Microchip feeder for weight control in one cat

Catching weight creep early is exactly the right instinct — and a microchip feeder is genuinely one of the most useful tools you can buy for a two-cat household before things escalate to a vet diet plan. They work by reading each cat's microchip and only opening for the cat it's assigned to, so your heavier cat can't hoover up the other's food and vice versa. A few quick questions: are both cats already microchipped, and is the issue mainly that one is eating too much overall, stealing the other's food, or a bit of both?

That's a really common dynamic — one fast, pushy eater and one who just quietly gives way. The good news is this is almost textbook microchip feeder territory, and getting ahead of it now is much simpler than managing it after a vet has prescribed a specific diet. Can I ask: does Milo eat wet food, dry, or both? And are you feeding set meals or leaving food down?

Perfect — wet food twice a day with a bowl-rusher is exactly the scenario microchip feeders handle brilliantly. My clear recommendation here is the SureFlap SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder. It's the most reliable option on the UK market — it reads the cat's microchip directly (no collar tag needed), has a sealed lid that closes the moment your cat walks away, and the bowl is removable for easy cleaning. You'd set one up assigned to Nora so only she can open it. Milo gets his food in a regular bowl as usual — you don't need to restrict his access to his own feeder, just protect Nora's. That alone should stop the stealing and let you start managing Milo's portions properly.

You only strictly need one — assigned to Nora. Since Milo's problem is eating too much rather than not getting enough, you just need to make sure he can't get into her food. His own bowl can stay as a normal dish. That said, if you later want to portion-control Milo too — which you may well decide to do — a second SureFeed assigned to him would let you put down a measured amount and have it close if he walks off, so he can't graze freely. For now though, one feeder for Nora will solve the immediate problem.

That's the sensible approach. One tip: when you first set it up, let Nora explore it with the lid open for a day or two before activating the microchip lock — some cats need a little time to trust the moving lid. Once she's comfortable, switch it on and she'll adapt quickly. Keep an eye on Milo's weight over the next six to eight weeks; if he's not naturally self-regulating once the stealing stops, that's the point to think about the second feeder or adjusting his meal size. Good luck — you're doing exactly the right thing catching this early.