Wonder Bowl Selective Pet Feeder – Full Review

Wonder Bowl Automatic Feeder Review 

Rating: 3.2 stars | Wonder Bowl is an auto feeder for multi-pet households and pets on special diets because it only opens when a cat or dog is wearing a unique collar tag. This is especially important since feeding pets in a selective way is very difficult and that’s why Wonder Bowl gives you a solution to the challenge of making each cat eat only its own food or stopping a dog from eating the cat’s food.

Wonder Bowl is designed to not slide and the stainless steel bowl insert is dishwasher safe on the top shelf and can be removed for cleaning.

FEATURES

• Good for multi-pet households
• It stops kids and unwanted pets from getting into the selected pet’s food
• It works with 3 D-cell batteries not included
• AC adapter and additional tags are sold apart
• The unit includes one collar tag
• Bowl holds up to 1.5 cups of dry food
• Its design prevents sliding
• Low battery indicator on the tag
• 1 year limited warranty

HOW IT WORKS

Wonder Bowl works with infrared technology to detect when your pet is close to the feeder. When the cat or dog wearing the unique tag is in range, the lid will open, allowing the pet to have access to the food.

WATCH 3 CATS EATING FROM THE WONDER BOWL, EACH ONE WITH ITS OWN

PROS

• Infrared technology allows the feeder to open when the pet wearing the tag approaches it.
• Selective feeding system excludes pets that don’t wear the unique tag.
• The system keeps dogs or chubby cats out of the bowl.
• Good for cats on a prescription diet.
• Sturdy design

CONS

• If the cat turns its head when eating from the bowl or if it moves its head to the sides of the feeder the lid closes on the cat’s head because it loses the infrared line of sight.
• Tags are too big for a cat’s size and once attached to the cat’s collar it hangs too low for the infrared sensor
• When the tag is hanging in the bowl, the lid closes on the cat’s head.
• The feeder is loud when operating.
• The sensor cannot reach the cat’s tag if the food level is too low because the steel bowl is very deep.
• Batteries don’t last that long

TIPS & TRICKS FOR A BETTER USE OF THE WONDER BOWL

• As the batteries don’t last very long, make sure to buy the AC adapter.
• Try to get the cat’s tag a little higher by attaching it directly to the cat’s collar, this way the infrared line does not lose sight so often.
• As the stainless steel bowl is deep and the cat is uncomfortable eating with its head pushed down, you can use something inside the steel bowl to elevate the food.
• You can add extra sensors to the feeder and this way will not close if your cat moves its head away from the feeder. Watch the following video of a customer that added 3 more sensors to its Wonder Bowl:

CONCLUSION

Wonder Bowl is a good concept to feed pets in a selective way through infrared technology which detects the tag that a cat is wearing on the collar to open. According to customer reviews, it seems like this automatic feeder needs some adjustments. These are the reasons customers state:

• Customers complain of the feeder shutting on the cat’s head when the infrared line loses contact with the tag and this happens because usually cats don’t eat with their head straight or one level all the time, they move the head down a little or turn it around from side to side, etc. Customers also state that the tag is too big for a regular sized cat and it hangs down too low so when the cat is eating with the head inside the bowl, the infrared line loses contact with the tag and closes on the cat’s head.
• The feeder’s lid opens about two feet away from cats so sometimes they are only walking by the feeder with no intention to eat and this opening and closing activity of the feeder might scare shy cats.
• As customers have pointed out, this automatic feeder needs some adjustments to work properly. You can adjust the Wonder Bowl to your situation and it will work fine.

BOTTOM LINE

The Wonder Bowl might not be suitable for nervous cats, kittens or small sized cats. The unit might need some adjustments to work properly if your cat usually moves its head away from the feeder when eating.

However, if you really need a solution to feed your cat a prescription diet or if you have a very skinny cat that does not get to eat because the other cat steals its food, give this feeder a try but you will need to do some easy adjustments for the line of sight between the feeder and your cat’s tag to meet without problems.