Review: SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder
When we got our Labrador pup, Lexi, last year I knew that she was a breed known for their love of food and not necessarily just her own food. As she’s grown she has discovered many ways of pinching food whether it be by ‘surfing’ our coffee table for abandoned treats or chowing down on the food left out for our three cats.
Having had enough of replacing the stolen cat food I decided to look for alternative methods of keeping Lexi out of the cat food bowl and I came across the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder on Amazon which seemed to be exactly what I needed!
The SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder has been designed to ensure that only the appropriate animal eats from the bowl. It uses technology which scans the food-seeker and reads either a microchip or RFID collar tag to decide if it should pull back the plastic cover and allow said food-seeker to access the food. If the microchip is not recognised or if there is no RFID tag then access is denied.
All three of our cats are microchipped, however, there is a RFID collar tag included in the box for non-chipped pets. It is compatible with all pet microchips worldwide and is suitable for both wet or dry food. The dispenser can be programmed for up to 32 animals which makes it perfect for homes with multiple pets, like ours. The feeder opens automatically for approved pets and locks again when the animal moves away.
I admit I was a little concerned that it would be a long and tricky process to programme the cats’ microchips into the feeder but I was delighted to discover the method is simple; press the ‘Add Pet’ button and place your pet within reading distance of the feeder’s scanner, after a few moments the microchip is scanned, logged and permanently stored in memory. Easy!
Once set up the approved pet (in our case our cats) need only approach the feeder and place their head under the plastic arch which scans and gives them access to the food. The plastic lid is then drawn up and the cat can enjoy their meal. It does take some time for the approved pet to get used to using the feeder and one of our cats, Charlie, is a little freaked out at the moving lid, but it’s just a matter of practice to get used to it. There is a training function to help the pet getting used to the dispenser.
However, if Lexi decides it’s time for her naughty treat and tries to access the food she is not recognised as an approved pet and the lid stays where it is. I have seen her try a number of times to get to the food but the SureFeed feeder has prevented her every time! Perfect!
SureFlap and SureFeed products have been recognised as being ‘Cat Friendly’ winning awards in 2014 & 2015 for being the best products in their categories and I can understand why! So far I have been very impressed with the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder and intend to use it moving forward to prevent Lexi stealing any more cat food! I award it 5 out of 5 stars.
