Reddit reviews Sure Petcare - SureFeed Feeder Rear Cover - Only Needed to Help Ensure Persistent Pets Can't Access Food from The Rear of The Microchip Pet Feeder While The lid is Open.

I recommend getting something like the SureFeed with the rear cover:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JM4XK9W

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KXYB8PN

Put her food in there and she'll be able to eat it at her own pace whenever she wants while the bengal won't be able to get to it.

I actually use one for my bengal, Crixus. My other cat, Spartacus, eats like a dog; if there's food available, he's going to eat it. This allows Crixus to free-range throughout the day and Sparta can't touch it.

Image: Pixie is confused about why she can't get into her sister Trixie's bowl any more!

 

For years, I've used the PetSafe automatic feeder to dispense kibble, because my last cat was a food-obsessed only cat and this was the only way to keep him from begging incessantly. When he passed away and I adopted new kitties last year, I continued using the same automatic feeder as they had no complaints about sharing a bowl. Unfortunately, it turns out that one of them will often not eat her share of kibble, and her sister will happily eat the extra, so a weight problem was developing. Enter the SureFeed Microchip feeder. I had been looking for options and ran across a mention of this here on Reddit, and as it will actually read an implanted microchip instead of requiring a collar, it seemed perfect for my needs, although pricey.

 

I ordered two feeders in early February, expecting to be able to start training the kitties right away. Unfortunately, I missed the teeny, tiny "batteries not included" note on the order page, and so due to weather issues and multiple Amazon delivery failures, it took nearly two weeks to get enough batteries for both feeders (I had enough for one but not both.) In the meantime, however, I decided to set the feeders up with the lid open, and at least start getting the kitties used to the new contraption. Fortunately, since they have a self-cleaning litter box and were eating from an automatic feeder, they're already used to small mechanical noises and just needed to get used to the new bowls.

 

The first thing I did was take the automatic feeder and large shared bowl out, then put the feeder contraptions in the same place inside the cabinet where the kitties eat. I opened the lids on both feeders, and set the bowls in front of them so the kitties could have a new bowl without having to stick their head into the smaller confined space at first. Once they got used to the bowls, I put the bowls in the feeders and left them with the lid open for another week. During this week, I would occasionally call the kitties over, and push the open/close button on the feeder with batteries to show the mechanism without having it be in the way of eating. Lots of "check this out, isn't it cool!" positive encouragement while doing so. Luckily my kitties are young, curious, and fascinated by movement so they got used to it pretty quickly.

 

After three weeks of eating in open feeders, yesterday I finally programmed each feeder to read the microchip from one cat. Luring the cats through the hoop was no problem, a couple of favorite crunchy treats dropped in their bowl did the trick for that. Then once the feeder was programmed and the lid closed, another round with crunchy treats to lure them through and show them that it would open for them when they moved their head through.

 

The first couple of hours with programmed feeders was a little bit dicey, mostly because extra-eating kitty was quite confused about why she could no longer eat from her sister's bowl, and also slightly worried about the bright green light reflecting behind the open lid of her feeder. A couple of times sitting with her an re-assuring her while she approached the feeder and ate took care of that, along with setting the lid to the maximum slow-close duration so she had enough time to approach, open, contemplate, and get comfortable to eat.

 

The biggest problem mentioned in the reviews is the ability for a second kitty to come over the open back of a feeder and steal food while the "authorized" kitty eats. Luckily mine aren't at the food-stealing stage yet, but now that I don't need a cabinet large enough to handle the automatic feeder, I'll be moving the microchip feeders into a small Kallax cube shelf so each kitty is in a walled-off section that her sister can't invade. Bonus for being able to store the kibble and supplies in the upper sections of the shelf. There is also a back cover available for sale for the feeder, although apparently they can't manage to keep that in stock as it keeps going "unavailable" on Amazon. The only other change I need is to order a second set of the stainless steel bowls for the feeder, the included bowls are plastic and based on past experience, plastic bowls often cause chin acne in cats. I'd prefer ceramic over stainless, but so far I can't find the right size/shape of ceramic bowl to use with it.

 

Overall, a pricey option for multiple kitties, but worth it to be able to control feeding portions without having to separate kitties or add more daily feedings or other sort of crazy additions to daily life. Open feeders twice per day, add appropriate amount of kibble, and done. (Supplemented with wet food, which is a whoooooooole other thing. Note, though, that the lid on this feeder closes well enough it could support feeding wet food instead of kibble if needed. )