Closer Pets MiBowl Automatic Selective Microchip Feeder, Up to 340g, Black

**EDIT** Now April 2025 time, and current updates on how the microchip feeder is doing. The microchip reader I can confirm works without the collar and recognises Jinx's chip. No issues with it, been using it everyday without fail. Only thing I took off the plastic "defence" guards as jinx didn't like it so much, so they are permanently removed. Moonie still can't access it so I'm pleased overall with the product. ------ I originally brought this to help my first cat (Jinx) who is a natural grazer help get her food as normal, without my other chonky cat (Moonie) trying to steal it. (He was adopted in the streets originally and takes any opportunity to get food including human food if he can find it. He still healthy and monitored by the vet before internet cat warriors mention about his weight in the photos.) So I have been trying to find a way to keep him out of Jinx's food but hard when you live in a one bedroom flat and have so little wiggle room to prevent him without him getting smart about it. I did find another similar product on Amazon but smaller and minimalistic design but costed over £100+. So I thought I would try it and see if it works out and test run it as nearly £80 wouldn't be as bad as over £100+. If the product would work with my cats. So far it's worth it's money. However I wasn't suspecting Jinx to take to the food bowl so quickly and learned quickly how to use it (She also 8 years old). I tested as recommended on the book to put treats in the bowl and she went in with confidence. So I tried registering her microchip (without the tag first) it did flash to registering her microchip. (Also did it with the tag and working okay with the tag better so far still early stages of testing it out.) As you can also see in the photos Moonie the culprit of stealing food isn't able to access it!! Woo hoo 🎉 The product itself is an okay size, it's not too bulky and the instructions were simple enough to follow. I did find it more troubling to find C batteries in shops for the product but got some in the end!🤣 Still trying to test out if the scan by just her microchip along without the tag as it mentions in the book. The product itself is a sturdy quality the noise is very minimal, little robotic sounds for the opening and closing so it's a bonus, didn't freak out jinx much , more confusion than anything 😂 The tray is easy to take out the food bowl and clean as it's plastic. I'm cautious of the side clear parts to take apart as it's still a bit stiff at the moment and I dinnae want to break the plastic. (I should also mention Jinx is used to wearing a collar/ harness which helped a lot for wearing the tag on the collar. But to folk who might have indoor cats that's not used to wear a collar often or at all to try and practice run or get used to a collar with a tag shape before trying the product out, just incase they hate the collar altogether)

First of all I need to mention that I have 3 cats and one of them is very shy and nervous around strangers. I've purchased this feeder as I'm going to be going away in a few months time and a friend (who is a stranger to my cats) will be feeding them. I am concerned as the shy cat will definitely hide away whilst my friend is at my house and the other more outgoing cats will eat all the food that is put down. I am a cat sitter and I am familiar with the Sureflap automatic feeder as some of my clients have one, but felt it had a flaw in that it is vulnerable to attack from other cats as the eating area is exposed. I purchased this MiBowl purely because it cannot be attacked from the back or the sides. If you have a very jumpy cat you will need to train them gradually to use this. It was easy to program my cat's microchip, but she was initially very scared of the noise of the closing mechanism. It's not loud, but it is noise and might freak your cat out. I initially left mine in the open position and just put some tasty treats in it. After a few days of this, I put her meals in, still with the lid up. Eventually I did it with the lid closed. My cat would be at first run off when the lid raised, but eventually over a period of about 2 weeks got used to it. It takes a lot of patience with a more nervous cat, but if you take it slowly and steadily and entice them with favourite foods you should get there in the end. In case you a wondering, the Sureflap feeder also makes a noise when opening (this one is about the same in sound level) but the side and back protection is definitely helpful as my other two cats have not stolen anything despite coveting the contents of the feeder. I've read in some reviews that the batteries don;t last long. but mine have been in for 16 weeks now and there's no sign of them needing to be changed yet. Just buy good quality batteries instead of pound shop ones.

Really pleased with this. Cat already used to other microchip feeder so this was easy. Pretty sure it will definitely keep the greedy boy cat away from his sister’s food as he can’t get his head in like he could with the other feeder. Bonus as her food makes him ill. Good price too, cheaper than other websites. Would definitely buy again, great little feeder. One gripe is could do with 2 bowls in package as you have to keep washing before the next meal is served and the poor cat is impatient!

We have two cats and a dog, all with wildly different feeding needs and routines. None of them wear a collar inside (indoor-only cats), so we wanted a microchip option, which there aren't a lot of! These work very well (and also come with tags for collars you can use if your pets aren't microchipped), and we're very pleased with how much easier it's become to feed them and not worry about someone eating something they shouldn't. These are also fairly easy to keep clean I'd say - they come apart easily. There are two drawbacks I've noticed, neither of which make me regret my purchase (we really don't have a lot of options), but which I've deducted one star for. - The sensor isn't amazing - it can be very difficult for particularly my larger cat and dog to activate it, during which they can get very frustrated. We've permanently turned on training mode for them, which helps. It's a bit easier for our tiny cat, I think because she can fully put her head in. - The set-up is a narrow but deep bowl. This is meant to be space-saving, but it definitely isn't perfect for our tiny, flat-faced cat, who can actually struggle to breathe sometimes. It can also cause whisker fatigue.

Has so far thwarted efforts by our other cat and our spaniel to break into it, so I'm very pleased! Simple to use and the high sides prevent theft by the sibling while the cat with the prescription diet is eating. It needed a bit of training for her to get used to the noise of the door opening but it has now stopped her pestering me in the night - wish I'd bought it sooner! Note: order some C batteries at the same time as it doesn't come with them.

Bought 2 for cats with different needs. Paired both with their own chips, but both either fail to open or close whilst they're eating if they do open. Still awaiting response from seller. Re set them, still don't work. Very expensive if they don't work. If they do not contact me in the next 24hrs, I will be returning.

My cat eats specialised, expensive food because of a medical condition - he can’t eat anything else as it makes him really ill so I have to feed him separately. Also he has to eat a little and often as his stomach can’t cope with a big meal so he throws it back up! I’ve now started a new job which means I’m out more hours. Bought this feeder so he can graze all day long without my other 2 cats eating it too. He was a bit dubious the first 2 days and I had to keep encouraging him to approach it and take him to it. We are on our 5th day now and he approaches it like a pro! The other cats have stopped trying to muscle in because there’s just no room. So easy to set up - i’m a technophobe so if I can do it, anyone can! Well worth the money in my opinion. No regrets!

One of my cats is on a prescription diet crunchies and I needed her to be able to access ad lib crunchies without the other cat being able to eat them. This works brilliantly. It was the cheapest one I found to try and what I especially like is it works from her microchip and not a tag on a collar, that would get lost. She learned how to use it in a couple of weeks and now comes in, waits for it to open eats her crunchies and it closes as she moves away.

Fonctionne très bie, facile à mettre en oeuvre et à programmer pour le chat concerné. A recommander

Se ajusta a la descripción. Mi gata se adapto enseguida a usarlo y he evitado los problemas de comida con mi otro gato que se comia lo que no era suyo. Muy recomendable

I bought the MiBowl looking for a less expensive alternative to the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder (which was out of stock at the time of purchase). Some key points: 1. We are a 3 cat household, 2 grazers and 1 greedy eater. The grazers have shared their food their whole life and they're not food motivated enough to finish a meal in its entirety even when hungry. The greedy eater will eat everything that isn't locked up. 2. Programming the MiBowl was very easy, it took about 30 seconds in the training mode to get it to recognize the microchips in both my grazing cats when they came to eat. I wasn't sure that it had worked because the feedback blinking isn't really distinct from the other functions. 3. It has let the programmed cats access their food 100% of the times that they've approached the feeder - it seems to open sooner for the girl cat than the boy, but I think that is due to the placement of the microchip in their bodies. Both cats only took 1 day to understand how to get it to open for them - it hasn't closed on them unexpectedly either. 4. The greedy eater hasn't been able to break into it at all - he has pushed it around the room and tried his best to steal some food, but the feeder has remained upright without spilling. My one complaint is that the stainless steel inserts for the plastic feeder bowl (which come with an ice pack) are quite pricy for a single stamped piece of metal ($39.99 CAD). If Closer Pets could come out with a 3 pack of the metal inserts with no ice pack, that would be a lot more convenient for cleaning especially if you intend to put wet food into the MiBowl.

Det blev en retur. Maskinen var lite läskigt tyckte min katt. Hon ville absolut inte stoppa in huvudet vilket jag kan förstå. Sen fick vi inte den att fungera heller, så allt bekymmer vi hade med att mata katten var trots att den inte ens funkade och stod öppen

Bought this feeder over 2 years ago to keep my cat from eating my dog’s food and it has worked like a charm! My dog weighs 30 pounds and has no problem eating at will anytime she’s hungry. The setup is REALLY simple, and put something favorable to your pet in the bowl and instantly my dog picked up on it when she came up to the bowl. The first set of 4 alkaline batteries I inserted lasted about 2 years. The bowl will stay open while your pet eats, and my dog will usually eat a few bites, walk away a few steps, and then come back. She has always eaten like that, and the bowl will open and close every time as she walks back and forth. But if your pet stays near it while eating, it won’t close until your pet walks away. The only problem I had at first was about after a year or so, the plastic tag would break where the hole was for the wire to go through to attach to her collar. This because my dog is VERY active, and she will vigorously scratch her neck a lot. But I found replacements on Amazon (I believe the brand is Manruta) and they work perfectly with the feeder and a 2-pack costs only $10. My dog’s has been chipped, but her chip didn’t work, most likely because it is outdated. The instructions say older chips with certain ID numbers won’t work. That was not a problem with my dog because she wears her collar all the time.