Microchip feeder for kitten and adult cat

A new kitten joining a resident adult cat is actually the perfect moment to set up a microchip feeder — you get to build good habits before bad ones ever take hold. Kittens need calorie-dense food several times a day, while your 3-year-old is probably on one or two measured adult meals, and if they start raiding each other's bowls now, it becomes a very hard pattern to break. Microchip feeders are one of the most genuinely useful things you can buy for a multi-cat home — each cat only gets into their own bowl. Quick questions to point you to the right one: is your adult cat already microchipped, and is the kitten chipped yet or still too young? And is the main concern just food-stealing, or are you also thinking about portion control for the adult?

That's exactly the right thing to worry about — kitten food is significantly higher in fat and calories, and an adult cat hoovering it up regularly will gain weight fast. Here's the practical bit: most microchip feeders work with the cat's implanted chip, but since your kitten isn't chipped yet, you'll want a feeder that also accepts RFID collar tags. That way the kitten gets a collar tag now, and once she's chipped at around 4 months old you can register her chip and ditch the collar tag. The SureFlap SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder does exactly this — it ships with a free RFID collar tag, and you can programme both your adult cat's microchip and the kitten's tag. The lid closes the moment an unauthorised cat approaches, so your gannet adult simply cannot get in. One feeder per cat is the way to go here.

Realistically, just one for the kitten is where you'll get the most value immediately — that's the food you need to protect, since it's the rich stuff your adult shouldn't be eating. You'd put the kitten's SureFeed feeder somewhere your adult can physically access (the feeder handles access control, not location), and the kitten would quickly learn that her bowl is hers. Your adult cat's food is less critical to protect — kittens don't tend to steal adult food when kitten food is available — but if you find she's also eating the adult's meals and you want to manage your adult's portions precisely, a second one for the adult makes sense later. Start with one, see how they settle, and add a second if needed.

Yes, genuinely easy — the bowl and the mat underneath both lift straight out and are dishwasher safe. The electronic lid unit itself just needs a wipe. The whole thing comes apart without any fiddly clips. For a messy kitten that's important because you'll be cleaning it daily at first. One tip: start with the lid open for a day or two so the kitten gets used to eating from the bowl, then switch it to the microchip-sensing mode. Some kittens are nervous of the lid movement at first, but they get over it within a few days, especially if they're young — 9 weeks is a great age to introduce it.

Batteries — four AA batteries, and SureFlap say they last around 6 months with normal use. There's no mains option, which is actually convenient because it means you can put the feeder wherever suits the cats rather than wherever there's a socket. Keep a spare set of AAs in the cupboard and you'll never be caught out. You're in a good position here — getting this in place at 9 weeks means both cats will grow up thinking this is just how feeding works, which is the easiest way to do it.