This is a specific conversation about Microchip feeders — feeding the right cat — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Renting adds a real constraint that most feeder guides completely ignore — you can't be drilling into worktops or leaving permanent marks on laminate floors, and some feeders have rubber feet that stain light surfaces over time. Microchip feeders are genuinely one of the best things to happen to multi-cat households: each cat only gets their own bowl, which is essential if they have different diets or one is stealing the other's food. Before I point you at the right one, tell me — are both cats microchipped, and what's the main reason you need them eating separately? Different food types, a medical diet, or just one cat being a menace at the other's bowl?
Both are microchipped, yes. One of them, Pickle, is on a urinary diet and the other just eats normal food. Pickle keeps trying to eat Dora's food and Dora keeps finishing Pickle's prescription stuff, which is expensive. I'm in a rented flat so I really can't have anything scratching the kitchen tiles or leaving marks.
inparticular.ai
That's exactly the situation these feeders were made for — a prescription urinary diet needs to stay strictly with the cat it's prescribed for, both for health reasons and because you're right, it's expensive. The surface concern is a fair one too. Can I ask: do you feed wet food, dry, or a mix? And roughly what size are Pickle and Dora? That'll help me make sure the bowl opening is comfortable for them.
Mostly wet food, once or twice a day. Pickle is quite a big boy, Dora is small and dainty. They're both domestic shorthairs.
inparticular.ai
Perfect — here's exactly what I'd get you: the SureFlap SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder. It reads each cat's existing microchip and closes the lid when the wrong cat approaches, so Dora can't finish Pickle's prescription food and Pickle can't hoover up hers. For a rented flat it's ideal — it runs on four AA batteries so there's no cable management, it sits on any flat surface, and the base is smooth and non-marking on tiles. The bowl is a good size for a larger cat like Pickle, and the lid closes slowly so it won't startle a smaller, more nervous cat like Dora. You'd need one for each cat — each unit is registered to one cat's chip — so budget for two. They're widely available on Amazon UK, around £70-75 each, and the setup takes about two minutes.
Do I really need two? Could Pickle just have one and Dora eat from a normal bowl?
inparticular.ai
Honestly, no — if Pickle has a microchip feeder but Dora has an open bowl, Pickle will simply eat from Dora's open bowl instead. The whole system only works if both cats have their own locked feeder. Given that Pickle's urinary diet is prescription and ongoing, two feeders will pay for themselves fairly quickly in wasted prescription food and vet visits. I'd get one for each of them and register Pickle to one and Dora to the other. It'll also stop the dynamic entirely so you're not supervising mealtimes anymore.
That makes sense. Will they actually work on ceramic kitchen tiles without sliding around or scratching?
inparticular.ai
Yes — the SureFeed base has a smooth, flat underside that sits stably on tiles without scratching them, and it's light enough that it won't drag if a cat nudges it. If you want extra security against sliding, a small silicone mat underneath each one (the kind used under chopping boards) works perfectly and won't mark the tiles either. No adhesives, no damage, completely renter-friendly. You're in good shape with those two.
