I can't say I have a lot of experience as we instigated both feeders at the same time. I do think having different locations helped with the cats getting used to them, but then we already had different locations in place before the feeders.

My initial thoughts would be just give it time, persevere and stay consistent. My understanding of cats is that consistency is key otherwise they get confused.

As long as your cat is still finding her own feeder and being fed then I wouldn't be too concerned if she gets a little confused that she can't get to the other food, if anything it just shows the feeder is doing its job properly! I suppose if she's not eating anything because she's at the wrong feeder then that might be more concerning.

 

I have 5 of the microchipped Surefeeders and my cats had no problems at all understanding which one was theirs. I introduced the feeders to 2 cats first, then a few months later to another 2 and then the final (5th ) cat about 2 months later.

Each of my cats has had their own separate feeding station from the first day they came to live with me. These feeding spots are always the same for each cat and they are at least 6 feet apart.

Two cats are fed in the kitchen, one on a table, one on the floor. Two others are fed in the hall, and one has his meals upstairs.

When I introduced the chipped feeders I just placed each feeder in the cat's own regular feeding spot and began the training mode, as per the Surefeeder manual.

At bedtime two of my cats sleep in the sitting room, and I put their supper in their feeders and take it to them. The feeders are placed in the same spots every night, at opposite sides of the room, and each cat knows which is theirs. Two others sleep upstairs, and the same arrangement applies to them too at bedtime. They also know which is their feeder and go straight to it.
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The only time 2 of my cats ever got confused was when I accidentally put 2 of the feeders in the wrong spots, so one cat got the other cat's feeder and vice versa. Luckily I realised what I'd done when the feeders wouldn't open!

After that I wrote the name of each cat on the handle/bridge of their feeder in indelible ink, so there was no chance of me making the same daft mistake again.

 

Great, thank you for that. Sounds like I just need to be patient and wait for her to get the hang of it!

 

You could help your cats identify their own dish by painting very different shapes on the front of each dish e.g. triangle and circle

 

I have three, and like @chillminx said, the only times my guys have got mixed up was when I stupidly put them in the wrong places. I introduced them initially because Teddy especially was stealing Freya's food, and he did at the start try to get her feeder open by clonking it with his huge Maine Coon paw. He will try still to shove her out of the way and pinch her food, but she knows enough now to just walk away so it closes on him, and go back when he is elsewhere.

I'm sure your guys will get the hang of it soon.

 

Hi all! Quick update - with a bit of patience, a little coaxing (and a little bit of tuna!!) they’ve got the hang of it and are eating well from their own bowls.

I really cannot reccomend these feeders enough - they’re brilliant!

 

Well done!

The feeders are fantastic aren't they! I can't imagine how I ever managed without them.

 

The Surefeed microchip pet feeder is currently £46.50 until midnight today for Amazon Prime members:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SureFeed-5.../ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531819246&sr=8-1&keywords=surefeed&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

 

Thank you so much for this, I've been wanting these, but with 2 cats it was proving very expensive. Didn't think of checking prime day. You're a star.

 

Well Loulou is almost there with hers.

Libby still thinks it’s a toy, therefore every fly in Lincolnshire likes Libby as this damn feeder is open more than it’s shut.

Lottie is still trying to “ kill it”


Mutter mutter mutter

 

I have 5 of the microchipped Surefeeders and my cats had no problems at all understanding which one was theirs. I introduced the feeders to 2 cats first, then a few months later to another 2 and then the final (5th ) cat about 2 months later.

Each of my cats has had their own separate feeding station from the first day they came to live with me. These feeding spots are always the same for each cat and they are at least 6 feet apart.

Two cats are fed in the kitchen, one on a table, one on the floor. Two others are fed in the hall, and one has his meals upstairs.

When I introduced the chipped feeders I just placed each feeder in the cat's own regular feeding spot and began the training mode, as per the Surefeeder manual.

At bedtime two of my cats sleep in the sitting room, and I put their supper in their feeders and take it to them. The feeders are placed in the same spots every night, at opposite sides of the room, and each cat knows which is theirs. Two others sleep upstairs, and the same arrangement applies to them too at bedtime. They also know which is their feeder and go straight to it.
.
The only time 2 of my cats ever got confused was when I accidentally put 2 of the feeders in the wrong spots, so one cat got the other cat's feeder and vice versa. Luckily I realised what I'd done when the feeders wouldn't open!

After that I wrote the name of each cat on the handle/bridge of their feeder in indelible ink, so there was no chance of me making the same daft mistake again.

@chillminx I want to get just one for mojo as he eats foods saffi cannot have, I mostly do it in a way that works well, but very occasionally I am mindless and then we have a problem, but also, saffi can break into anything if it smells tempting. She has pushed off lids, opened a tube of treats, packets of food the bin, I find not much is saffi proof, its taught me to be extra careful! So I wanted to ask, do you think these would be saffi proof? Because I would want to leave it for mojo unsupervised, feeling confident Saffi wont break in

 

They are Saffi proof, I think, unless she uses a hammer. It's a really good system.

 

You will buy her a hammer?!


Sorry, I‘m a bit sun struck...

 

You will buy her a hammer?!

Sorry, I'm a bit sun struck...

:Hilarious Maybe aunty joy will since she likes your post and idea so much

 

I was delighted to see Tinx has fully learned how to use her feeder. She can be very skittish around her food and if you go near her when she's eating she'll disappear and leave her food uneaten. Of course, as soon as Pixie has finished hers (or even before she's finished) she'll run through to have some of Tinkerbell's, despite it being exactly the same food she seems to think Tinx has something much tastier than her own! Usually this leads to Tinx being spooked off her food and ending up not eating.

Well, the other day I spotted this exact event unfold. Pixie ran through while Tinx was eating but instead of disappearing Tinx simply backed away from the feeder so it would close over. Pixie realising she wasn't getting any walked off and then Tinx went back to eating! I was absolutely over the moon to see that Tinker Bell had got the hang of it and that she was brave enough to not be spooked off her food.

These feeders are an absolute win for multi cat households, even though my two are on the same foods it's still useful to keep an eye on how much they're both eating. Also, reassuring to know that if they ever need to go on a specialist diet or medication in food that they already have these and know how to use them so it'll be easier and less stressful to implement.

@Whompingwillow Pixie has been known to chew proper holes in Tupperware boxes to get at treats, she can be very determined when there's tasty food involved. She's never managed to get through to Tinx' food, I'm not sure she's even tried that much as she knows it's too difficult. Good luck with it, sounds like just what you need

 

If buying today via Amazon Prime, and are registered as a student on there, using the code Student15 will take another £15 off, so would make one feeder £31.50. That code can only be used once though. I have just ordered two, have been thinking about it for a while and at the reduced price, it isn't so bad on the wallet.

 

Can I pretend to be a student with that code?

 

WW - I agree with the others - the Surefeeder will be 'Saffi-proof', . Just be sure when you remove the lid to clean it that you slide the lock across when you replace it on the feeder. (the lock is on top of the feeder and has a little padlock on it). If the lock is not on it's possible she could pull off the lid with her claws. But not when it's locked in place.

 

Ordered. I have wanted it for ages! apparently I am also now a student thank you all and sorry to have hijacked this thread a bit