Wet food left down goes wrong fast. Within an hour or two in a warm kitchen the surface has dried to a crust, the smell has drawn flies, and a cat who was going to come back to it in the afternoon walks away instead. A lid that opens when they approach and closes again when they leave solves the specific problem of a pet who grazes through the day rather than clearing a bowl in one sitting.

A sensor in the housing reads movement at the bowl and lifts the lid, so nothing has to be nosed open or learned first. The dish itself is a detachable stainless steel insert, which is the part that matters for hygiene: steel does not scratch and hold the greasy film that plastic picks up after a few months of wet food, and it lifts straight out to go in the sink rather than being wiped around in place.

• Motion-sensor lid opens as your pet approaches
• Lid closes to keep flies, ants and dust out
• Detachable stainless steel bowl insert
• Suited to wet and fresh food that dries out
• Steel insert lifts out for proper washing
• One version, no size or colour options

Two things worth knowing. And a sensor lid is a single-pet solution: in a two-cat house the bolder one simply triggers it and eats the other's food, so this does not do the job of a microchip feeder. Cautious cats also need a few days to stop minding the movement.

Who it's for: Single-pet homes feeding wet or fresh food to a cat or small dog who grazes through the day rather than emptying the bowl at once.