Alternatives to surefeed micro chip feeder?

[WillowMarie]

Sure feed Micro chip feeders are out of stock everywhere and I was hoping to get one first my oldest cat. She's going through some health issues and less hungry, so it takes her hours to finish her food now. Taking her for an ultrasound soon as her appetite decreased again.

Are there any alternatives you know of? My younger two share one, so I need something that can recognize which cat is trying to eat.

I did see on tik tok a homemade tote with lots of air holes with a micro chip pet door fixed on one side. They made it specifically for their cat to go in to eat. Thinking of trying that. Has anyone done this?

Any recommendations for micro chip pet doors? How big of a tote would you get?

Also, I'm leaning towards getting a motion sensor feeder to put inside the tote to help the food stay fresh, if I go that route. Any affordable recommendations for a sensor feeder for wet food?

 

[NekoM]

Hello
I’ve got a search engine that’ll find anything. If your still looking for the feeder and in the US, they have them in stock at valleyvet . com they’re based in Kansas.
Hope that helps!

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=E0AF3477-D22E-4316-99CF-A080838614E6

 

[Mac and Cats]

I don't know if you're still needing a Surefeeder, but I actually emailed the company last week because I would also like to get one. We got lucky and a friend gave us one a few years ago and it's great for keeping other cats out of food that they shouldn't have (ie. keeping the kitten out of kidney food). Since we recently got a kitten and we give him a little bit of supplemental dry food, I didn't realize our old lady girl had discovered where we keep it and is now eating the kitten's food as well. Anyway, here's what they said in a response to me in the email I received this morning:

"Thank you so much for reaching out! Unfortunately, we are out of stock on the Microchip Pet Feeder Connects currently due to worldwide supply chain issues. We're tentatively hoping to get the Feeders back in stock by March.

My apologies for this inconvenience, you're very welcome to call or email us periodically for an update on when we can expect them back."

However, the email it came back from said "UK" in the title. So, I'm not sure if that means they're hoping to have them in stock in the US sometime in March or not. I signed up to be notified on Chewy when it is back in stock.

How is your kitty doing since the ultrasound?

 

[WillowMarie]

Thanks for the update Mac and Cats . I checked surefeeds website recently and looks like the regular microchip feeder is in stock!!! Bought one tonight.

My friend on the other hand wants to get the connect version, so I passed along the message it may be available in March.

Isabelle is doing well. Eating all her meals all at once or within a half hour most of the time. Which is her norm! Feeling much better, but we will see what her bloodwork is like as I'm taking her this week for a follow up.

I haven't done the ultrasound quite yet since she was eating so much better a week after her dental. If her values are still high after this next blood test, I'm definitely getting the ultrasound done.

One struggle I'm facing is she has started being fussy taking her denamarin. It gets put in a small amount of pill pocket and this week she is eating the pill pocket off and trying not to eat the pill. She's still taking her prednisolone pill in the morning and evenings, but has been more hesitant and definitely hesitant midday with the denamarin. If she takes denamarin, I now give her one small piece of treat afterwards and hope it gives positive association. I just know denamarin is best given on an empty stomach.

Hope you are able to get the connect feeder soon, too! Yes, kitties can have such good noises. Your old lady is enjoying the stash the kitten comes with.

 

[Mac and Cats]

Thanks for the update Mac and Cats . I checked surefeeds website recently and looks like the regular microchip feeder is in stock!!! Bought one tonight.

My friend on the other hand wants to get the connect version, so I passed along the message it may be available in March.

Isabelle is doing well. Eating all her meals all at once or within a half hour most of the time. Which is her norm! Feeling much better, but we will see what her bloodwork is like as I'm taking her this week for a follow up.

I haven't done the ultrasound quite yet since she was eating so much better a week after her dental. If her values are still high after this next blood test, I'm definitely getting the ultrasound done.

One struggle I'm facing is she has started being fussy taking her denamarin. It gets put in a small amount of pill pocket and this week she is eating the pill pocket off and trying not to eat the pill. She's still taking her prednisolone pill in the morning and evenings, but has been more hesitant and definitely hesitant midday with the denamarin. If she takes denamarin, I now give her one small piece of treat afterwards and hope it gives positive association. I just know denamarin is best given on an empty stomach.

Hope you are able to get the connect feeder soon, too! Yes, kitties can have such good noises. Your old lady is enjoying the stash the kitten comes with.

Ack! Thank you so much for letting me know! I actually don't care if it is the connect or not. So, I just ordered the regular sure feed. They were out of stock just yesterday when I was checking and I didn't think to check again today since I got their message. I'm just trying to keep the kitten out of the elders' food and vice versa. I'm glad you got one too! All of the ones I found on Amazon or Ebay wanted $300+ for them since they are out of stock everywhere else.

I'm glad she is doing ok. Do you let her eat the pill pocket or do you pop it down her throat? I just recently learned that you shouldn't do a pill pop without letting them eat or drink something afterwards as it can cause severe issues with their esophagus. I have been doing that for a couple years so I'm so glad it hasn't caused issues with our cats. So, now I make sure our cats eat a little of the liquid pouch treats or wet food afterwards. You can also squirt a bit of water into their mouth afterwards. I was trying to let one of our cats eat the pill pocket pills, but then as soon as she bit into them she was very mad at me and wouldn't do it again. Now that she gets a liquid yummy treat afterwards, she doesn't mind me popping it down her throat. I still do a thin layer of pill pocket to help it go down a little smoother. I'm not familiar with denamarin. What does she take it for?

 

[ladytimedramon]

I love the connect version myself. One of my cats doesn't eat immediately when I feed her before work. The feeder notifies me when they eat.

 

[WillowMarie]

Ack! Thank you so much for letting me know! I actually don't care if it is the connect or not. So, I just ordered the regular sure feed. They were out of stock just yesterday when I was checking and I didn't think to check again today since I got their message. I'm just trying to keep the kitten out of the elders' food and vice versa. I'm glad you got one too! All of the ones I found on Amazon or Ebay wanted $300+ for them since they are out of stock everywhere else.

I'm glad she is doing ok. Do you let her eat the pill pocket or do you pop it down her throat? I just recently learned that you shouldn't do a pill pop without letting them eat or drink something afterwards as it can cause severe issues with their esophagus. I have been doing that for a couple years so I'm so glad it hasn't caused issues with our cats. So, now I make sure our cats eat a little of the liquid pouch treats or wet food afterwards. You can also squirt a bit of water into their mouth afterwards. I was trying to let one of our cats eat the pill pocket pills, but then as soon as she bit into them she was very mad at me and wouldn't do it again. Now that she gets a liquid yummy treat afterwards, she doesn't mind me popping it down her throat. I still do a thin layer of pill pocket to help it go down a little smoother. I'm not familiar with denamarin. What does she take it for?

Looks like they are out of stock again. Wonder how many they had. Glad you were able to get one! Mine arrived in the mail today. Sounds like the feeders will be a good fix for your situation. Feel free to share how it works our for you!

Pill pocket. wow, I never knew that! My vet didn't mention that to be when I first started my oldest on pills. Guess I'm lucky my two cats who use pill pockets seem to not chew on them, outside of occasionally having challenges with the Denamarin. Do you use something like the churee treats in the tube? I've heard cats gocrazy over those. That's great it's been working for you.

The denamarin she is taking for elevated liver values (retesting blood tomorrow, 6 weeks after a dental, and if values still high will do ultrasound, etc) and also takes prednisilone for asthma. What does your cat get pills for?

 

[Mac and Cats]

Looks like they are out of stock again. Wonder how many they had. Glad you were able to get one! Mine arrived in the mail today. Sounds like the feeders will be a good fix for your situation. Feel free to share how it works our for you!

Pill pocket. wow, I never knew that! My vet didn't mention that to be when I first started my oldest on pills. Guess I'm lucky my two cats who use pill pockets seem to not chew on them, outside of occasionally having challenges with the Denamarin. Do you use something like the churee treats in the tube? I've heard cats gocrazy over those. That's great it's been working for you.

The denamarin she is taking for elevated liver values (retesting blood tomorrow, 6 weeks after a dental, and if values still high will do ultrasound, etc) and also takes prednisilone for asthma. What does your cat get pills for?

I don't think they had many in stock because shortly after I ordered mine, I checked again and they were OOS again!

My vet didn't tell me either! I found this out via the internet, but it makes a lot of sense. I do use the tube treats. The elders like these tube treats and these pouch treats (I split one between the two of them). We have a kitten who likes these. I have tried the Churu and they all thought they were ok. I can't remember why I haven't bought them again.

We have 3 cats: 10 months, 13 and 15. The 13 year old has very bad arthritis and hyperthyroid. She takes Methimazole twice a day for her hyperthryoid and also Gabapentin twice a day for her arthritis (she also gets a monthly injection of Solensia), and she has also been taking Prozac for anxiety reasons. We are trying to ween her down to a smaller dose to see if it still helps. The 15 year old also has hyperthyroid and takes the Methimazole twice daily. He also takes Prozac due to spraying and litter box bullying (he's the bully) reasons (It was our very last resort). He was also just diagnosed with possible IBD (it could be small cell lymphoma, but can't be ruled out unless we do a biopsy), so he is currently on Prednisolone once a day for that, plus we give him a capsule probiotic and vitamin b12. It's a lot for both of them. I manage to shove it down their throats with a thin layer of pill pocket and then I have them eat wet food or a liquid pouch treat right after. I bought these little dishes to give them their liquid treats in. They don't do anything for the cats, but they make me feel a bit happier when I see the cat at the bottom of the plate. We have lost 3 cats during this pandemic, only 18 months apart (17 - Lymphoma, 18 - CKD, 10 - intestinal disease I can't remember the name of, but has only been recognized since 2017, so there isn't much known about it and often gets mistaken for lymphoma).

So sorry about your cat and her elevated liver values (and asthma). The reason mine bit into the pill pocket is because we use the Gabapentin capsle and they are big. But she's very smart, fortunately/unfortunately, so, she didn't trust me after that with pill pocket type treats. How old are both of your cats? I don't think you mentioned what the second cat takes and why. How are they both doing?

We just took the 10 month old to the vet yesterday and spent $600 on tests. He puked twice and I'm paranoid after losing 3 cats in an 18 month span. He had a fever when we got to the vet and that is what was concerning and caused all the tests. Turns out he was fine and the stress of the vet is what likely elevated his temp. He is and was acting totally normal in every single way except for the two pukes and high temp. I think sometimes he eats too fast and that's why he puked. I'm so glad he is fine, but it makes me wonder how people had cats live so long in the past! Growing up we never took our cats to the vet unless they were gravely ill or injured. Poor Tigger and Bailey. Makes me hate myself as a child for how we took care of them even though I couldn't have helped it anyway!