How can you keep both dry and wet food fresh?
How do you keep flies out and pet food odor trapped within its bowl?
A pet feeder with a lid could help, but how would your pets open and close the lid?
The solution?
A motion detector pet feeder.
The SureFeed Motion-Activated Sealed Pet Bowl will solve the above problems plus some, but it won’t keep your pets from stealing each other’s food.
This is a pet feeder for a single-pet or single-breed household.
At a Glance…
Best Feature: Motion-activated
Worst Feature: Not for multi-pet homes
Ideal For: Kittens, Cats, Multi-Cat Homes, Dry Food, Wet Food
- Motion-activated
- Sealing lid
- Removable bowl
- Non-skid base
- 2-year warranty
Our Verdict: You don’t have to have a collar-sensor feeder to keep food fresh, sealed off, and yet easily accessible to your pets. A cheaper alternative to consider is a motion-activated feeder. The SureFeed Pet Bowl will self-open and close when it detects your pet approach the bowl without any chips or tags needed.
Who is the SureFeed Motion-Activated Sealed Pet Bowl Best Suited to?
This SureFeed Pet Bowl is ideal for single-pet or single-breed households. If you have a cat or a house full of cats, they can all feed from the same feeding station when they please.
Because it’s not microchip or collar-sensor activated, it is not pet-specific, so all pets will have access to the food. If you have a mix of cats, dogs, and other pets, it may not work for your household.
This is also a good feeder for someone who doesn’t mind dishing out each meal as it’s not a dispenser. The price is better than a pet-specific feeder, but it’s also more expensive than some automatic pet feeders. You’ll need to decide if the motion-detection tech is worth it. Decisions. Decisions.
How Does the SureFeed Motion-Activated Sealed Pet Bowl Perform?
The SureFeed Motion-Activated Sealed Pet Bowl works excellently for its purpose. The door opens when it detects motion at the bowl and will self-close once they leave.
However, there have been reports that it doesn’t work for black cats. What to do if this is you? You can set the feeder into a high sensitivity mode to detect motion from black cats, and of course, it just might be sensitive enough to let birds in. Needless to say, the motion-detection technology in this pet feeder works.
This pet feeder is expensive for what is essentially a pet bowl. It does not have any portion control or dispensing features. However, it’s the motion-detection technology that raises the price but is still cheaper than microchip and RFID tag feeders.
Features & Benefits
Motion-Activated
If you don’t have any microchipped pets and you’re not willing to spend a small fortune on a collar sensor pet feeder, a motion-activated pet feeder is a great alternative if you have one pet or multiple of the same kind.
The SureFeed pet bowl requires 4x C batteries to operate and lasts approximately 6 months or longer. There is no option to use an AC adapter.
The only downside to a motion-activated feeder is that it’s not target-specific, so it will open whenever it detects any nearby movement regardless if it’s specifically for the cat on a prescribed diet and the dog gets into it. This is why it’s best suited to single-pet homes.
While it does have various levels of sensitivity to help with black fur pets, the default sensitivity setting should not allow mice into the bowl. You can test what sensitivity setting you need by using your pet or your hand to determine what the lowest level of sensitivity is needed to keep smaller animals out.
Sealing Lid
The automatic door opens and closes when it detects motion. Your cat or dog can approach the bowl when they please without having to whine at you for constant feeds.
The polypropylene bowl has a raised TPE lip so when the lid closes, it provides a moisture-locking, sealed bowl. This helps to keep wet food fresher longer, keeps bugs and flying pests out, and trap the odor within the bowl.
Removable Bowl
The SureFeed Pet Feeder comes with a single 400 ml grey bowl. It’s not dishwasher or microwave safe, but it’s easy to clean by hand. You can buy other color bowls, split bowls (2x half bowls), and stainless steel bowls for this model separately.
Since this is not a dispenser or portion control feeder, you can allow your pet to free feed or you will need to refill and empty the bowl as necessary to control and monitor your pet’s diet.
Non-Skid Base
The pet feeder has silicon toe pads that help to keep the pet bowl stable. It won’t move when your pet is hungrily chowing down or licking up the sides. It also helps to keep the mess contained within the feeding station.
You can also buy non-skid feeding mats from the same brand in various colors.
2-year warranty
If you have any issues with your product, the SureFeed Pet Bowl is warrantied for 2-years from the date of purchase by Sure Petcare.
This is great reassurance as it is an electrical appliance at the end of the day. These types of products can malfunction due to the sensor technology and/or motorized door. Sure Petcare has provided new replacements for like issues and is quick to respond to problems.
Limitations
Not for Multi-Pet Homes
Because this pet feeder is motion-activated, all pets will have access to food. If you have cats, dogs, rabbits, and other types of inside or outside pets, they will be able to free-feed on whatever is available in the bowl.
If you’re trying to keep dogs out of cat food, cats out of the dog’s food, or even keep medicated food or pets on a dietary plan separate, this would not be an appropriate alternative. You would need to keep this pet bowl in a separate room for the specific pet that needs to eat from it.
Popular Questions
Yes! The stock bowl included with the SureFeed Motion-Activated Sealed Pet Bowl is a polypropylene grey bowl with a TPE seal that holds 400 ml.
Compatible bowls are available separately with different colors, split design, and stainless steel options.
The SureFeed Pet Bowl is rather small for large dogs, but it can work. You will need to refill the bowl as often as necessary. It works perfectly for small dogs and cats.
The motion-activated bowl opens for any pet based on detected movement near the bowl regardless of microchips and RFID collars. This is not a microchip-activated pet feeder, so it does not feature the option to program and respond to RFID numbers.
Because it runs on batteries, the pet bowl can be used outside for community or stray pets, but it’s not weatherproofed, so it should be placed inside if inclement weather is likely.
Unfortunately, ants can break into the pet bowl. You will need to get rid ants from the feeding area some other way to protect your pet’s food.
Conclusion
The Motion-Activated Pet Bowl is a great alternative to unchipped and uncollared pets. While it won’t stop different pets from accessing the bowl, it does keep food closed and sealed off when pets are not feeding.
You can also use the training mode on the feeder to help get your pets adjusted to the new feeding bowl. In no time, they’ll be a pro at figuring out how it works, and you’ll be a pro in setting-it and forgetting-it.
- MOTION ACTIVATED: The Motion-Activated lid opens when any pet approaches (Not Microchip Activated)....
Related Articles
- 5 Best Cat Feeders With a Collar Sensor in 2024
- Wireless Whiskers AutoDiet Automatic Pet Feeder Review
- SureFeed Motion Activated Sealed Pet Bowl Review
- SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder Review
- SureFeed Microchip Connect Pet Feeder Review
A lover of animals, peace and quiet, and reading. When Fern is not working she will be engrossed in a Fiction book or drooling over the idea of going out for dinner.
Fern is strangely fond of Vampire movies.
