Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

January 29, 2017 We have two cats. Ali (the glutton) and Ted (the nibbler). We have been trying to find a solution to both of these eating styles. We needed a feeder that could feed Ali regularly and that she could not “break into” before scheduled feedings. We needed a feeder so Ted could nibble away all day & night without allowing Ali access to his food. So we bought two feeders: the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder and the Yaufey Automatic 4-meal Programmable Pet Feeder. This review is for the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder, which we bought for our nibbler, Ted. For the last couple of years, it has been a job trying to feed Ted 20 times a day and keep his uneaten food away from Ali. We have tried so many things, but basically, it has just been a continuous process of getting Ted’s food out, let Ted nibble a bit, remember to pick the food up and put it away before Ali gets any of it and then repeat, repeat, repeat….etc. Ted really likes to eat at night so he has been waking me up 2-4 times a night for food. I was taking a sealed bowl of food into bed with me so I could just open it for a few seconds while he nibbled and then seal it again before Ali pounced. Then I could go back to sleep. Not ideal. We bought this feeder 10 days ago and so far it is working very well (see the remainder of review for drawbacks). This pet feeder has four sensors built in near the food dish area that pick-up on the microchip in your pet’s neck (it also comes with a chip for a collar if your pet is not chipped). It is super easy to program the unit to your pet’s chip. From then on you just keep the food dish filled as necessary. Every time the pet with the proper chip enters the sensor area the door/cover to the food opens allowing your pet to eat. When they walk away, the cover closes keeping unwanted pets from stealing their food. Note: This unit is for small pets only. My guess would be that is can accommodate pets 15 pounds or less. Before I bought this unit I had two concerns. One was the noise and movement the cover made when opening. Ted is not only a nibbler, but he is very timid and easily scared. This turned out to be a non-issue. First of all when the cover opens is not that loud and Ted adapted to it after just a couple of demonstrations. My second concern was how easy it would be for Ali to steal food. I had read several reviews that seemed to indicate that the sides were not high enough to block an intruder. This is in fact, true. The unit is very easy for a food thief to push one pet aside and steal some food. I have even noticed that once Ali has completely pushed Ted out of the way and has her head in the food dish, the cover doesn’t seem to close as quickly as usual. As a result, we are using the shipping carton as a shield temporarily, while my husband builds a more permanent one. This is working. Ted seems to really like being able to control when he eats and I love not being awakened at night. The SureFeed runs off of four C batteries which is a plus and minus. The Plus side is that you can easily move the dish around and without a plug it makes is fast and easy to refill the food dish and clean the unit. The minus is that it runs on batteries, so they will have to be replaced periodically. I don’t have enough experience yet as to how long the unit will run before needing to replace them. This is my personal review. I paid full price for the unit. I did not receive any compensation or discount for my opinion. Bottom line: I would highly recommend this feeder for your nibbler or any small pet on a special diet. If you have multiple pets you must also be able to"create" some type of shield around the feeder to keep unwanted pets out. 02/14/17 Update: My husband finished the box to cover the back & sides and it now is the perfect product. Our nibbler (Ted) loves it and so do I. He knows he can eat undisturbed and Ali knows she can't steal any food. Ted hasn't woken me up in the middle of the night to eat in 2 weeks. A major win. 4/24/17 Update: We are still in love with this feeder. I still get to sleep through the night. Ted isn't losing weight anymore due to lack of food and Ali is losing weight since she can't steal food anymore. Also, we are still on the original batteries after almost 3 months. 7/24/17 The feeder is still on the original batteries and I couldn't be happier. I did find out that SureFlap does now offer a back shield that you can add to the feeder for an additional $10 +shipping. I might have bought this if my husband hadn't already made one (not cardboard, as shown in the picture). All in all, I would buy this feeder again in a minute. 7/18/18 Changed the original batteries today.