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

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.

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.

We have two 13year olds and back in 2022 we took in a stray who is now almost 2 years old. At his recent check up the vet called him obese, weighing in at 6.89kgs. Not good for his long term health and he is not even 2 years old yet!!The ladies have never overindulged, with a packet of wet food twice a day between them and free access to biscuits. One prefers the wet and one the biscuits but they both eat a bit of each.Unfortunately our new arrival just eats until everything is gone and even visits the neighbours to steal theirs. Trying to restrict his intake while also ensuring the ladies did not go hungry was stressful for all.Now harmony has been restored and his weight is down to 6.2kgs after about 3 weeks.In addition to only the ladies accessing the bowls the food stays fresher because it is enclosed.The instructions are easy to follow so programming access for the 2 ladies was a breeze as they are both microchipped. I did make a mistake when he was close by, pressing the programming button instead of the open button and so allowing him access. The factory reset and reprogramming was quick and easy.My ladies are generally quick to adapt and learn and only needed a day or so to grasp how to access their food.Try as he might chonky (name changed to protect his anonymity) has not been able to break in and help himself and now rarely does more than sniff at the devices.They are easy to clean and make very little noise, it remains to be seen how long the 9v batteries last.My only cons would be no option to use mains power and the shortest delay in closing the lid feels too long although so far chonky has not actually tried to get his face in the food before the lid closes.They are not cheap but in the long run having stressed out or obese cats would probably cost more to fix.

So, this started off so promising.The cat was constantly having her food stolen by the dog, which was becoming tedious as it was costing me a fortune to feed her, she was being penalised for not eating it in one go & then the dog was having upset stomachs as he was eating cat food & also her medication.I tried moving the bowls elsewhere but we don't have a lot of options as we only have a small house & there are only so many ways you can keep a strong dog out of a room but allow a cat access, plus we didn't really want cat food in the lounge.After a long time debating this, I finally took the plunge & invested in one when it came down in price a little (which I still consider expensive for what it is, but there are not exactly many others on the market to pick from, so my hands were forced somewhat).Firstly, its easy enough to set up & work out how it works. The batteries however are C-Cell which means I had to go out & buy some especially for this unit & they are not cheap.The cat took a week to pick this up & learn how to use it. I set it to the fastest closing time from her stepping back from the bowl & it was working as intended.I was so pleased as I thought we were getting somewhere. And to be fair, we were for the first few months. I could put her food down in the morning & she could go help herself whenever she wanted without fear of her bowl being infiltrated by the dog. She was getting her meds & it meant I wasn't using 4 times the amount of food just to feed her every day.However, one morning I got up & found the unit in the middle of the floor, covered in streaks that looked very much like dog slobber. And it was suspiciously clean. Not a trace of cat food anywhere to be seen. I was not impressed.Try as I might I could not catch him at it however as he isn't daft. I would however know when he's been in it since it was spotless & usually found somewhere else (probably due to getting it stuck round his head, then him pulling away & throwing it halfway across the kitchen). Thankfully it's not broken up to now despite being rough housed by a large dog, so I can at least say the build quality looks good.I've come to the conclusion that he's not forcing it open (Since I struggled to open it from closed, due to the way the mechanism works). I noticed that if I put the bowl down full & the cat didn't go near it, then the food remained all day.However, when the cat is up & about, then as soon as I'm somewhere away from the area, the food is disappearing in its entirety, so I suspect whats he's doing is waiting until the cat opens it & then pushes her out of the way & then the lid cannot close because with him being a german shepherd, he can just keep it open with his nose. I tried it with my hand in it & the unit won't force itself closed if there is an obstruction. Safe for cats to not get injured, not ideal for intruders that have worked this out.Back to the drawing board.I rang Surefeed customer services to ask if they had a cover for the front rather than just the back, as I don't think for one minute he is going in through the back, I believe he is just sticking his head in through the front to keep the flap forced open (which then explains why the cover is then licked clean from the inside, as he's literally forcing it upwards with his face.They broke the news to me that they only do a cover for the back, so basically, I was on my own here.Then I had a brainwave as I bought some fabric boxes the other day from Amazon and had one I had yet to use - so, now I have found a solution to the issue (For now at least). And what do you know, since I placed the feeder inside the box, the food has not yet magically disappeared.I can however say I am happy that it keeps the food fresh all day, keeps flies out & the place doesn't smell of cat food. The cat seems to prefer this as she would have left food before if it had been left out for a few hours & started to dry out, but now she eats all of it (Assuming the dog doesn't get to it first). It lasts all day (again, dog allowing) so I can put her food out in the morning & she can pick all day & its as fresh as when I put it out.So in conclusion, if you have other cats or a small/dumb dog then this works fine. However, as soon as you have a large animal that can sit & watch how this works and work out how to outsmart it (IE allowed animal is the one to trigger it and then there is a very brief window which allows them to get in before the lid closes) then it won't work without some additional measures in place.So I'm giving this 4 stars as you would have thought that the designers of the unit would have come up with something to prevent this by now, even if it's just an additional hood to prevent intruders from the front. And £80 is a lot of money to spend to find out you now need to place it inside a box.