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Review & Giveaway: This High-Tech Feeder Solves an Age-Old Problem!

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Do you share your home with multiple cats? Well, you’re not alone! There are about 96 million pet cats in the United States – and about half of them live in homes with one, two (or more!) other furry friends. And one major problem that many cat parents encounter with multi-cat homes is the struggle that comes with keeping them from eating each other’s food – especially when one or two of them have special dietary needs.

Whether your cat is eating a special diet – due to health needs like diabetes, kidney disease, or even weight restrictions – or if one of your cats likes to graze throughout the day and the other likes to eat everything in sight, feeding time can be a frustration! Until now, that is.

This is where the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder from SureFlap comes in.

Bettycover

Our newest rescue, Betty, licks her lips after a meal

We were impressed with what the feeder claimed it could do, so when they sent us a unit to try for ourselves, we were really excited to put it to the test! It was purr-fect timing, too, because we just added a new rescue kitty named Betty to the family. Betty is a very finicky eater, choosing to graze throughout the day, rather than gobble up all of her food immediately like the rest of the cats in the house. We were still in the process of transitioning her away from the food she was used to eating at the shelter and trying to keep the resident cats out of it. You can imagine this feeder came at just the right time!

How Does it Work?

The feeder has an automatic lid that opens and closes when your cat approaches it. It knows your cat is near because it recognizes his or her microchip or, if he doesn’t have one, an included RFID tag you hang from your cat’s collar. So, your cat is registered to the feeder, he approaches it, it opens and he eats. When he’s finished eating and walks away, the feeder will close so that no other cats (or dogs, or bugs!) can get to his food. How easy is that?

Betty_surefeed1

The SureFeed recognizes Betty’s microchip and opens only for her when she approaches!

Betty came from the shelter already microchipped. I was pleasantly surprised at just how easy it was to have the feeder recognize her chip. I simply pressed the “Add Pet” button on the feeder, put some of her favorite treats in the bowl, and waited for her to eat them. A flashing light indicated that the feeder had stored her microchip information into its permanent memory. Now every time she approaches the feeder, it senses she is there and opens to allow her (and only her) access to her food. When the other cats are near it – even those with their own microchips, the feeder stays firmly closed.

If you wanted to, you could store up to 32 pets’ microchip information into one feeder, so if you wanted to use a SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder simply to keep your cats’ food fresh throughout the day, it would work perfectly to allow multiple cats to eat from the same dish.

What About Scaredy Cats?

Well, in addition to being a picky eater, Betty is also a bit of a scaredy cat. Understanding the importance of allowing your cat to get used to their new feeder for a few days without lid movement, the folks at SureFeed incorporated a Training Mode into the feeder. In Part 1 of the training, the bowl simply stays open and never closes. This gives your cat a chance to get comfortable and confident before introducing movement with the lid. Now, some cats simply won’t care – but this was a very helpful feature for our scaredy cat, Betty!

In Part 2 of the training, the lid will close slightly after your cat finishes eating, giving your cat a chance to get used to the movement. Part 3 closes the lid a little bit more, and so on.

What Else Can This Feeder Do?

The SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder isn’t just for multiple cat homes, though it excels in that area.
However, here are some of the other great benefits of this PAWsome feeder:
• Keeps food fresh – When the lid closes, it creates a tight seal, keeping it fresh. Dry food stays crunchy and wet food stays soft!
• Keeps dogs and children out of the cat food, too
• Ants and flies are no longer a problem
• Great for weight control
• Easily monitor how much and how often your cat is eating, and detect changes in your pet’s feeding patterns
• Keep prescription food separate from other pets in the home

It’s been several weeks now, and Betty is happily eating from her SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder. She can graze on her food of choice whenever she pleases, and the other cats in the house aren’t able to steal her food and get fat or get an upset stomach from it, since it’s a different brand of food from what they’re used to. It’s a win-win for all of us!

And now here’s your chance to win a SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder! Closing date for entries is 24 October 2015, when one lucky winner will be chosen at random. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to learn more about the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder or purchase one for your cat? Visit sureflap.com!

Editors Note: This post is sponsored by SureFlap, who provided a free SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder for review. However, the opinions are 100% ours! We never recommend a product we haven’t tested and tried with our own cats.

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