Our ideal auto feeder would hold several cups of food but have an adjustment where you could tell it to release only a portion of food at certain times to only a certain microchipped cat.
Exactly the same for me! I want to squish these two feeders together so it can read the microchip between the shoulders to only feed the cat I want it to (without them having to wear a collar) and feed them potions through the day. Many others agree. It is shocking that this doesn’t exist.
It’s extremely annoying that SurePet hasn’t released a fully automatic feeder yet. They must have a patent on the chip reading because it seems like no one else has done it.
100% I agree! There has to be something like a patent stopping others from doing this as there is clearly great demand for it. It is super frustrating as that's all I want.
It seems like it because the only other one on the market I can find is the closer pet mibowl. I would love a microchip feeder that is a bit taller than both for my 2 small jack Russell as both are food thiefs
@@Olivia-wr5op Interesting! Thanks for sharing! I just looked into the Pets MiBowl and it looks like it came out in March 2024. It looks much more confined and I wonder how easy it is to clean.... I'll reach out to the brand and see if I can make a video on it.
My cats are not only on different prescription diets, but they both require obstacle bowls / slow feeders. Really wish these feeders had a prong bowl option (or something of the sorts).
There are SO many things I wish about the surefeed feeders, but they still win in my home thanks to that shoulder microchip reader. I assure you that the day they provide better options, I'll be reviewing those as soon as I know! BUT I think there is a solution for your fast eaters...on Etsy, there are a whole bunch of obstacle bowl options like this one: www.etsy.com/listing/1410423023/ (NOT an affiliate link, just sharing!).
Thank you! I needed to know the difference between the feeders that are compatible with their RFID chips and the feeders that need a collar. My girl cats will NOT allow us to collar them. Much appreciated!
It is hard plastic! No rubber or silicone! The only soft rubbery plastic on it is in the middle of the cover that goes over the food...which I think would be very hard to get to.
I adore you for this. Now right now I’m in a little bit of a pickle because when I first started searching chip pet feeders, I got confused and I clicked on an Etsy link and on the link it showed the first one that you have on the left, but it had a little cat head cut out and I thought it was so cute and I couldn’t believe that it was $18 so I went for it and I bought two of them, and only after did, I realize it was nonrefundable and it was an attachment to go on the front to further keep other cats out 😢 do you think that attachment may also work on the pet Libro?
That would've been one fantastic deal!! I have no idea if the attachment you got on Etsy for the Surefeed will work for the Petlibro, but I'm guessing it won't. These are very different styles. Also, the Surefeed automatically closes if a cat with an unapproved microchip tries to get into the food so it doesn't actually need an additional attachment! One of my cats tried to do this multiple times in the beginning, but learned quickly that he was never going to get the food and gave up.
With the Sure Pet, how do I stop my piggy from eating all of his food at once? I really hate to make him wear a collar as he never has before, but worry about him eating everything at once.
Sounds like you have the same issue I do! I have a slow eater (with prescription food) and a super fast eater. I have two Sure Pet feeders. I give my slow eater all his food once a day and then give my fast eater portions throughout the day...The feeders make it easier since I don't have to separate the cats during meals or starve my slow eater, but it is still a pain. I had hoped that the PetLibro would be able to read the microchip in my fast eater so I wouldn't have to deal with feeding portions throughout the day, but it doesn't and I also don't want to make him wear a collar. So I'm still stuck doing portion feeding. I honestly don't understand why a company hasn't come out with a portion feeder with an overhead microchip reader. If anything, Sure Pet should since they've already mastered the overhead reader!
I have the Sure feed and it works great for my pair of cats. I have a 5 section auto feeder for my one of my cats that the "Over eater" get's food 5 times a day, but my other cat only uses her Surefeed. Both of my Cats have the "Chip", so it's not an issue getting another Surefeed , but the multi dosing of the Petlibro is interesting. Thanks for your review.
Unfortunately no. For some reason there are very few RFID feeders available despite high demand and none include a camera. I haven't dug into this, but the common assumption is that Sure Petcare has a patent on the over-the-shoulder microchip reader that makes all RFID feeders hard to make. There are decent camera feeders out there (I've tried this one ua-cam.com/video/N3bViXQjnjI/v-deo.html), but not with the RFID cover.
I want to get the petlibro one, but I have two adult cats (and eventually three when the kitten grows up) so I'll have to purchase one per cat, my question is the collars with the RFID chips are they set up on the system? Does the system know which collar/cat is walking up? My fear is that the collars would all be the same so my greedy cat would still be able to steal the others food :/
@@mackenzieforsyth2940 That's a really good question! Petlibro makes it clear that their feeder is designed for multi-cat households and that each RFID tag is unique to the specific feeder unit. And RFID tags in general are designed to be unique so each tag has a distinct identifier that sets it apart from every other tag. Apparently, RFID tags can hold up to 2000kb of data so it's not hard for each one to be unique. So I am 99% sure that the RFID tags you get will be unique to each PetLibro. And if for some wild reason they aren't, PetLibro can and should send you a new unique tag for free. I really hope I don't eat my words on this, but I'd be shocked if this ever is an issue.
It doesn't require the supplied chip on the collar. I was able to get it to connect to the microchip between my cat's shoulder blades by holding the base over him....but it wasn't strong enough to recognize his chip when he walked on it. If your cat has a microchip implanted in their chest, that *could* work. Might be worth a shot?
After a couple weeks of usage I will definitely return it. The petlibro is capable of reading the cat's microchip but it only works 1 out of 10 times. The cat really needs to crouch and squeeze real close to the door to activate it. With the collar it works like a charm. Even too well I would say because it opens "too soon". There's also another deal breaker to me: the least amount of food it can dispense is 10 grams (or 1/12th of a cup) but the actual amount is always between 13 and 15 grams. So it is dispensing more food than I need which defeats the whole purpose of diet watching. Oh. One other annoying thing, when the cat is eating, their ears touch the capacitive buttons and it keeps repeating "button is locked". Living in a small apartment and hearing this at 3am is not pleasing.
nope. The FAQ for the Petlibro One Feeder states that each feeder and RFID tag are unique and only the single issued collar will open any individual feeder. You will need one feeder/collar combo per pet.
@@Jon-ve8fg I was just coming here to say the same thing! I hadn't responded yet as I thought it might be possible, but was going to test it first. I just tried. No luck. You can bind other RFID microchips than the one that comes with the PetLibro, but only one at a time.
@@alderandjadegood to know you can bind a different rfid! That seems to contradict what they had stated on the site, but makes more sense. Thanks for sharing your experience!
@@summussum7540 Absolutely! The reason I figured that out is that I had hoped this would work with the microchip between my cat's shoulder blades like the surefeed does (ua-cam.com/video/xPczRf15X28/v-deo.html) as I wanted to control both portioning and which cat had access (this would've been for my ever-hungry ragdoll kitty). I had no problem holding the bottom above my cat's head and getting the PetLibro to connect, but it was just too far away when he'd walk on the mat. So while I absolutely love this feeder, I'm not going to make my cat wear a collar just so I can make life even easier on myself. But if my cat already wore a collar? Then this is a no brainer to me.
Wow!I am amazed. Companies are still making products that use batteries where I live these big C and D size batteries are virtually extinct and are really expensive when you do find them. Last time I remember buying these kind of batteries was for a boombox in the 80s! How behind the times can a manufacturer be? I was really hoping the trow-away society died in the last century. Hundreds of dollars or euros for a bit of plastic running on batteries.... so sad.
You do realize that batteries are being used more and more right? Smartphones and electric cars are the primary users, which have caused a 180% increased demand for lithium. Also think cordless vacuums, flashlights, remotes, cameras… you might not see them, but batteries are everywhere. I personally love that the surefeed pet feeder uses batteries as some cats chew on cords AND I want these in a part of my house that doesn’t have an outlet. The batteries last me over 6 months every time. The PetLibro doesn’t require batteries, but can use them instead or only as backup in case of a power outage to ensure the cats are fed.
Simple, honest, no sponsor/bloated intro/exit. Flawless victory. Don't change & thanks for the help here.
Much appreciated!
Our ideal auto feeder would hold several cups of food but have an adjustment where you could tell it to release only a portion of food at certain times to only a certain microchipped cat.
Exactly the same for me! I want to squish these two feeders together so it can read the microchip between the shoulders to only feed the cat I want it to (without them having to wear a collar) and feed them potions through the day. Many others agree. It is shocking that this doesn’t exist.
Thank you so much for the review as I have been scoping out each of these different devices!
You are so welcome!
It’s extremely annoying that SurePet hasn’t released a fully automatic feeder yet. They must have a patent on the chip reading because it seems like no one else has done it.
100% I agree! There has to be something like a patent stopping others from doing this as there is clearly great demand for it. It is super frustrating as that's all I want.
It seems like it because the only other one on the market I can find is the closer pet mibowl.
I would love a microchip feeder that is a bit taller than both for my 2 small jack Russell as both are food thiefs
@@Olivia-wr5op Interesting! Thanks for sharing! I just looked into the Pets MiBowl and it looks like it came out in March 2024. It looks much more confined and I wonder how easy it is to clean.... I'll reach out to the brand and see if I can make a video on it.
My cats are not only on different prescription diets, but they both require obstacle bowls / slow feeders. Really wish these feeders had a prong bowl option (or something of the sorts).
There are SO many things I wish about the surefeed feeders, but they still win in my home thanks to that shoulder microchip reader. I assure you that the day they provide better options, I'll be reviewing those as soon as I know! BUT I think there is a solution for your fast eaters...on Etsy, there are a whole bunch of obstacle bowl options like this one: www.etsy.com/listing/1410423023/ (NOT an affiliate link, just sharing!).
There's ones for the surefeedbone, but I'm not sure if it's third party or the brand ones
Maybe use a microchip catdoor with an cathouse or box or fruitcrate or something? Then you can put in any bowl you want.
Thank you! I needed to know the difference between the feeders that are compatible with their RFID chips and the feeders that need a collar. My girl cats will NOT allow us to collar them. Much appreciated!
You are so welcome!
What is the material of the petlibro pad? Our cat chews up silicone and rubber type materials
It is hard plastic! No rubber or silicone! The only soft rubbery plastic on it is in the middle of the cover that goes over the food...which I think would be very hard to get to.
I adore you for this. Now right now I’m in a little bit of a pickle because when I first started searching chip pet feeders, I got confused and I clicked on an Etsy link and on the link it showed the first one that you have on the left, but it had a little cat head cut out and I thought it was so cute and I couldn’t believe that it was $18 so I went for it and I bought two of them, and only after did, I realize it was nonrefundable and it was an attachment to go on the front to further keep other cats out 😢 do you think that attachment may also work on the pet Libro?
That would've been one fantastic deal!! I have no idea if the attachment you got on Etsy for the Surefeed will work for the Petlibro, but I'm guessing it won't. These are very different styles. Also, the Surefeed automatically closes if a cat with an unapproved microchip tries to get into the food so it doesn't actually need an additional attachment! One of my cats tried to do this multiple times in the beginning, but learned quickly that he was never going to get the food and gave up.
With the Sure Pet, how do I stop my piggy from eating all of his food at once? I really hate to make him wear a collar as he never has before, but worry about him eating everything at once.
Sounds like you have the same issue I do! I have a slow eater (with prescription food) and a super fast eater.
I have two Sure Pet feeders. I give my slow eater all his food once a day and then give my fast eater portions throughout the day...The feeders make it easier since I don't have to separate the cats during meals or starve my slow eater, but it is still a pain.
I had hoped that the PetLibro would be able to read the microchip in my fast eater so I wouldn't have to deal with feeding portions throughout the day, but it doesn't and I also don't want to make him wear a collar. So I'm still stuck doing portion feeding.
I honestly don't understand why a company hasn't come out with a portion feeder with an overhead microchip reader. If anything, Sure Pet should since they've already mastered the overhead reader!
I have the Sure feed and it works great for my pair of cats. I have a 5 section auto feeder for my one of my cats that the "Over eater" get's food 5 times a day, but my other cat only uses her Surefeed. Both of my Cats have the "Chip", so it's not an issue getting another Surefeed , but the multi dosing of the Petlibro is interesting. Thanks for your review.
You're so welcome :)
Do either offer a way to elevate the bowl?
Nope. Both of these have very fixed locations for the bowl.
Is there something like this with a camera?
Unfortunately no. For some reason there are very few RFID feeders available despite high demand and none include a camera. I haven't dug into this, but the common assumption is that Sure Petcare has a patent on the over-the-shoulder microchip reader that makes all RFID feeders hard to make. There are decent camera feeders out there (I've tried this one ua-cam.com/video/N3bViXQjnjI/v-deo.html), but not with the RFID cover.
Thanks for the nice and simple review! I already have the PetLibro one and like it soooo much, but clicked this from google out of curiosity
@@randombrokeperson you are so welcome! These are both fantastic feeders. Glad you like the PetLibro!
I want to get the petlibro one, but I have two adult cats (and eventually three when the kitten grows up) so I'll have to purchase one per cat, my question is the collars with the RFID chips are they set up on the system? Does the system know which collar/cat is walking up? My fear is that the collars would all be the same so my greedy cat would still be able to steal the others food :/
@@mackenzieforsyth2940 That's a really good question! Petlibro makes it clear that their feeder is designed for multi-cat households and that each RFID tag is unique to the specific feeder unit. And RFID tags in general are designed to be unique so each tag has a distinct identifier that sets it apart from every other tag. Apparently, RFID tags can hold up to 2000kb of data so it's not hard for each one to be unique.
So I am 99% sure that the RFID tags you get will be unique to each PetLibro. And if for some wild reason they aren't, PetLibro can and should send you a new unique tag for free. I really hope I don't eat my words on this, but I'd be shocked if this ever is an issue.
Do they makes these for dogs?
Unfortunately no. These brands are both specific to cats.
Does the petlibro work if the microchip is implanted in the cat's chest?
Or does it only work with the chip on the supplied collar?
Great vid! Thanks!
It doesn't require the supplied chip on the collar. I was able to get it to connect to the microchip between my cat's shoulder blades by holding the base over him....but it wasn't strong enough to recognize his chip when he walked on it. If your cat has a microchip implanted in their chest, that *could* work. Might be worth a shot?
@alderandjade thanks! Yes. I think it's worth the shot.
@@DavidAzevedo81 If you remember, I'd love to hear if you have success with this!
@@alderandjade with pleasure. I placed the order today so I should be reporting back in 2 to 3 days. ;)
After a couple weeks of usage I will definitely return it. The petlibro is capable of reading the cat's microchip but it only works 1 out of 10 times. The cat really needs to crouch and squeeze real close to the door to activate it. With the collar it works like a charm. Even too well I would say because it opens "too soon". There's also another deal breaker to me: the least amount of food it can dispense is 10 grams (or 1/12th of a cup) but the actual amount is always between 13 and 15 grams. So it is dispensing more food than I need which defeats the whole purpose of diet watching. Oh. One other annoying thing, when the cat is eating, their ears touch the capacitive buttons and it keeps repeating "button is locked". Living in a small apartment and hearing this at 3am is not pleasing.
one question, I have not found this information anywhere, can you add two cats to one petlibro feeder for example?
nope. The FAQ for the Petlibro One Feeder states that each feeder and RFID tag are unique and only the single issued collar will open any individual feeder. You will need one feeder/collar combo per pet.
@@Jon-ve8fg I was just coming here to say the same thing! I hadn't responded yet as I thought it might be possible, but was going to test it first. I just tried. No luck. You can bind other RFID microchips than the one that comes with the PetLibro, but only one at a time.
@@alderandjadegood to know you can bind a different rfid! That seems to contradict what they had stated on the site, but makes more sense. Thanks for sharing your experience!
@@summussum7540 Absolutely! The reason I figured that out is that I had hoped this would work with the microchip between my cat's shoulder blades like the surefeed does (ua-cam.com/video/xPczRf15X28/v-deo.html) as I wanted to control both portioning and which cat had access (this would've been for my ever-hungry ragdoll kitty). I had no problem holding the bottom above my cat's head and getting the PetLibro to connect, but it was just too far away when he'd walk on the mat.
So while I absolutely love this feeder, I'm not going to make my cat wear a collar just so I can make life even easier on myself. But if my cat already wore a collar? Then this is a no brainer to me.
If petlibro just incorporated standard rfid reader and not the collar it would be the “cats meow” as they say… to bad
Check out the prices on Amazon:
Petlibro: geni.us/qAOG (paid link)
Surefeed: geni.us/lXutT (paid link)
Wow!I am amazed. Companies are still making products that use batteries where I live these big C and D size batteries are virtually extinct and are really expensive when you do find them. Last time I remember buying these kind of batteries was for a boombox in the 80s! How behind the times can a manufacturer be? I was really hoping the trow-away society died in the last century. Hundreds of dollars or euros for a bit of plastic running on batteries.... so sad.
You do realize that batteries are being used more and more right? Smartphones and electric cars are the primary users, which have caused a 180% increased demand for lithium. Also think cordless vacuums, flashlights, remotes, cameras… you might not see them, but batteries are everywhere. I personally love that the surefeed pet feeder uses batteries as some cats chew on cords AND I want these in a part of my house that doesn’t have an outlet. The batteries last me over 6 months every time. The PetLibro doesn’t require batteries, but can use them instead or only as backup in case of a power outage to ensure the cats are fed.