| | |  | Bowls & Feeders | Home » » » Petmate LeBistro Portion-Control Automatic Pet Feeder, Black, 4.2 Pounds | | | | | | | Description: | | Great for cats and dogs, this fully automatic pet feeder features a tough plastic base that holds a food reservoir for food "on demand." The electronic pet feeder's simple, programmable electronics prompt the feeder to dispense portions from 1/4 to 3 cups at three selected times per day. The unit can be set to meet scheduled feeding times and amounts when caretakers are away, but it is not meant to replace human care--please be sure someone still visits the pet daily. The unit's hopper holds 4.2 pounds of food and accommodates a full range of dry food sizes, shapes, and types. Required batteries, which are not included, sustain a long battery life of six months. One-year limited warranty. | | | Features: | |
• Automatic feeder can be programmed to dispense up to 3 meals per day
• Dispenses up to 2 cups of food per serving
• Use dry dog or cat food only
• Assembles quickly and easily with no tools necessary
• Requires 3 “D” batteries (sold separately)
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 10.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 14.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 15.0 inches | | Package Length:
| 14.5 inches | | Package Width:
| 9.6 inches | | Package Height:
| 9.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 4.0 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 529 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 529 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
140 of 140 found the following review helpful:
 Great product -- if your cats aren't cleverFeb 24, 2008
By J. Thimsen
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R22C3UVAAUTF5R 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.
215 of 219 found the following review helpful:
 The CHEAT SHEET!May 17, 2007
By GP
"PinkieToe"
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
187 of 192 found the following review helpful:
Does good jobDec 26, 2006
By R. Mardis
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.
214 of 247 found the following review helpful:
 Returned it twiceMay 15, 2006
By WorldlyOne
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.
22 of 22 found the following review helpful:
3 1/2 stars reallyJul 16, 2007
By MestaySS
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.
See all 529 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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