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Customer reviews for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Helps control pet's weight by providing healthy portions of food, for a happy, healthier pet!
Overall rating:
(48 reviews) 48
25 of 48(52%)customers recommend this product.
Reviews for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Review 1 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
This feeder leaks extra food and is inaccurate
April 4, 2013
by TwinKittehs
fromArlington, VA
Appearance
Quality
This feeder does not measure the correct amount of food and now both my cats need to lose weight. They also figured out how to bump it for extra food- which falls out easily with a little nudge. Waste of money. I can't complain about the timer's accuracy with timing and although it runs on D batteries, it lasts for a long time- I've never had to replace them. Unfortunately I will need to replace it with a feeder that measures correctly and does not leak.
Pros: easy to clean, Spillproof
Cons: poor quality, leaks
Review 2 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Doesn't measure the correct amount
March 24, 2013
by Sunnydaydogday
fromToronto Ontario
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?1
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
I have gone through 2 of these and thought maybe the first was a broken one. Nope. I am about to return the second one. This drains batteries way too fast and it never dispenses what I tell it to measure. I have a diabetic dog so he needs exact amounts of food and the exact same time 3 times a day. I program 1/4 cup. It puts out 1/2. I put 1/2 it puts 1/2???? Then I put 1 cup it puts out 1.5 cups. Not reliable!! If you don't care about measurements it's ok. But if you do. Then don't get it!!!
Cons: poor quality
Review 3 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
This is the best feeder for any cat or dog!
March 5, 2013
by Tiffswn
fromTampa, FL
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?1
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
I have had this particular feeder for my cat for 2 years now and I absolutely love it! My cat took no time to get used to using it. A couple of days I would put food in the bowl at the times I was gonna have it set to drop so she could get used to using it and by the work week she was used to her food times and soon she would hear the food getting ready to be dropped before it dropped and take off like a rocket to go eat.
So needless to say, if you are not able to be at home often enough to feed your kitty, get this unit because it will make life SOOO much easier!
So needless to say, if you are not able to be at home often enough to feed your kitty, get this unit because it will make life SOOO much easier!
Pros: durable, easy to clean, Spillproof
Review 4 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
I swear by this thing
February 26, 2013
by Lbrown
fromConnecticut
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?4
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
We bought our PetMate automatic feeder about 2 years ago and just this week the low battery light started flashing for the first time. We have 3 food-motivated cats and spend a lot of weekends away so this feeder has been a godsend.
My only complaint is that the food bowl is plastic. One of our cats has a tendency to get chin acne from eating and drinking out of plastic bowls (you really shouldn't feed your cats or dogs out of plastic anyway, it has micropores that can trap bacteria no matter how well you clean it) so I had to rig up a tin foil chute and a metal bowl. A few pieces of food do still scatter when the food drops so we keep a tray under it. Also, we keep it in our bedroom so sometimes the early morning feeding wakes me up because the food falling is a little loud. But these are hardly complaints and we've recommended this feeder to all of our friends and family with cats!!
Pros: durable, Slide Resistant
Review 5 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Works well!
February 5, 2013
by ninelives
fromSan Diego, CA
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?1
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
We have had this feeder for 10 weeks now and it works like a charm - right meal portions dispensed at right times.
Just love watching our cat make a dash for the feeder when she hears the food being dispensed.
Just love watching our cat make a dash for the feeder when she hears the food being dispensed.
Pros: Slide Resistant, easy to clean
Review 6 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Great item, but if your cat is clever, read on...
January 27, 2013
by be1900c
fromIllinois
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?1
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
Pros:
1. can be programmed to dispense between 1/4 cup and 2 cups, once or multiple times per day (has a digital clock to keep track) --- great for folks who spend long hours at their jobs.
2. Plenty of storage capacity for dry food.
3. Easy to clean.
4. Nice looking.
5. Has a low-battery alert
1. can be programmed to dispense between 1/4 cup and 2 cups, once or multiple times per day (has a digital clock to keep track) --- great for folks who spend long hours at their jobs.
2. Plenty of storage capacity for dry food.
3. Easy to clean.
4. Nice looking.
5. Has a low-battery alert
Cons:
1. My cat tries to climb the unit with her front paws, batting it again and again until she shakes it enough times to trigger food to get past the internal release gates. I then put the unit against the wall and braced it with two 20-lb dumbbells so that it wouldn't shake from her body weight and batting, so she changed her strategy. She positioned herself so that she could reach her paw into the dispensing chute far enough to reach the gates and manually open them. I then braced it in the corner so that she can now only face it from the side, not from in front of the chute. She still tries to jar it, and she still tries to reach in with her paw, but from a side angle she cannot get very deep. If, however, she is still able to access the gates, I might have to either construct a barrier that will shrink the size of the opening of the chute so that just the food and not her paw can get through, or I might have to elevate and crate/cage the unit and have a funnel near the chute to receive the food and then a gutter/slide attached to deliver the food through the bars of the crate/cage into a bowl that she can access. This last idea would probably work if I braced the gutter so that she couldn't push or pull on it to jar the machine, but I might have figured this out too late, as once in a while the unit dispenses a little food when she's not even by it (she might have bent one of the gates). Some folks might not like the way these modifications look or how much space they would take up, and might feel it's too much trouble to rig up, but ultimately this machine is the way to go if you want to make sure that your cat is never missing a meal (my cat would over-eat when I filled a bowl to the top and left her unattended for much of the day --- she wouldn't pace herself). By the way, the food that I use is Science Diet (Light recepie), in case you are wondering what size each food pellet is.
2. The storage bowl is plastic (it looks glass from the picture). I don't mind it being plastic, but I thought that it was glass and had I known that it was plastic I would have expected it to be a little less expensive.
1. My cat tries to climb the unit with her front paws, batting it again and again until she shakes it enough times to trigger food to get past the internal release gates. I then put the unit against the wall and braced it with two 20-lb dumbbells so that it wouldn't shake from her body weight and batting, so she changed her strategy. She positioned herself so that she could reach her paw into the dispensing chute far enough to reach the gates and manually open them. I then braced it in the corner so that she can now only face it from the side, not from in front of the chute. She still tries to jar it, and she still tries to reach in with her paw, but from a side angle she cannot get very deep. If, however, she is still able to access the gates, I might have to either construct a barrier that will shrink the size of the opening of the chute so that just the food and not her paw can get through, or I might have to elevate and crate/cage the unit and have a funnel near the chute to receive the food and then a gutter/slide attached to deliver the food through the bars of the crate/cage into a bowl that she can access. This last idea would probably work if I braced the gutter so that she couldn't push or pull on it to jar the machine, but I might have figured this out too late, as once in a while the unit dispenses a little food when she's not even by it (she might have bent one of the gates). Some folks might not like the way these modifications look or how much space they would take up, and might feel it's too much trouble to rig up, but ultimately this machine is the way to go if you want to make sure that your cat is never missing a meal (my cat would over-eat when I filled a bowl to the top and left her unattended for much of the day --- she wouldn't pace herself). By the way, the food that I use is Science Diet (Light recepie), in case you are wondering what size each food pellet is.
2. The storage bowl is plastic (it looks glass from the picture). I don't mind it being plastic, but I thought that it was glass and had I known that it was plastic I would have expected it to be a little less expensive.
Final Comment: I would definately recommend this item, even for the asking price, but you should be prepared to match wits with your cat if he/she is determined to eat more often than what the timer is set for.
Review 7 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Good for the price
January 7, 2013
by Meru
fromNorth Carolina
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?2
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
There are so many REALLY expensive feeders out there! I needed 2 so I couldnt spend $200 total on these! I bought these for my 2 cats bc I go away on long weekends often. It was easy to program with the instructions (I have a tendency to not read instructions--not easy to program wo them :)
I asked around before I bought this and friends said another brand would dispense 1/2 cup when it was supposed to be 1/4 cup, so Im really glad this one is accurate (I measured)! My cats will eat everything given to them! I had it feeding 1/4cup 3x a day.
It is very flexible in terms of when you can time it to go off!
I always read the bad reviews to get the worst case scenario of a product before I buy. Some of them shown here are correct- the food doesnt always ALL come out. (i.e. I have to tap it sometimes for the food to come out) But my cats have figured out that if they stick a paw up they can get the rest of it. This doesnt always happen though.
I asked around before I bought this and friends said another brand would dispense 1/2 cup when it was supposed to be 1/4 cup, so Im really glad this one is accurate (I measured)! My cats will eat everything given to them! I had it feeding 1/4cup 3x a day.
It is very flexible in terms of when you can time it to go off!
I always read the bad reviews to get the worst case scenario of a product before I buy. Some of them shown here are correct- the food doesnt always ALL come out. (i.e. I have to tap it sometimes for the food to come out) But my cats have figured out that if they stick a paw up they can get the rest of it. This doesnt always happen though.
It is very durable! I had one on the table bc I was feeding different foods to each cat (and this separated the male from eating all his AND his sisters food). And while we were away they pushed it off the table and it didnt break! The lid did come off and they probably scarfed a lot of it before the cat-sitter came over but I was impressed nothing shattered. But, it is plastic...
I was worried about going through a lot of batteries but so far the batteries have lasted for about 4 months since I bought them.
Overall I'd recommend it to anyone.
I was worried about going through a lot of batteries but so far the batteries have lasted for about 4 months since I bought them.
Overall I'd recommend it to anyone.
Pros: durable, easy to clean
Review 8 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Terrific
January 1, 2013
by twisema1
fromLouisville, KY
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?3
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
The automatic pet food dispenser is the greatest thing for all pet owners. It has portion control features and a programmable time. We use this for our cat every day. It is wonderful when we travel because our cat is still being fed the same amount at the same time. I highly recommend this.
Pros: durable
Review 9 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Junk!
December 26, 2012
by MARCC
fromOttawa ON
Appearance
Quality
As stated in many other reviews, this product isn't reliable. It doesn't dispense the food half the time, or only dispenses a fraction of the programmed portion (in my case is 1/4 cup two times a day). I need to smack it it dispense. I feed my cat dry food about 1/4" in diameter, this is not an uncommon size. Totally worthless.
Cons: doesn't work
Review 10 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Great product
October 16, 2012
by Pennypie
fromHanover, PA
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?1
How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year
I have had this feeder for about 6 weeks. It has been very reliable. My cat no longer wakes me up to be fed. I often go away for the weekend and it's very convenient not having to ask anyone to feed the cat. She has adjusted to it very well and runs when she hears the food drop. It was worth every penny. My only con would be the smallest amount of food to be dispensed is 1/4 cup.
Review 11 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Not Worth It
October 15, 2012
by Boogie
fromTexas
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?2
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Works great for few months then died. Very cheap construction. Will not last. Still looking for a brand that will work and last. Most on market of very cheap shabby construction. If you don't mind continuously purchasing one or two each year, the "idea" of an automatic pet feeder is great, but, a little expensive to do so with always having to replace the failed (short life) previous one. Still hoping we can find a better quality one, somewhere, someday that will last longer. Still looking
Review 12 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Sneaky cats get fat with this device
October 12, 2012
by Anonymous
fromColumbia, MO
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?3
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly
I have two cats and they each have their own feeder. This is the second version of this feeder I have owned. I am completely disappointed with this product because my cat can easily sneak the food. In fact, all she has to do is barely bump it and the next dispense comes tumbling out. This extra meal up front robs her of her dinner. She also steals my other cats food to the point where he starves when we leave town. The older model of this product worked better because the food didn't spill out, but my cat just stuck her paw up and knocked the pellets out. I don't encourage anyone to buy this product if you are worried about your cat overeating. Other than that, the product is easy to program. One of the food dispensers only dispenses half of the food each meal. It also runs out of batteries very quickly.
Review 13 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
August 30, 2012
by BirdieRoo
fromTX
Appearance
Quality
I purchased an older version of this model about 5 years ago. At the time I had 5 overweight cats because I had a self feeder. This unit has been a life saver! I now only have 2 cats who eat a small kibble. I don't have problems with them trying to get extra food. I have only changed the batteries twice. Maybe the problems others are having is due to poor quality control at Petmate. I love the unit I have and my cats do too!
Review 14 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
LEBISTRO AUTOMATIC FEEDER FOR CATS
August 8, 2012
by OAKLANDTN
fromOAKLAND,TN
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?2
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
THE PRODUCT I FEEL IS OK,BUT I NEED TO KNOW WHERE I CAN GET AN ADAPTER FOR IT. I GO THROUGH D BATTERIES LIKE CRAZY..
Review 15 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
stay away
July 28, 2012
by iuhdckjh
fromtexas
Appearance
Quality
i bought this feeder a week ago. i travel for my job and always left food out for my cat. he now weighs 15 lbs and decided to get one of these so he wouldn't overeat while i'm gone. the first feeding was perfect. every feeding since has involved me shaking it so the food would actually come out. i emailed petmate (couldn't find a phone number) and they never emailed back. really frustrating to worry about whether my cat was fed or not. i'm returning it tomorrow and getting a turn tray feeder. this is a piece of junk considering how expensive it is.
Cons: poor quality, doesn't work
Review 16 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Happy at first
July 27, 2012
by Mak21
fromCanada
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?2
How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year
Appearance
Quality
This is the second Le Bistro I have bought. The first only lasted for not even 2 years and now I am afraid the second one has also lasted not even 2 years. The product works very well, love to have it because we vacation a lot. But...the product ends up having some kind of malfunction just before the 2 year mark. Which frankly I feel if I spend that kind of money the product should last a lot longer. I tried everything to fix the first and now the second. Took all the food out thinking a blockage, changed batteries. Still doesn't work. Now looking for a different product...from a different brand!
Cons: poor quality
Review 17 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
First Impressions
June 15, 2012
by Woodsguy
fromMA
What is your gender?M
How many pets do you have?2
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
With the death of our neighbor we needed a way to feed our two cats. In the past just had a hopper and they fed at will. That led to a couple of very fat cats! Now they are on a diet they almost down to their ideal weight. But since one cat would eat all the food we needed to buy two of these. It was a bit shocking to see them side by side (they are bigger then I thought.) but I'm used to it already.
Set up was a breeze. Assembly is a no brainer and the programming is easy. I tested it a couple times and the portions are very consistent although a bit high (I set it to 1/4 cup 3 times a day. It is probably more like 5/16-3/8 cup.). I also wish there was an optional "dinner bell" feature. I'm afraid that once my cats realize that the food comes out automatically that they will just wait around all day!
I will write again after more experience.
Review 18 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Pretty Good, (IMHO)
May 27, 2012
by PurplePetLover
fromMD
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?1
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
Yeah, it's a bit "bulky", but it works. My cat has some strange "tummy troubles" that require her to eat small amounts, around every 8 hours (rather than once- or twice-a-day feedings). I learned to program the timer, to RE-program it, for semi-annual time changes and for battery "deaths", and am overall not disappointed. My Lucy flies across the room to eat every time it "dumps." (She likes it, too)
Pros: durable
Review 19 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
Okay...
May 9, 2012
by TunaSalemAsh
fromAnchorage, AK
What is your gender?F
How many pets do you have?3
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly
Appearance
Quality
I loved the idea. I was hoping it would help may fat cat loose weight. Well, my cats learned how to get the food to drop. One thing that did really bother me was the measurements were not consistent. I think it could use a little improvement. I wish the price was lower considering I have gone back to feeding them myself.
Review 20 for Petmate Le Bistro Programmable Feeder
Overall rating
March 17, 2012
by annonymouse
fromnevada
How many pets do you have?2
How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly
Appearance
Quality
If you need this product for a cat and serve the smallest cup setting (1/4 cup) then this product is terrible. Very inconsistent in the amount of food delivered. Sometimes will dispense the full amount and other times just a few pieces. Not very reassuring if you are using it as a means to feed while you are out of town. It also tends to drop food periodically for no reason. Not a recommended product.
Cons: poor quality