Siamese vs Burmilla microchip feeder solution

A pushy Siamese and a slow-eating Burmilla sharing a feeder — that's a recipe for one very smug cat and one going hungry. Microchip feeders are genuinely one of the best innovations for exactly this kind of mismatch. They make sure each cat can only access their own bowl, which is perfect when you've got one who'd happily eat for two. To point you to the right setup: are both cats microchipped, is the Siamese actually stealing food or just causing chaos at mealtimes, and does the Burmilla have any specific dietary needs or is this mainly about portion control?

That's a really common Siamese move — they're intensely food-motivated and completely shameless about using intimidation. The yowling-while-staring technique is practically a breed trait. The good news is this is exactly what a microchip feeder is designed to solve. What you need is one feeder per cat, each programmed to open only for that cat's chip. The Burmilla can graze at his own pace without an audience, and the Siamese physically cannot get into his bowl. Has the Siamese ever tried to paw or nose-push a covered feeder open, or is she more the theatrical type who gives up if the food isn't immediately accessible?

Perfect — that makes your life easier. My clear recommendation is the SureFlap SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder. You'd get two of them, one for each cat. Each feeder reads the microchip of the cat approaching and opens only for them — the lid closes as soon as they walk away, so there's nothing for the Siamese to access even if she wanders over. For the Burmilla specifically, the closed lid also keeps the food fresh while he takes his time, which matters if he's a grazer who comes back to his bowl over an hour or two. SureFlap also do a Connected version that links to an app and tracks how much each cat is eating — given that the Burmilla is losing weight, that monitoring feature might actually be worth the extra cost so you can see whether he's genuinely eating enough once the Siamese is locked out.

You do need the SureFlap Connect Hub to get the app functionality — the feeders themselves are standalone without it, but the feeding data, portion alerts, and remote monitoring only work once the hub is paired. The hub connects to your home WiFi and links up to multiple SureFlap devices, so if you ever add their microchip cat flap later it all talks to the same app. It's sold separately but it's a one-off cost and worth it in your situation given you're actively trying to track whether the Burmilla is recovering his weight. Buy one hub, two SureFeed Connected feeders, and you'll have full visibility on both cats.

Setup is genuinely straightforward — you press a button to put the feeder into training mode, let each cat approach so it reads their chip, and it learns them within a few seconds. The SureFlap app walks you through the hub pairing. The trickiest part is usually convincing a suspicious cat to approach on cue, but a Siamese who's food-motivated will absolutely cooperate the moment she suspects food is involved. The Burmilla might need a little more patience, but there's no technical complexity. Most people have both feeders running inside twenty minutes.