| Petmate Le Bistro Portion-Control Automatic Pet Feeder, 5-Pound Capacity, Black | 
| Brand: Petmate
Category: Pet Products
List Price: $79.99
Buy New: $48.49
You Save: $31.50 (39%)
New (12) Used (1) from $39.99
Rating:  488 reviews
Sales Rank: 112
Color: Black
Media: Tools & Hardware
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5
Dimensions (in): 10 x 14 x 15
MPN: 24230
Model: 24233
UPC: 029695242304
EAN: 0029695242335
ASIN: B000BVWVUA
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| | Fully automatic pet food feeder | | | Programmable from 1-3 feedings per day | | | Control the portion per feeding from 1/4 cup up to 2 cups per feeding | | | Food reservoir holds up to 5 pounds of food |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 483 more reviews...
 Does good job December 26, 2006
R. Mardis (Texas)
134 out of 138 found this review helpful
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.
The CHEAT SHEET! May 17, 2007
GP (NY, NY)
51 out of 51 found this review helpful
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
Saved my sanity and my kitty-cat October 4, 2006
Nikol Lohr
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
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.
Works as advertised, easy to program June 14, 2008
P-squared
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
We purchased this feeder for our small cat. Just received yesterday. It will dispense in 1/4 cup increments up to 2 cups, 3 times per day. It is VERY easy to program, unlike the horror stories in the reviews for the previous LeBistro models. We ran it through several test feedings and it completed this morning's feeding without a problem. The bowl/chute combo covers the hopper entrance very effectively to prevent a clever cat from accessing the food. A paddle wheel inside rotates to dispense the food, but the paddles are sectioned and made of soft flexible material to prevent jamming. So far so good!
Fantastic Machine, period June 19, 2008
Ben Rhode (San Jacinto, CA USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
One of my two cats was recently diagnosed with a slew of food allergies. He was also referred to as obese during that vet visit. The result: He now requires expensive cat food at measured intervals and quantities during the day. The problem with that is that my wife and I work long hours and can't always be there when he needs to be fed, and if we leave out two servings, he demolishes them both instantly, which either leaves him hungry later on or requires that we feed him more than he needs which is hard on his weight and our pocketbook. This feeder has solved all of our problems. Even better, it appears Petmate took the negative reviews of their previous electronic feeder and fixed every common bug. This device is light, portable, VERY easy and intuitive to use, is not easily sabotaged by overly intelligent felines, delivers well measured (not perfect, but close enough) portions when it is needed. The bowl is removable for cleaning and it has an AC port. The only drawback is that the cord is a separately purchased item, but at least it's an option. I would recommend this to anyone, and for the price, it's pretty hard to beat.
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