The Eyre family

Cat’s weight management diet kept on track

Kelly has two SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeders for her cats Jelly and Jon. As a veterinary nurse, she knows how important it is to ensure each of her cats has access to a healthy diet. We found out more about her background and how the feeders have made mealtimes easier for her two furry friends.

Kelly is the Veterinary Nurse for the Feline Healthy Ageing Clinic which runs the CatPAWS study funded by Royal Canin. The study aims to extend the quality of life in ageing cats through research and education, to give them a longer healthier life. They see cats every six months between the ages of seven and ten years and assess all aspects of their health including blood tests, blood pressure and gait analysis using a pressure mat to detect early signs of arthritis. More information can be found on their Facebook page.

Kelly, can you tell us more about your cats?

Jelly is a ginger female who is 5 years old. She’s deaf, partially sighted and has a brain condition which makes her wobble, hence the name Jelly! My other cat is Jon and he has just turned 2 years old. He was born in my house when I fostered a pregnant stray.

Jelly the cat sitting on a SureFeed box Jelly and Jon cats eating from SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeders

Do your cats have any particular feeding habits?

Jelly has always been an ad lib feeder, so when I got Jon I just fed him in the same way…filling up the bowl! It turns out Jon can’t maintain his own calories like Jelly can and he put on a fair amount of weight.

How has the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder helped?

Jon is now fed a weight management diet and the Microchip Pet Feeder allows him to still ad lib feed his dry food throughout the day, without the risk of eating Jelly’s food which is a different diet. I tried changing him from ad lib to set meals and he got really upset and got cystitis, so the feeders mean he can continue his natural feeding habits without getting stressed in the process. He’s a sensitive soul!

How well did your cats take to the Microchip Pet Feeder?

Jelly took to it straight away, but I think as she is deaf, the noise didn’t make a difference to her first opinion of them. She’s very laid back and doesn’t mind change. Jon on the other hand found them quite scary to begin with and would back away when the lid opened. After using some high value treats he realised it wasn’t too scary after all.

Did you use the training mode?

I did, yes. Jelly probably didn’t need it, but it really helped Jon get slowly accustomed to the bowl, the noises and the way it worked without him getting too stressed at the noise and movement.

Does the Microchip Pet Feeder keep your cats’ food fresher?

I mainly use dry food and only on the rare occasion do I put wet food in there if Jon has been spooked by something when eating. It definitely stayed fresh until he decided to eat it though.

Has the Microchip Pet Feeder helped you reduce the amount of cat food you waste and thus saved you money on cat food?

Difficult to answer this one as I never threw away dry food and they always ate the small amount of wet food straight away when given it. Starting them on the diet and weighing the food out to their calorific needs has definitely saved money, and I don’t think the diet would work without the feeders.

Would you recommend the Microchip Pet Feeder to other cat-owning people?

Absolutely, it’s really useful for multi-cat households and makes a huge impact on weight management which is so important in our pets with obesity on the rise.