SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder Connect - Requires Hub (Sold Separately)

I am so beyond thrilled with this product. It’s definitely pricey, but totally worth every penny. You do have to separately buy a lot of the parts, like the home device so you can monitor your cars food intake through WiFi and Bluetooth. Easy to clean, travel, and use! I have it connected to my cats microchip and it works very well. Training mode is extremely helpful when introducing it to your cat, my siamese adjusted/finished training after two days. I bought it because my moms cat and dog will eat my cats food when I bring him home. It’s a wonderful product because it helps my cat feel confident to eat and that no one is gonna take his food. It truly only works for him and the other animals can’t access his food!

After rescuing 3 cats, who ended up all with different nutritional needs (kitten vs adult, special GI food for one, and medications for the other), ensuring everyone got what they needed was almost impossible. Surefeed was the perfect solution and has offered such peace of mind - everyone gets their full portions (no food stealing), i only have to pay for the medicated food for the kitty who needs it, and the cats can graze as much as they want!Cons:Cost - this item is expensive, especially for 3! I definitely had to save up for each one. But, for the benefits above, I think it's worth it.Microchip - I had no issue with Minnie, however for the 2 boys for some reason I had the hardest time getting the feeders to recognize their microchips. I called customer service (they were fabulous), who changed the mode to recognize expanded frequencies of chips in case that was the issue. It wasn't, but worth a shot if you're having trouble. Ultimately, I think their chips were just too far back on their bodies and the boys weren't getting close enough to trigger. What worked the best was buying a stand which raised the feeder just enough that when the boys walked up they were positioned further inside the opening. Now the feeder senses their chips no issue. I bought the stands on etsy, but I'm sure you could find it other places if you think it would be helpful.Note: Surefeed does provide tags you can use in place of a microchip, but none of my cats wear collars, and the attempt to get the boys used to collars was NOT going well. So relieved I could get it working! If your cat already wears a collar though, this would be an easy alternative.Overall, an amazing prodect, and would highly recommend for anyone with multiple cats!

This feeder is absolutely worth the money if you have multiple pets and they steal each other’s food.In my case one of my older cats is on an expensive prescription diet so I do not want my new cat eating her food. I think older animals will generally eat slower so Audrey likes to step away at about 50% to stretch her legs which gave Sultan an opportunity to sneak in before the door closed to snap up her remaining food. After reading though the user’s manual they mention you have to reach out to Sure’s support to activate some special modes to deal with this particular problem and here is where you need a few extra things.1.) You need to install their app on your phone2.) You need the Sure Petcare Hub manages WIFI between your Sure devices and your network) which must be plugged in by network cable. NOTE: the hub must be connected over a wired Ethernet connection so you need a free network port to make it work on your router or modem.Provided you now have both you can now reach out to Sure’s petcare customer support and activate two custom modes (to address a food bandit)1.) Intruder mode- Scans every 5 seconds for microchip of cat permitted to feed and closes immediately if they are not within range. This mode provides a much faster closure vs. using the app alone because it increases the response time by decreasing the scan interval.2.) Forced Lid Closure – Pushes out an intruder cat. So even if Sultan could somehow make it to the bowl before the lid closes the lid would push his head out of the bowl. Some may be worried about pinch points and injury here but the lid hinge gently pushes Sultan’s head out of Audrey’s bowl so no worries here.These two modes are very effective in dealing with Sultan’s food theft however I’m a little surprised they aren’t the default mode of operation. Also I am a little annoyed that you can’t enable them without customer support intervention and you need the hub to do so. I think most people would have preferred to be able to enable them through the app or better yet have them be activated by button presses on the device itself without requiring the hub or the app. It does work well after you put in a little time, the device is very aesthetic, and works very well for my cat so 4/5. -1 for unnecessary complications, however they can all be addressed with a little additional time, money, and patience & I the end result is absolutely worth it.