Automated Life

Feeding Individual Diets in Multi-pet Homes

Stacy Mantle 9 years ago

There are few things as frustrating as trying to make sure your cats are receiving the proper diet in a multipet home. When dogs are sneaking bites of dry food, or you’re making your best attempt to keep the weight of a gluttonous obese cat while you’re mild-mannered feline meekly awaits dinner, life can become suddenly complex.

Thankfully, we have some new technology that will allow you to feed individualized diets to multiple pets. Things have come a long way since we last discussed this topic!

Bowls and feeders are also available to help keep pets out of the cat food, or to assist in feeding individual diets in multi-pet households. So if feeding individual diets to multiple pets is a problem, it’s time to invest in a feeder. We found a few that are very promising!

[note style=”5″ icon=”yes” class=”template-style”]We use affiliate links where possible. Thank you for your support in using these links! We received a SureFlap SureFeed unit for review. This has not impacted our review in any way and we were not required to write about either unit.[/note]

SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder from SureFlap

Cost: $149.95

Warranty: 3 yrs

Battery/AC: Both

Features:

Allow cats to naturally graze throughout the day without the worry of their food being eaten or contaminated
Stop dogs and small children from accessing your cat’s food
Watch your cat enjoy fresher food thanks to the sealed bowl
Keeps your home free of odors and even flies

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As your pet approaches the feeder, it recognizes their microchip or RFID collar tag, only opening for them. The door then automatically closes when the cat moves away, preventing all other animals and children gaining access to their food.

The Surefeed is an innovative solution to the problem of an overweight cat consuming the food of another (possibly meeker) cat. This feeding station appears to be compact and easy to use, utilizing RFID technology to automatically close the bowl when an “unauthorized” cat is present. The RFID technology is already available in all microchips and if your cat is not microchipped, it comes with one RFID collar tag.

“This is a high-tech answer to an age old problem,” says Piers Hampson, Marketing Director for SureFlap. “This feeder has a lid that seals over the food bowl that will only open when it recognizes and identifies the cat that is trying to access the food. No longer will you be stuck trying to control who eats what, this feeder will do it for you.”

When a cat approaches the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder it is identified by either the pets embedded identification microchip or a SureFlap RFID collar tag. This feeder is perfect for multi-pet households where stealing food is a problem and it also allows cats to naturally graze throughout the day. It’s a great way to ensure that prescription food is consumed by the right pet and the closed bowl provides a seal that keeps food fresher and prevents pests from accessing it. As an added bonus, the sealed bowl means no more stinky cat food odors.

This cat is like, ‘What the heck? I wasn’t even done!”

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Wireless Whiskers AutoDiet Pet Feeder

Cost: $129.99 – $159.99
Warranty: 3 yrs
Battery/AC: Both
Dimensions: Approximately 16 x 9 x 16 inches (l x w x h)
Capacity: about 5 lbs of dry food
Features:
Displays individual feeding statistics, including today’s and yesterday’s totals and percentage of daily allowance.
Separates different food types by allowing or locking out certain pets according to diet (kitten, adult or prescription food)
Welcomes up to 8 PETS by NAME.

LOCK OUT or Allow Selected Pets.
Stops Greedy Pets from Pigging Out.
Sets Separate Weight Loss DIETS!
KEEPS OUT specific Cats or Dogs.
SLEEP-IN – Pets Feed Themselves!
GETAWAY – Holds 5lbs of dry food.
Control ACCESS to Rx food types.

Not Ready for the High-Tech?

If you’re not quite ready to embrace the digital revolution, a new product from the developers of LitterRobot make keeping your cat’s food inaccessible to other members of the household that much easier and it’s called the Feed-Safe Feeding Station .

This durable domed enclosure allows your smaller pet to eat in peace while larger members (dogs) are denied access. The lid allows easy access to food kept in stainless steel food and water bowls. An adjustable sliding door locks easily into position which allows your smaller pet easy access to food and keeps your larger pet out. An alternate exit allows a double escape if your cat decides they need to a new way to leave the dome.

This secure feeding alternate helps ensure pets are not accessing another pet’s food and we’ll be talking more about this ingenious yet simple solution to pet feeding very soon. Learn more about the FeedSafe Feeding Station.