Closer Pets MiBowl Microchip Dog & Cat Feeder, White & Black
8 Customer Questions
14 Customer Reviews
Dish too deep for cats
My kitten was quickly oriented to using the feeder. Unfortunately he has to move around a lot to get the lid open. I can live with that since he knows how to make it work. Cats don’t like their whiskers touching their food dish and since this dish is deep, he doesn’t eat very well with the feeder. I have another brand for my two other cats that I really like except it has enough gaps that the kitten can get his face in beside the cat or go to the back and get in while the other cats are eating. I love the lid and guards on the front of this feeder. They prevent other pets from sneaking in and stealing. I’m not sure this feeder is the best for cats. I wish the best parts of each feeder could be merged to make the perfect feeder for a multiple pet household. At the very least, a shallow dish is needed as an option and that shouldn’t be too hard.
High-Quality but Cats Would Not Use
I have tried both microchip feeders for my cats, one of whom has diabetes, one of whom needs a special hydrolyzed protein diet, and one who can (and does) eat anything. Unfortunately, the two cats who need to use the microchip feeders will not put their heads in to eat but rather pull the food out with their paws ... possibly because I have used puzzle feeders with them for years that required paw extraction of food. However, in this particular feeder, the dish is very deep and narrow, so I don't think any of the cats were comfortable eating out of the provided bowl. I never got to test the microchip feeder since it was moot if none of them would eat it without the retractable lid in place.
Great for feeding grazers living with non-grazers
After a lifetime of owning grazing cats, we finally ended up with one that eats like a dog. Unfortunately she was stealing the other cats' food and gaining far too much weight. After doing a ton of research I decided to try this feeder and it's worked out great so far. I was worried for two reasons: one of our grazing cats is a coward, and all of our cats are chipped near their shoulders and not their necks, which I thought might issues with the chip reader working properly. We followed the training instructions exactly, and that was a huge key in getting our coward cat to trust it. He had no issues until we introduced the door movement, where he was a little unsure. But we enticed him with lots of treats and the motor is very quiet, so he got used to it quickly. He's now eating with no fear or being jumpy. Unless you have a very bold, food motivated cat, do not skip on slowly introducing them to the feeder! It took about a week to get ours using it confidently. High value treats when the door started moving definitely helped! And there don't seem to be any issues getting the chip reader to recognize the chips in their shoulders. Our boy is big with a long neck, and even though he has to get somewhat close, the chip reader does a good job recognizing him. Once he was used to the door movement, he's had no issues getting his food reliably. Definitely recommend for mixed eating styles or dietary requirements!
Jury’s Still Out
We ordered two of these for our two cats who eat two different prescription foods. They have yet(after more than a week) to warm up to the idea, and I have my doubts that one will ever use it, due to the narrowness of the unit. That said, it was very easy to pair their microchips with each respective feeder.
Worth the money!
I'm very pleasantly surprised that our rather skittish cat took to the MiBowl so quickly! It only took her about three days to start using it on her own, without any prompting. The MiBowl recognized her quickly (she has a 2014 Home Again chip) and, miraculously, the noise of the lid opening and closing doesn't freak her out. The MiBowl itself is compact, sturdy, and easy to move around. A very nifty feeder! My only (very slight) complaint is that the bowl's a bit deep, though Ireland's getting used to that. Best of all, Ireland can now feed herself during the night without us worrying that her sister will eat her food. Better sleep for the hoomans makes the MiBowl well worth the money.
Solved my problem!
Like most others looking at microchip feeders, I have 2 cats with different dietary needs. One is a guzzler who was already overweight as a kitten. The other is a grazer who was just shy of being underweight when I adopted them. Trying to get her (the grazer) enough to eat without him (the guzzler) blowing up like a balloon was an immediate headache. Happily in the last month the microchip feeder has solved that problem. There seem to be 2 of these on the market right now, this one and the SureFeed. I chose the MiBowl because 1) it's enclosed all the way around except where the permitted pet enters (if the feeder made room for two cat heads, I would have two cat heads in the bowl), 2) it has a narrower opening than the SureFeed (important for the same reason - it also has detachable bits of plastic on both sides that narrow the entrance further for little pets, which I do need for my skinny kitty), and 3) it was a bit cheaper at the time I ordered. My little one was willing to eat out of the feeder immediately upon its arrival (oddly enough, on day 2 she was skittish about the noise, but I put her favorite treat in the bowl and that solved that problem). On day 1, my glutton was FURIOUS: he scratched the feeder from all sides, knocked it over, climbed on his sister's back while she was eating.... happily, in the month since he's pretty much accepted that this feeder hates him and is leaving it alone. (I also bought him a puzzle feeder, which you can get for $10-15, so he would have his own device to bother for food, and that definitely seems to have helped.) I was initially concerned that the MiBowl has about a 2-3 second delay after the assigned pet walks off before the bowl closes. Unlike the SureFeed, you can't program the time (except to lengthen it for "training mode") and there is no "intruder mode" to close quickly if the wrong pet tries to nose in. But he's a bit of a scaredy cat and (fingers crossed) so far he hasn't tried the "dash in the second she leaves" method of stealing food. Overall this feeder has still been successful at keeping the glutton away from the little one's food while giving her access whenever she wants it, which was all I needed it to do.
Best Product Out There!
I bought two of these after one of my cats was put on a VERY expensive prescription diet for allergies. I wanted to keep the 7 yr old non-allergic cat from scarfing the expensive stuff and keep the 2 yr old allergic cat from eating anything other than their prescription food. This feeder was very easy to pair with their microchips and I trained them to use it in less than 24 hours by leaving a few treats in each one to entice them to try it - didn’t even need to use the product’s training mode. And I got a bonus result from these feeders…non-allergic cat was a lifelong “scarf and barf” eater, but now she has stopped altogether. I think she knows her feeder is secure and isn’t compelled to hurry and eat before the food disappears. And a note on battery life: I was worried that I would have to replace batteries often, but so far I am nearly 3 months in with the original batteries. Overall, I am thrilled with this product!
Exceeds expectations
Bought this to replace a different style feeder. Compact design. Controls at top are easier to reach. Better designed to keep other pets out while assigned pet eats. Thumbs up. When my other feeders died I will replace with this model
This works great!
It took my cat about 5 days to train her to feel comfortable to approach and eat from the bowl without getting scared by the lid. I was amazed at how it picked up her implanted microchip so easily. The lid movement is very quiet and not really noticable over the tv noise. Got this because my other cat can't have her food. He can not get into the food bowl. The bowl itself is surprisingly deep and can hold probably about 2 measuring cups of food. I am appreciative of the semi see through sides as she likes to make sure no one approaches her as she eats. We still use training mode, but will no doubt turn it off in a week or so.
mixed feelings on this one
Be forewarned, this does NOT work with older microchips (11yrs old), and is iffy with a 1yr old’s. The only one it consistently recognizes is my 4 month old who has a home again chip. The tag is very large 1” diameter - ok for a dog but far too large for a 7lb cat. The bowl is deeper than Surefeed’s but narrower so it’s not possible to have both dry and canned as it is with Surefeed. Those 2 issues combined with the fact that it arrived with a broken lid = staying with Surefeed for me. The pluses are the deeper bowl, the lid operation is smoother, the unit could easily sit on a base for elevated feeding. The design itself is more logical vs surefeeds loop. If it recognized older chips I would likely prefer this to Surefeed but without a cat size tag or better chip recognition it’s a no go for me right now.