mode. Our cats took to this very quickly with a few treats, and by day two it was like they'd been using them their whole lives.We bought this to stop one cat stealing food from the other and they work great! I will say if you have particularly crafty pets, you definitely will want to also invest in the back cover as our greedy cat quickly worked out that she could sneak food round the back if she was quick enough.There is a bit of whirring and a clicking noise as the flap opens/closes which made our cats jump a little bit at first, but they were completely used to the noise after a few days and it no longer spooked them. But be aware of that if you have a more nervous pet, it may take them a bit longer to get used to the noise.I tested the collision sensor and it works fairly well too, it wasn't strong enough to trap or hurt my hand at all and the flap immediately stops moving as soon as it senses there being something in the way which was reassuring.

This was our last resort as we have 2 cats on renal diet who were either being nudged off the food by the others or leaving some for later only to come back and find it gone. According to the vet, renal is high in carbohydrate so not good for normal cats and even they said it's very expensive food to feed every day.We tried to take the food up when they had finished but it wasn't possible to watch it all the time every time. Similarly, if we did take it up and were't there to put it back down when they came back, they wouldn't get any. One of the cats is less bold cat and we could tell that he had started losing weight.Even after reading product reviews, we were slightly concerned that this wouldn't work; a combination of our experiences with an RFID cat flap that just doesn't detect the collar tags (we ended up sticking a disc to the flap) and the fact that the vet struggles to find their chips with the detector sometimes. An £89 gamble.Arrival as usual was prompt and, equally as usual, it came in a box about twice the size it needed to be in which one cat immediately set up home. We ordered the 4xC batteries it needed at the same time.Unpacking it, the unit needs no assembly and is a one piece. The arch that detects the cats is tilted back at about 45 degrees and the side triangles below it are sealed off with clear plastic. A clear, square lid covers the food, which is hinged left to right in its centre and, when open, folds back to block access from the back, so only the cat who entered from the front through the arch can get to the food.The batteries were easy to insert (2 in each side). It comes with a single grey tray in the feeder. A separate box contains a grey mat which sits at the front of the feeder and a second tray with a split down the middle so you can put dry in one side and wet in the other. Full, clear instructions are provided and there is also a collar disc to use if your cat isn't microchipped (if you need more than one, extra can be bought separately though probably as cheap and more useful in the long term to get your cat chipped).There are three buttons around the back; a big Open/Close (for filling/cleaning), Learn (to identify the cats using it) and Training (to get the cats used to how it works).We had one cat using the collar disc (he has no chip) and the other one has a chip. The unit easily learnt both cats and despite what the book says about using treats to get the cats to go in the arch, we found carrying them and just putting them through the arch and back was enough for the unit to identify them first time. The first fears about the unit not picking up correctly had been allayed. We've noticed that it seems to pick the collar disc up from a little further away than the chip but there's not a huge difference.The training mode has a three stages, all explained in the leaflet. The first stage has the door is fully open so they can get used to eating within the arch. The second stage leaves the lid slightly closed (about 2/3 open) then opens fully when they enter and are eating so they get used to the lid moving. When they finish eating, it closes to 2/3 open again. The final training step is the same but with the lid beginning only 1/3 open.We ended up not really using the training modes, largely because the other cats would come and eat the food, so we just opened it manually when they came up. One ate straight away but the other didn't like being in the enclosed space so we had to move the bowl out in front of the feeder where he eventually ate. By the second day, the bolder one was activating it himself and eating. We think he may be a bit hard of hearing so the sound of the door possibly didn't affect him, and he just didn't mind the movement. The other cat was very spooked by the lid movement and sound and we had to keep putting the bowl out to the front of the feeder with lots of strokes. Each time, we'd get the bowl closer and finally into the feeder where he would eat but still be spooked by the door. He finally got used to the noise and movement of the door when we opened it manually and after seeing the other cat eating. After only a couple of days, he was also activating it himself.They now come and go as they please, knowing there will be food there (renal cats eat little and often). The lid makes a whirr noise which isn't very loud but can definitely be heard and we now realise how often they must have been looking for food only to find the others had eaten it.There has been one incident of tailgating; the feeder is wide enough for two cats side by side (if they put up with each other) so one of the non-renal diet cats managed to sneak in one time. This isn't a common occurrence though and there's no system that would prevent that.It has been ultra reliable and the weight loss we were worried about seems to be reversing itself. The other cats don't try to paw their way in to the food despite being able to see and presumably smell it, so have reluctantly accepted that they can't have that food.Can't comment on battery life as we have only had it a week or so but at £7 a time, we are hoping to get a good few months out of them.In summary, we were doubtful about this but didn't have many other ideas. It has been a huge success. It's perfect for cats on a special diet and should be good to stop cats overeating. The only minus is the cost. If it was cheaper, we'd definitely get one for each cat to make sure they're getting the right amount of the right food each day. For now, the special diet cats are sorted and we will feed the others manually.It's a shame their other product, the Sureflap cat door has poor draught-proofing and doesn't have a timer (to only allow exit between certain times). The Catmate door we have has good draught-proofing and the timer but doesn't sense the collar discs it comes with yet alone the cat's chips. The two companies should get together as that would be the ideal product combination.

These are brilliant. Although they are quite expensive they really do the job. Had to get two as one my cats has to be on a special diet and medication. The training period was quite straightforward and they were both eating out of them without any problems after a week. Probably would have been sooner but I didn’t want to rush it for them. Would definitely recommend them if you need to ensure that a cat can only eat out of one bowl.