Ever since Pierre decided he didn’t want to eat in the bathroom where he had eaten most of his life, we’ve had a problem: Ashton wants her food and his, too. She will hurriedly eat her own food, and then nudge Pierre out of the way to eat his meal. Once Ashton had pushed Pierre off of his food, he was reluctant to start eating again for fear that she was going to ambush him again. So every meal meant someone had to stand over Pierre to protect his food from Ashton. The idea of having a cat bowl that only let Pierre eat from it and refused Ashton’s advances was very appealing!
The SureFeed microchip feeder looks like something out of Star Trek, with angled plastic side pieces that support a bar that goes over the top of the cat, reading the cat’s microchip to see if he is permitted to eat there. The feeder ships with a tag you can put on your cat’s collar to serve as their personal identifier to the SureFeed if your cat isn’t microchipped.
The feeder also comes with a pair of bowls. One bowl has a divider in it, and the other is a single compartment. The bowl is nearly 5 x 7″ so it is plenty wide to avoid whisker stress. There is a rubber lip around the top edge of each bowl that meets the top of the feeder when it is closed to help keep food fresh. The bowls are plastic, and I was a little disappointed that they aren’t ceramic. I’m looking for a ceramic or stainless bowl in a similar size now to use until the company manufactures them for the feeder. UPDATE Februrary 2016: There is a stoneware oval bowl from Petrageous that fits well as a replacement for the original plastic bowl. A bonus is that it’s microwave-safe, so I can heat Pierre’s food a few seconds in the microwave to stimulate him to eat on his finicky days without having to dirty an extra bowl.
If want to color coordinate your cat feeder with your decor, you can get additional colors of bowls and matching mats to go in the area where your cat puts his front paws. I can see the colors helpful if you have two feeders and want to be able to tell which is for which cat.
Setting up the feeder was really easy. You start by putting in four C batteries, which the company says will last six months. The batteries in my feeder are at about six weeks and going strong.
To teach the feeder your cat’s microchip, press the learning button on the back and toss some treats into the bowl. The feeder locks in the open position, and the cat who puts his head into the bowl to take the treats has his microchip read and is recorded as an authorized cat. It’s that easy. The sensor is fairly strong. Pierre’s microchip has migrated so the chip is actually over his shoulder blade instead of being between his shoulder blades, but the SureFeed had no problem reading it.
Once the cat is authorized, the feeder has a series of training settings designed to allow your cat to get used to the idea of a moving door over their food. On the beginner setting, the feeder is essentially locked in an open position, but the door twitches a little bit when the cat puts his head in to eat. In the medium and advanced training settings, the door closes partially over the food. In this photo, Pierre is approaching the SureFeed on one of its training settings, so the bowl is partially opened even before his chip triggers it.
Pierre graduated surprisingly quickly through the training levels, and soon he was confidently approaching a completely closed feeder, knowing that putting his head under the bar would cause it to open. Within a week, he could eat unsupervised without someone having to stand over him and make sure Ashton didn’t steal his food.
It’s so much easier to manage my hectic mornings when I don’t have to stand over Pierre for however long it takes him to finish eating. I know that his food is safe from Ashton’s intrusion. Just watch:
(If the video doesn’t display here for you, you can visit it directly on YouTube)
That video was recorded the second or third week we were testing the SureFeed. After six weeks, Ashton doesn’t even bother to crowd Pierre while he eats any more. She has learned that it isn’t going to get her any food even if she bullies him into walking away. As far as I know, she only got a bite of food from it once, when I had the feeder set to the longest delay before closing. Pierre had walked away, and lightning-quick, Ashton grabbed one mouthful before it closed on her. I turned down the delay, which is set with a three-position switch on the bottom of the unit, and that hasn’t happened since.
One thing I noticed was that even though my cats are fed only at mealtimes, I would hear Pierre triggering the SureFeed door at various times during the day. The arm mechanism makes a quiet, mechanical noise when it opens that is audible from my desk in the next room. It reminded me of my own habit of opening the refrigerator to look inside for a snack when I know there aren’t any in there. I knew he was finding it empty, and I worried that it might discourage him from using the feeder at mealtimes. So I leave the feeder in the open position unless there is actually food in it.
Overall, I love the SureFeed. It leaves Pierre less stressed out about having Ashton standing over him through most of his meal, and he finishes his whole meal every time without abandoning it. The SureFeed also frees me up from playing referee between Pierre and Ashton during mealtime. Anything that gives me time back in my day while helping my cats feel less stressed out is a big win for me.
FTC Disclosure: We received our SureFeed feeder at no charge from SureFlap in exchange for our honest review. Receiving free product did not influence anything we say. All opinions expressed on this site are our own.
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Summer says
September 10, 2015 at 2:14 amHow awesome! My human totally could have used this while Sparkle was around – she was always a grazer, even before she had eating issues, and Binga and Boodie were always ready to steal her food. Now Binga’s the slowest eater, but she usually finishes in a reasonable amount of time and Boodie and I don’t get any.
marg says
September 10, 2015 at 5:26 amThat does look like a great feeder to have. And it sure looks like it works well. My problem would be that the cats here don’t wear collars simply because most of them go outside and I don’t want them to get caught in anything.
You all have a great day.
SureFlap says
September 10, 2015 at 6:40 amHi Marg, just wanted to let you know that the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder works with a cat’s microchip too so there’s no need for collars!
Kim Ullrich says
January 1, 2017 at 5:54 pmOh, please tell me how it works with the microchip! I have a cancer survivor that is very timid and a easily upset tummy who walks away from the bully (kitty #3). He is 17 lbs and the others are only 9 and 11. The cancer survivor does not wear a collar.
The Island Cats says
September 10, 2015 at 6:01 amThis feeder is very interesting! I’m the slow eater around here and Wally is getting fat because he’s always eating my food. I’m not sure I would eat from the Surefeed feeder. It’s worth exploring, though. ~Ernie
The Daily Pip says
September 10, 2015 at 6:11 amWow, this looks great. I wonder if it would help keep Ruby (our dog) away from the cat food. She ALWAYS tries to eat their food. Looks like a great product
Hannah and Lucy says
September 10, 2015 at 6:55 amThat looks like a good idea but can’t see that it would make much difference here as Hannah and Lucy mostly eat different food.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Melissa & Mudpie says
September 10, 2015 at 8:13 amWOW!!! That is ridiculously cool! Whoever would have thought that one day we would have a technologically advanced pet bowl!!!
Caren Gittleman says
September 10, 2015 at 8:51 amGreat in theory but Cody is so food obsessed that he would knock that thing to Kingdom Come! Great review though!
catchatwithcarenandcody
Madi and Mom says
September 10, 2015 at 9:32 amAshton darlin’ I’m with you….snooze and you lose Pierre!. I think it is a sin not to eat all your foodable lickety split
hugs madi your bfff
Brian Frum says
September 10, 2015 at 9:34 amOh my, I see a use for diets coming. Whoever is on a diet it doesn’t open, yikes! That is pretty darn cool though.
Random Felines says
September 10, 2015 at 10:28 amvery interesting…that would be great for grazers or special diets. mom always wonders if Mo is eating enough or getting access to enough and this would be ideal….
Jenna Meow says
September 10, 2015 at 10:43 amVery interesting. When I first saw this I thought that it was intended for homes which have neighborhood cats wonder in and try to eat. Never thought about its use in a multi-cat household.
William says
September 10, 2015 at 11:13 amWow! What an interesting feeder! I wish it could work here, but Izzy is an equal opportunity food bully–we’d need four for the rest of us. I think what *he* needs is a cat-size hamster ball to be in at dinnertime. Ha! THAT would fix him!
Raven says
September 10, 2015 at 11:29 amIngenious design and your video shows it works great and could be a good solution for reasonably polite cats. You did a very thorough review.
Connie says
September 10, 2015 at 12:09 pmnow that is interesting. Did Ashton try eating from the sides? I just know that my food thieves would have their head in the bowls any way they could.
I love that you were able to find ceramic bowls that fit!
Sometimes, Cats Herd You says
September 10, 2015 at 1:04 pmThere are clear plastic sides so a cat would have to be a giraffe — or an anteater — to reach around them and nab the food from the open feeder. She did try to paw at the closed feeder, but my video of that was too out of focus to share. And I haven’t found ceramic bowls to fit yet, but I will, even if it means custom-ordering from someone on Etsy. I know that SureFeed has had a lot of requests for ceramic bowls, so I suspect they’ll make something avialable at some point. I’m just not that patient!
Fur Everywhere says
September 10, 2015 at 12:15 pmReading your review only confirms for me that this would be the perfect solution for Carmine and Milita. I so wish I could afford one!!
I’m really glad that this has worked out so well for Pierre. A less stressed kitty is definitely a good thing, and it’s great that he’s eating all of his meals now!
Emma and Buster says
September 10, 2015 at 12:28 pmReal high tech and looks very useful in this case. It probably be useful in our house too.
da tabbies o trout towne says
September 10, 2015 at 12:34 pmguys……ther must bee sum thin in de air; coz de same scenario
haz oh curred round heer…
for 11 yeerz boomer & dai$y have eaten two gether with NOE trubullz
….this yeer… theef Dai$y… haz dee sided her kneads two eat her
foodz AND boomerz….{ who iz a slow eater }
ther food serviss purrson haz taken ta feedin em at diffrunt times…
thiz feeder looks awesum & iz a grate eye dea……sad lee eye am
de onlee “chipped” cat & non oh uz will wear a collar
grate ree view { N movie two } ♥♥♥ 🙂
tuna of moon ~~~~
Dezi and Lexi says
September 10, 2015 at 1:36 pmMOL Oh Ashton dat’s so not fair. MOL Weez need one of those fur sure. Sis Lexi is such a food thief too. And she’s only posed to be eatin’ hers special noms. Y’all have a gweat day and enjoy yous own platefuls fwum now on. MOL
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
Katie Isabella says
September 10, 2015 at 3:20 pmMY goodness…I am amazed that someone thought of this!
Katie Isabella says
September 10, 2015 at 3:23 pmI totally LOVE that video! What a great thing for those two…and Ashton, I would not have thought of you as rood!
McCormack Cats says
September 10, 2015 at 4:03 pmThat’s a clever machine. It’s a great idea especially in multi-cat households. Kitty xxx
Flynn says
September 10, 2015 at 5:36 pmWhat a great idea, and it works so well for Pierre.
Annie says
September 10, 2015 at 6:51 pmThis is a really interesting product! You guys did an awesome review including the movie! It’s almost as if this was created for your household! I’m impressed that Pierre no longer feels the need to leave his food in anticipation of Ashton coming along. As timid and nervous and fearful as Annie can be (although she’s gotten better over the years), she has surprised me by sometimes pushing Pierrot out of his food bowl and eating his food, and even more surprising, Pierrot lets her!
The Florida Furkids says
September 10, 2015 at 6:57 pmThat’s really pawsome. We’re pretty good at sharing here. Everyone has their own bowl and we all respect each other’s bowl.
The Florida Furkids
Cathy Keisha says
September 10, 2015 at 8:13 pmAshton is not a happy cat. She gives the feeder 4 paws down.
Mark's Mews says
September 10, 2015 at 8:58 pmNow THAT looks seriously innerestin!!!
Savannah's Paw Tracks says
September 11, 2015 at 9:25 amExcellent review…but then all of yours are so thorough and interesting. This product is very unique. The designers were very informed about food thief behavior. If we still worked we would have one in a heart beat for Savvy. Sage is such a food hog!
Kitties Blue says
September 16, 2015 at 10:03 amMom wants five of these. But she doesn’t like the plastic bowls and at $149.00 each (she just checked the website) it is out of the question. For a family with fewer cats, this would work really well. Thank you for the review as we didn’t even know something like this existed. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
Amy says
April 3, 2017 at 7:56 pmOne of my geriatric cats now has cancer and on a special diet. The other two can eat the same food, but Harry is a food bully. Having to put them in separate rooms is not working. I saw their ad in the Catster magazine at the vet’s today, and am going to have to buy 3, I guess. I sent a support request to see if I could get a discount in buying 3, as the cancer meds are going to cost a pretty penny.