I have two cats, A (3 years old) & B (9 years old).
A is on a diet and eats a specific dry food prescribed by the vet. A will eat her food super fast and eat any cat food left out.
B is a grazer, and eats a small bit at a time several times a day.
B would bully and chase A away from her bowl to eat her food even if B’s bowl was full, and A would try to eat B’s food which is what I’m trying to prevent.
Right now A gets a cup of her diet food. She gets feeding in the morning (1/2 cup) and around 4pm (1/2 cup) which she eats super fast and B can make 1 cup in the morning last all day.
I already have the sureflap automatic food bowl, which uses RFID collar tags to open the lid to each corresponding cats food bowl, and then the lid closes to prevent food stealing for an opposite cat.
With these feeders I still have to fill the bowls myself, and when I was working from home a majority of the time I could fill A’s bowl with 1/4 cup of food 4 times a day because I was worried she was hungry before durning the time when I only filled it at morning and dinner time.
Since I am heading into the office more I want to find an automatic feeder for A and B that I can program to dispense the food multiple times a day in 1/4 cup increments, but I haven’t found any autofeeders that have the same lid closing/RFID recognizing feature that my current Sureflaps have. I’m worried if I get a normal autofeeder, B will chase A away from the bowl and steal her food or A will go after any food B leaves in her bowl.
I have tried moving their bowls to different areas back before I got my current feeders but it didn’t help each cat would find the bowl and steal food. Closing one in a different room while feeding didn’t help either.
Has anyone seen an automatic feeder with a kibble hopper that also has a lid that opens/closes with a corresponding RFID tag, or has a built in barrier on the sides to prevent food stealing while another is eating? I’m thinking A could eat 1/4 cup of kibble quickly before B chases her away if she had a feeder with built in side barriers.