Closer Pets MiBowl Automatic Selective Microchip Feeder, Cats & Small Dogs

**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!

Easy to set up. Pairing the cat chip was easy enough, hardest part was keeping the cat still for long enough. Simply put it into pairing mode and hold the cat in the opening until it registers. I bought it for my own cat who is incredibly stupid (part orange) and even she has managed to figure out how to use it. It responds relatively quickly when she pokes her head in, and closes promptly once she is done. Works exactly as it needs to and is cheaper than others on the market. Negatives- the bowl part is very deep and narrow which many cats do not enjoy as it can cause whisker fatigue. Luckily mine is managing but is worth bearing mind. Secondly it only comes with one plastic bowl insert, so if that needs cleaning the feeder is unusable for that time. Also plastic is not the best medium for pet feeding. You can buy metal inserts but these a £20 for a pair which is quite expensive. At the very least a second plastic bowl should really be included.

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.

This was purchased for our two cats on a normal diet. However, our other cat, who is on a restricted diet, is able to open it. This is a major design flaw. We’ve already had to replace it once, and now, after only a year, it needs replacing again. Wouldn’t recommend it if you’re in a similar situation.

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.

Great to stop our smaller cat pushing the other one out of the way to eat his food. Shame extra bowls are so expensive to buy. Batteries haven't been changed yet so doing well. Works well and closes when he moves away. He didn't take long after bribing him with treats to get him to use it, he was a bit reluctant at first.

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

Una maravilla , genial idea si tienes un. Gato ladrón . Solo se abre cuando se acerca y detecta el chip que le pusieron el veterinario sin collares ni nada

This pet feeder is great. The tag it comes with to open the feeder is quite large so I highly recommend using the pets microchip as a way to open it instead. With either option, it is easy to set up and works very well. The cat I bought it for loves it. She can have her wet food in peace thanks to the fully enclosed back and sides. She has no trouble eating out of it. It did take a little bit of work to get her used to it but she is also quite nervous. Her brother tries so hard to open it but often just resorts to licking the lid so i'd say the design works perfectly. Its honestly worth every penny.

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

One of our cats is a grazer and the other eats his meals within about 3 seconds. This has allowed both cats to get what they need with their food. The microchip registration was so simple I actually didn't believe it worked at first, my cat was registered the second his head went near the bowl. Only rating 4 because my cat who uses this is senior and doesn't like to eat food too low down and this system doesn't have any adjustments available or space for a custom bowl. We just put the system on a little stand and works well, but having a larger space for other bowls would be perfect. We're also finding that the provided bowl isnt the easiest to eat everything out of (food is often left in the corners).