Customer Reviews

Petmate LeBistro Portion-Control Automatic Pet Feeder, Black, 4.2 Pounds

5 star:		(170)
4 star:		(186)
3 star:		(63)
2 star:		(38)
1 star:		(73)

 

 

We just got it set up so I can't give a full review as of yet, but - as expected b/c of reviews here - I did have problems programming it. Got this "Cheat Sheet" from PetMate. If you still can't get it, call them. The rep walked us through it on the phone (it didn't sound like there was much rhyme or reason to the method) and then emailed the cheat sheet afterwards. (I hope these instructions work for you - and us when we need to reprogram). Good Luck!

***
Cheat Sheet for Programming Lebistro Portion Control Feeder

Press and hold program button, press and hold + button let go of both at the same time. Unit should go to meal time.
Press + and unit moves to meal size
Press + and unit moves to current time.
Press set.
AM will be flashing, if you need PM press + then press set
First number will be flashing
Pressing program moves to the next number
+ changes the number
When the time is correct press set

Unit will go to meal time, press set

Breakfast will be flashing, press program unit will move to the first number
To change the number press +
To move to the next number press program
Do this until the time is set, Press program one more time and the number in the right upper corner will be flashing
1 means yes I want to feed this meal
0 means no I do not want to feed this meal
Select 1 or 0 and press set

Unit will go to meal time press set
Unit will go to Breakfast, press + and it will move to lunch
***to set 12:00 you will need to set 00:00 unit will NOT set 12***
Press program and the first number will start to flash--set the time in the same manner you set Breakfast
Set 1 or 0 to feed or not to feed then press set
Unit will go back to meal time, press set

Unit will go to breakfast, press + will go to lunch press + again and unit will move to dinner
Press program and first number will start to flash, set time in the same manner you set breakfast and lunch.
Set 1 or 0 to feed or not to feed then press set
Unit will go back to meal time, press +

Unit will go to meal size
Press set
1 in the right upper corner will start to flash
1=1/4 cup
2=1/2 cup
3=3/4 cup...etc
Select amount you want to feed.
**** Unit will feed the same amount for each meal***
Press set and unit will go back to meal time
Press and hold program button, press and hold set button let go of both at the same time.

Unit should have the correct time, the amount you selected to feed in the upper right hand corner and the meals you select on the left side.

***00 in the bottom right corner is the number of meals fed***

***To manual feed press set and hold, press + and hold, let go of both buttons at the same time. Unit will feed until you press set and + again

Length:: 0:30 Mins

This product worked fantastic for about 6 months -- our cats lost weight, were more healthy, and it prevented them from waking us up at 6:00 in the morning for feedings.

One slight issue is that, as it turns out, cats are relatively smart. Our cat Huascar, after studying our Petmate intensely for several months, finally figured out a way to get all that food that was suspended in air in front of him into the dish. Your mileage may vary, but Huascar has definitely figured out the secret to a midnight snack.

I think the Petmate is still an excellent tool for portion control -- it is such a hassle for Huascar to snack that he usually grabs a few morsels and then heads off to cause more chaos throughout our house. He has remained his svelte, yet troublemaking, self.

Watch the video to find out.

I like many have read the poor reviews and had to think out whether the judgment of these dissappointed buyers was valid. It appeared to me that all of the complaints were oriented towards the interface involved in programing the thing and such.

I bought it. Amazon shipped it incredibly fast. It only works on batteries (3 D's) That's really a plus since it provides maximum flexiblity on placement and it's not tied to commercial power, so pwr outages don't mean that cat goes hungry!

I'll say this. The programming is counter-intuitive and you have to work at figuring out what they want you to do. You must read the instructions and you'd better keep for when the batteries die, because I read the settings go with the juice.

I set it up to work in under 20 minutes. Feeds my cat twice a day without a hitch now in two weeks. You adjust the volume and how many feedings you want. Common sense is only dry kibble will really work best with this setup. I can see how soft kibble might gum up the works, due to the physics of gravity. The food sits in the bottle, upended over a paddle wheel that slowly rotates to allow kibble to flow. So soft food would probably tend to clump up in there.

I'm very pleased so far. It has solved a feeding problem for me and I am most satisfied. If the maker could install a watch battery backup thing to hold the settings between D battery changes that would be great and the simplicity of the setup could be better, BUT If that added too much money to the cost, it probably wouldn't sell.

UPDATE: a little over two months of use and I'm really a big fan now. This thing works well. The main thing is... my fat cat is losing weight and she eats twice a day, same time, everyday, thus perfect routine for her. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to any cat owner that would like routine for their pet's eating or has a pet with a weight problem.

This thing is a piece of junk - and I do not use that word lightly. Like the other reviewer, I went through two units with display problems, but even had the dispaly worked correctly, there were pleanty of other problems with the fundemental design of the thing to send it back. A few of the "highlights"

1) Increadibly silly and difficult programming. The instructions are not only unclear, but in some cases, flat out wrong. AND, if you're finally successful in programming it, the program is erased when you remove the batteries.
2) Impossible to clean the mechanism's interior and the bowl can not be removed to clean at the sink.
3) The minimum amount it dispenses at a time is too much in the case of our cat. AND he was able to dislodge food by getting his paw up in the dispensing chute! So much for diet control! And a little dangerous, I fear.

There were other silly things, but those are what come to mind. It's obnoxious that a company would put something like this on the market. Hopefully the time I've taken in writing this will save others the frustration.

What happened to the 130+ reviews on this item that I read a few days ago?!

Many of those reveiws were very mixed - I was hesitant on purchasing this product because of the many negative reviews - but for every negative, there was 1 and 1/2 positive reviews!

I purchased this for my itty bitty kitty. She is only 12 weeks old, and the smallest increment of food (1/4 cup) is too much for her (especially because she likes to be fed twice a day!) So, for now, I'm just putting some food back into the hopper, at least until she gets older and gets a bigger appetite!

The programming was easier than I expected - I had seen tons of reviews about how terrible it was to program the feeding schedule, but with a little patience and careful reading, I was able to program it in less than 5 minutes. I like how it is battery operated...it leaves many options of placement - and you don't have to worry about a power outage and little kitty not getting his or her meal on time. When you change the batteries, you lose all programming, so don't lose the instructions!!!

One pointer: Be careful not to fill the hopper too much. I filled it completely at first and watched it on it's first scheduled feeding...The motor turned, but only 2 kibbles of food fell - yes TWO! I began worrying that I would have to send this back to Amazon, but I improvised. I took half of the food out of the hopper, and it has worked flawlessly since then....but I have to ask - why make the hopper that large if one can only utilize half of the volume in order for this to work...weird.

Other than that, I'm sure there are better feeders out there, but for the price (I ordered from Amazon with 1 day shipping, and it was STILL cheaper than the local pet stores), my little kitty is being fed at the same time each day, even while I'm gone...That alone gives me peace of mind, and therefore, I'm quite happy with this purchase.

It's great to not have to worry about my dogs going hungry when I'm not at home. Also great to know they are getting 3 meals a day. Well worth the price.....but we have had to exchange one at the store and the replacement stopped working, so we sent it to the factory. They sent us a new one in about 3 weeks. We have two of them that we try and have go off at the same time. We have two black labs that must be part pig. The time doesn't stay synched very long. Batteries don't last long enough. I wish it ran on A/C. Programming it is not user friendly. Let's hope that they have some engineers working on the new and improved model.

The first one worked for 2 days, then the display went out; I exchanged it for a new one, and the display would not light at all. I made sure I used new, charged batteries. When I called the company, they said they were very sorry, and recommended I either exchange it again, or send them pieces from the non-working one with a copy of the receipt, and they would send a new one. Am so aggravated, am returning it for a refund.

Some of the comments given by others are somewhat justified, but many are just over-reactions, a real comment on our increasingly impatient world. First the cons:

1) Yes the 1/4 cup feedings are a little on the heavy side, for our cat at least, but c'mon guys, when's the last time you bought a pair of jeans that were EXACTLY fitting off the rack?

2) The programming interface isn't the most user friendly or intuitive, but once you get it, it is completely logical

3) You can't wash the base

HOWEVER, these cons are completely outweighed by the fact that if you have a cat, this gives you invaluable freedom to go on vacation and not have to call in a cat sitter every time you plan to be away for more than 24 hours. So far its been every reliable and prevents us from worrying about overfeeding or underfeeding when we're gone for a few days. We used to leave a bunch of food for our cat, but we'd come home and he'd gain a full pound. That's not healthy for the cat.

Regarding the instructions, just keep this one tip in mind to avoid frustration.... YOU NEED TO ENTER THE PROGRAMMING MODE before you can set the time or the meal times.

To enter the programming mode you:

1) Press and Hold the PROGRAM button and simultaneously press the "+" button.

THEN.....you can follow the "setting current time" instructions or the "setting meal time" instructions as laid out in the manual. If you do it this way you shouldn't encounter any problems in programming.

The way the instructions are laid out, this is not exactly clear, but if you follow the above, you should be fine.

This is a great product, no problems encountered thus far. Highly recommend for people on the go and want portion control when they're on the go.

My cat was driving my up a freaking tree every morning between 4-6am crying for her food. She's a sweetiepie, but the sleep deprivation was making me want to throttle her. With a few days of the feeder, she was tuned in that the nice machine was her new food source, and it didn't care if she moaned about it, and it wasn't going to give her more if she was extra annoying.

She's a tub, and while the portion control hasn't slimmed her down (the smallest serving is 1/4 cup & she's a pretty small cat--I wish it would do 1/8 cup), she hasn't gotten any fatter.

While the programming is complicated, I had no difficulty following the instructions, but I did actually read them and pay close attention. Just don't lose your manual, because it's not terribly intuitive. I was able to reprogram without it, but it took me several tries. We've been using it for a couple months with the original batteries, so it doesn't use too much juice. She can stick her paw up in the slot (she's little) and get a kibble at a time, but that only seems to work for a few kibbles worth (whatever is left in the hopper, I guess).

No problems yet, and though it was expensive, I think it was worth every penny & I can't imagine going back to manual feeding. Honestly, it has made my life so much more pleasant that I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if it broke, even if I thought they didn't last.

Also, we've used it for 3 different 3-5 day trips away, along with an old-fashioned gravity waterer.

The concept of an automatic feeder is a great thing, so if this works properly for you it can certainly improve your/your pets' life/lives. No more worrying about being home at the right time, or getting sitters (or letting your pets expand without portion control) if you'll be gone for just a night, early morning feeding for demanding pets, portion control for those who need it, etc.

However, from comparison shopping for multiple pet products, I have gathered that Petmate is a pretty cheap brand. You get what you pay for. This more or less does the job for which it's intended (unless, as some reviewers point out, you get a bad unit, but I'm sure that can happen with any brand), but the parts and the design are cheap. No A/C adapter, battery only, and so you have to watch the battery life (there is a light that goes on when it's about to run out, at least) and reprogram when you change batteries. Programming, as many reviews point out, is not intuitive, but I figured it out (I'll include the corrections below to help out future buyers!). One of my two cats did indeed figure out how to get the food out himself, as others have mentioned, but he has to work pretty hard at it so I'm okay with letting him get a nugget here and there; otherwise you just have to partially cover the spout so a paw can't fit up there as easily. The lid and the food bin do not lock in place well, particularly the bin, so I found it necessary to use some packing tape to keep the bin in place in case I needed to pick up the unit and didn't want to spill food everywhere. It is not easy to clean. Sometimes food piles up on the sides and so the unit does not serve a full portion when the bin starts to get low, so you have to keep an eye on it and refill or shake the food in all the way now and then.

Most of these things are fixable with some ingenuity, or you can deal with them if you are aware. I'm sure these problems and annoyances could be avoided by buying a unit from a more expensive/better brand, but if, like me, you don't have a lot of money, this can mostly do the job for which it's designed.


Note: The trick to the directions is that some of the lines are HEADINGS for what follows, but they are not labelled as such. "Select AM or PM" and "Select the time of day" are headings for the lines below, not directions themselves. The directions also fail to tell you to press "Set" after setting all of the meals to move on to the next section (which is "Setting Meal Size"). I marked up my directions so that I would remember this when I needed to reprogram the unit, and I haven't had any problems since figuring it out!