Microchip feeders for two Norwegian Forest Cats

Microchip feeders are one of those genuinely clever multi-cat innovations — if you've been wrestling with bowl dividers and one cat still hoovers up the other's food the moment your back's turned, you'll know exactly why the upgrade is worth it. They ensure each cat only accesses their own bowl, which matters enormously when cats have different dietary needs or one is simply a competitive eater. To point you to the right model: how many cats do you have, are they both microchipped or do they wear collar tags, and what's the main reason you need to separate their feeding — different diets, medical, or one being a glutton?

That's a really common and frustrating situation — and honestly, bowl dividers were never going to hold against a determined Norwegian Forest Cat. The good news is this is exactly what microchip feeders were designed for. Because Birk is already microchipped, you can programme his feeder to open only for him, so Saga physically cannot get to his renal food no matter how persistent she is. One thing worth knowing with Norwegian Forest Cats specifically: they're a large breed, so the lid opening clearance and bowl size matter more than with average cats. Are Birk and Saga on the bigger side for the breed, or more typical medium-large?

Perfect — that's helpful. At 7kg Birk is a solid cat and you'll want to make sure the feeder opening is generous enough that he doesn't feel cramped eating. My clear recommendation is the SureFlap SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder. It reads the cat's existing microchip directly, so no collar tag needed, and the lid closes when an unregistered cat approaches — Saga won't get a look in. The feeding bowl is a decent size and the lid opens with a wide enough arc to be comfortable for a larger cat. You'd buy two units, register Birk to one and Saga to the other, and feed them in separate spots. It runs on four AA batteries, so no trailing wires near food, and it's very easy to set up — you just hold the cat near it once to enrol their chip. It's widely available on Amazon UK and has a strong track record specifically with multi-cat households managing prescription diets.

The SureFeed works well with both wet and dry food, which is great because renal diets are often wet — higher moisture intake is actually beneficial for cats with kidney issues, so your vet has likely recommended wet food for Birk. The only practical tip with wet food is to clean the bowl daily, as the lid seal means condensation can build up slightly faster than an open bowl. SureFlap sells spare bowl sets cheaply, so having a second bowl per feeder makes it easy to swap and wash without any gap in feeding routine. For a cat on a renal diet where consistent, correct feeding really matters, the SureFeed is genuinely the right tool.

Really glad it helped. Two SureFlap SureFeed feeders, one enrolled to each cat's existing microchip, placed in separate spots so neither cat feels crowded at mealtimes — that's your setup. Birk gets his renal food safely, Saga gets hers, and you stop being the bowl divider. Good luck with Birk's diet; catching renal issues and managing them well really does make a difference long-term.