My Review Of Petlibro Automatic Pet Feeder

I have been testing and using several automatic pet feeders with my cat Sophie over the years and there’s always room for improvement. That’s why I like trying new devices and providing you with honest reviews so you to decide the best for you and your kitty. This time I am reviewing the Petlibro automatic pet feeder to provide cat owners with a budget-friendly option. This unit has been upgraded so I have updated this review too. We’ll explore the feeder’s features, key benefits, and everything else, including if this automatic feeder is suitable for you and your cat.

Exploring the Petlibro: Features at a Glance

• Capacity: 17-cups (4L)
• Meal Programming: Four meals per day, with flexible scheduling options.
• Time format: 24-hour format.
• Compatibility: Dry food. Kibble size up to 1cm in diameter.
• Portion Control: Min. portion: 2-3 tsp | Max. portion: 1 cup (kibble 2mm-10mm).
• Portions on LCD Panel: Portions 00 to 09. (Portion 01=2-3tsp)
• Feeding Modes: Automatic and manually on demand.
• Dual power supply: Power adapter or/and 3xD batteries, for a non-stop operation.
• Materials: Strong ABS plastic. Bowl: Stainless steel.

Key Features and Benefits

• Slide Food Outlet: No food jamming. Reliable food dispensing while you are away.
• Inclined Angled Bowl: A stainless steel bowl distributes the kibble evenly. No more accumulation of food at the gate.
• Airtight Lid and Desiccant Bag: Keep kibble fresh longer, plus keep those paws out.
• Food Intake Control: Minimum portion of 2-3 teaspoons to control your cat’s weight.
• Voice message: A 10-second audio message to call your pet to eat that plays up to 5 times. Keep your cat accompanied by listening to your voice.

What’s In The Petlibro’s box:

• 1 x Automatic feeder (assembled)
• 1 x Plastic bowl base
• 1 x Stainless steel feeding tray
• 1 x Desiccant bag, to keep the food fresh for longer.
• 1 x USB Cord
• 1 x AC Power Adapter
• 1 x Quick Guide
• 1 x User Guide

How Petlibro Automatic Feeder Works

The Petlibro automatic feeder has been designed to dispense dry food up to 4 meals per day. The meals can be programmed individually, with a minimum portion of 2 to 3 teaspoons and a maximum of one cup. The minimum portion is represented on the LCD panel as 01 and the maximum as 09. For example, “Portion 01” will dispense 2 to 3 teaspoons, depending on the kibble. The feeder features an airtight lid with a compartment that holds a desiccant bag which helps to keep the food fresh longer. The airtight lid is very tight, so it’s cat-proof. The feeder’s inner flexible flaps, angled sloped bowl, and slide food outlet work together to prevent food jamming. You can record a 10-second voice message calling your cat to eat that will play up to 5 times while the food gets dispensed.

Usability of Petlibro Automatic Feeder

I didn’t have any issues setting up the Petlibro feeder. The process was simple to me. What it did require some thought process was the programming but when I understood the mechanism, it was easy for me. I recorded the audio message and my cat reacted to it immediately, coming to eat her meal. I placed the unit in the living room and it looks good. As it’s rather small it doesn’t overtake the space or look weird. Its design is neat and modern. The only issue I experienced was when I wanted to lift the feeder to clean the carpet, the plastic tray detached. This is because the feeder’s base sits on top of the bowl, but they are not hooked. The simple solution was lifting the unit holding the tray and that was not obnoxious since the unit is not bulky. Also, the clock sometimes was a minute later over time. I didn’t find this to affect my cat’s feeding schedule significantly.

The Upgrades made to the Petlibro that I appreciate:

• Stainless Steel Tray. Previously, the Petlibro came with a plastic food bowl only. Now it comes with a metal tray that inserts onto the plastic base. This is a great addition to prevent feline chin acne in cats. According to VCA Animal Hospitals, “There may be an association between using plastic food and water dishes and chin acne”. The upgraded feeding bowl gives cat owners peace of mind.
• Slide Food Outlet: The upgraded food outlet now comes with a special slide that makes the kibble slide down onto the bowl much smoother, preventing the kibble from getting stuck at the food gate.
• More Angled Bowl: The unit in the past came with an angled bowl, but now the angle is a little steeper so the food slides down to the front of the bowl, for the cat’s easy access.

How to set up Petlibro Automatic Feeder

Setting this fountain up is easy, just follow the following six steps:

1. Open the lid, and put the desiccant bag in the compartment inside. Put the lid aside.
2. Remove to food container, feeding base, and tray, wiping them clean. Dry the parts and put the food container back in.
3. Plug in the power adapter. Lift the feeder a little and plug in the power socket. Insert batteries as a backup in case of a power outage (this is optional).
4. Attach the feeding base to the feeder, and insert the stainless steel tray.
5. Fill the feeder with dry food and put the lid back on.
6. Program the feeder

Unpacking and set up of Petlibro Automatic Pet Feeder

How to program the Petlibro Automatic Feeder

Programming the Petlibro Automatic Pet Feeder looks tricky but it’s really simple. As a note, if you take longer than 15 seconds to program any of the following steps, the screen self-locks and you will have to press the lock icon again to unlock the screen. These are the steps:

1. Unlock the feeder by pressing the lock icon for 3 seconds, look at the icon that shows unlock. Press the microphone icon for 3 seconds and wait until a “beep” sound goes off and record the message. Press again to finish and you will hear a double “beep” sound which means it’s recorded. If you don’t like your voice message repeat this process to record a new one.
2. Unlock the feeder by pressing the lock icon for 3 seconds. To set the clock press the setting icon and the hour will blink, use the arrow up or down to choose the hour, press the setting icon to enter, and then the minutes will blink, choose the minutes using the arrows up or down, and press the setting icon to enter.
3. Automatically the # of meals will blink blank, use the arrow up and choose the # of meals you want, 1, 2, 3, or 4. Press the setting icon to enter.
4. Automatically the hour of 1st meal with a blink, choose the hour by pressing the up/down arrow and press the setting icon to enter. Then choose the minute, and press the setting icon to enter. Automatically the portion will blink, choose the # of portion using the up or down arrow. The portion number is from 1 to 9 (*1 portion=2 to 3 teaspoons). Press the setting icon to enter. You just programmed the first meal.
5. As soon as you’re done programming the first meal the LCD panel will show automatically the 2nd meal and you will have to do the same steps. Do the same with meal 3 or 4 if that’s the case. * I found that portion #2 is perfect for one meal for a cat.

Programming the Petlibro Automatic Pet Feeder

Maintenance of Petlibro Automatic Pet Feeder

Cleaning:

You can remove the feeding base, stainless steel tray, and food container for washing. You can also wipe them clean. Always use warm water, soft detergent, and no abrasive sponges. Make sure to dry the parts thoroughly before reassembling.

Battery:

The feeder works with an AC adapter and optionally you can use 3 D batteries as backup (batteries are not included). With this dual power, the unit won’t stop working in case of a power outage. The batteries last 6 months with normal use. The feeder doesn’t work with rechargeable batteries, only single-use.

Pros

• Easy to set up
• Intuitive and easy to program (check my video)
• Airtight lid with a desiccant bag to absorb humidity
• Good capacity of 17 cups of dry food.
• Accuracy in portions
• Angled feeding base and stainless steel tray with lower front for smooth dispensing.
• Food jam prevention with internal flexible flaps, angled bowl, and slide food outlet.
• The stainless steel tray prevents feline chin acne. 
• If there is a power outage and the feeder doesn’t have batteries, the settings still are kept in the feeder, including the clock (that happened when I changed the feeder’s location without batteries on).
• Battery backup in case of a power outage so the feeder will keep operating.
• Easy to disassemble for cleaning
• Nice non-intrusive design with a small footprint.
• A nice feature of voice messages (my cat responded to my voice right away :)
• Reasonable price

Cons

• When the feeder is plugged into the floor it could be hard to program it if you don’t have a good back (with batteries you can place it anywhere though).
• It doesn’t have a turn-on/off switch.
• The feeding tray may detach if you need to lift the feeder for whatever reason.
• The clock may skip some beats occasionally.
• You can’t delete the audio recording

My Conclusion about Petlibro Automatic Feeder

I was surprised by the simplicity and functionality of the Petlibro Automatic feeder. The unit works as intended, the programming is really easy once you get the idea of it. To me, the ideal meal portion for my cat was the “02”. I feed my cat three meals per day, each portion programmed with #2, totaling 6 portions. That’s my experience with my cat, but you can experiment with your cat and see if that’s enough food for your feline friend. The unit doesn’t use so much space, it doesn’t look invasive.

Bottom Line on Petlibro

I like the Petlibro, so far it has worked very well and its price is reasonable. I highly recommend it for a single cat. Compare prices between Chewy here vs Amazon here.

Also: Check my review of the Petlibro pet fountain for a matching feeding station.