Anyone have an rfid cat feeder?

[Isadora]

I have 3 indoor cats. Two senior kitties who are both on the skinny side and one 5 yr old fluff monster named Talaat who is overweight. He's 15 lbs.

I have always had dry food out for the cats in the past and never had an issue but Talaat is clearly eating too much.
My initial thought was to feed everyone the appropriate amount they needed in separate dishes every day, but I realize that will be too difficult to maintain for me, not to mention trying to keep Talaat from eating the other cats food.
So to my question, if you have an RFID feeder and multiple cats, what has been your experience with it? They're pretty expensive, but if it works, it seems to me like it would be well worth the money. I would have to get the kind that uses a collar because not all the cats are microchipped.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Unless the vet is saying he's overweight, 15 lbs is a decent weight for some cat breeds. Baby, the Grey/white cat in my avatar, in his prime weighed 22 lbs and was as healthy as can be! My other cat, Frappy, weighed 15-18 lbs her entire life and she lived to be 20. Both were Ragamuffin mixes (we think).

Before spending the money on an expensive feeder, I'd look into vet care to make sure you even need it, it's also a good idea to have bloodwork done on your senior "skinny" cats as there could be health reasons there too.

 

[Isadora]

Unless the vet is saying he's overweight, 15 lbs is a decent weight for some cat breeds. Baby, the Grey/white cat in my avatar, in his prime weighed 22 lbs and was as healthy as can be! My other cat, Frappy, weighed 15-18 lbs her entire life and she lived to be 20. Both were Ragamuffin mixes (we think).

Before spending the money on an expensive feeder, I'd look into vet care to make sure you even need it, it's also a good idea to have bloodwork done on your senior "skinny" cats as there could be health reasons there too.

Thank you! I haven't brought him to the vet in a while, so that is a good suggestion. When I hold him he has quite a lot of fat hanging down from his belly, so in his case I think he's at least a few pounds over.

 

[SpotTheCat]

Thank you! I haven't brought him to the vet in a while, so that is a good suggestion. When I hold him he has quite a lot of fat hanging down from his belly, so in his case I think he's at least a few pounds over.

Are you sure thats fat?
It is probably his primordial pouch
https://www.litter-robot.com/blog/2019/10/22/your-cat-has-a-primordial-pouch/

 

[Isadora]

Are you sure thats fat?
It is probably his primordial pouch
https://www.litter-robot.com/blog/2019/10/22/your-cat-has-a-primordial-pouch/

It feels like fat to me, but I'm no expert. His ribs are not easily felt.
Thanks for the article, I never knew what that thingy was called, though I had noticed that all cats had it.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Are you sure thats fat?
It is probably his primordial pouch
https://www.litter-robot.com/blog/2019/10/22/your-cat-has-a-primordial-pouch/

I too have had cats with the "belly flap", very common in some breeds.

 

[swamphiker]

I have the SureFeed microchip reading feeder (https://www.surepetcare.com/en-us/p...m71J17k_xdxZ8L5e7EbWxzzv5L0ZOJExoCl-QQAvD_BwE) and have been very happy with it!

We have two cats, one of whom will eat and eat and eat. She started to gain too much weight, so our vet recommended one of these feeders. It works by reading the microchips they already have. It was expensive, but we have had it for around 3 years and it is still going strong. This was a great solution for us since it would be difficult to train our other cat to eat quickly at designated mealtimes. We were able to easily train our cats on it. I've seen some negative reviews from people who have very insistent eaters who will find a way to get in, but we haven't had that issue.

 

[Isadora]

I have the SureFeed microchip reading feeder (https://www.surepetcare.com/en-us/p...m71J17k_xdxZ8L5e7EbWxzzv5L0ZOJExoCl-QQAvD_BwE) and have been very happy with it!

We have two cats, one of whom will eat and eat and eat. She started to gain too much weight, so our vet recommended one of these feeders. It works by reading the microchips they already have. It was expensive, but we have had it for around 3 years and it is still going strong. This was a great solution for us since it would be difficult to train our other cat to eat quickly at designated mealtimes. We were able to easily train our cats on it. I've seen some negative reviews from people who have very insistent eaters who will find a way to get in, but we haven't had that issue.

Thanks for replying! I had looked at that feeder, but not all of my cats are microchipped, so I didn't think it would work. I was figuring I needed one that worked with the collars.