My senior cat free feeds dry food and gets two small wet meals a day. She has decided that 6:00 am and 6:00 pm are the perfect times, and functions effectively as an alarm clock at those times. I am not a morning person, so I love the idea that a “robot” could handle the a.m. feeding!! Thanks for the thorough review.
I have been using the Cat Mate electric feeder for 5+ years. It has five compartments, a simple 24 hour timer system (no app), runs on batteries, and uses ice packs to keep the food cold. It is less than half the cost of the feeder reviewed in this video. Since it uses ice packs I do have to reload the feeder daily. I personally don't need a feeder that can hold wet food for three days since I wouldn't leave my cat alone that long anyway.
I use the CatMate 3 compartment version and have been for five years now. It still works just fine beyond needing an extra ice pack (so I didn't need to make sure I took the original one out during the day to chill) and an extra bowl (so one can be fully cleaned without disruption). I've only really changed the batteries like twice a year, so it's very efficient. The only issues I've had is 1) the bowls for the 3 compartment version don't come in metal, which is preferable for hygiene, and 2) that the device is only meant to hold a day's worth of food and does need someone to refill it daily. The second issue isn't truly an issue for me, because I'm of the mind that if I'm away, that I want someone checking up on my pets at least once a day anyway, but it does mean I need to leave instructions for how the feeder works for any pet-sitter as it's not always intuitive. I have also heard some cats dislike how small the compartments are, due to whisker fatigue, but mine hasn't had any issue with that. I even told a family member about the feeder as she has a rescue cat who overeats until it throws up, due to previous owner's neglect, and the 5 compartment version works fantastically for her, as it allows the cat to have small meals throughout the day, without switching to dry food.
@@lisariley8705 I have the 3 compartment one and I hate it..will probably sell it on marketplace. I have to change the batteries every 3 weeks. I feel like the compartments are too small as well. Can't imagine how much smaller the 5 compartment one must be. The icepack is only good for about 4 hours, imo. Definitely not good for 3 spaced out wet feedings. I think it's best suited for dry food and possibly 1 wet meal. And if I don't happen to see that the batteries are running too low, it will rotate and stop halfway between bowls and the cat can't get to any food. The problem is , after 1 week, the low battery warning starts flashing. But those batteries will still last Appx 2 weeks after it starts flashing. That's a flaw in the system. If I changed the batteries as soon as the low battery warning is given, I'd be changing batteries every 7-10 days..so I wait another week or so. It's a constant guessing game and it's too expensive to change batteries every 3 weeks. Maybe I got a dud.not sure, but it's useless to me
When my very senior cat needed to eat many times a day, I had the CatMate cold feeder to handle her 2am wet food feedings. It was a game changer, once she knew she could get food at 2 without bothering me she was golden. She has long passed, but I found the feeder with a small cold pack easy and worked with batteries. All these "automatic" feeders take up so many outlets usually hogging one whole outlet for the big plug in unit. There are a lot of lower cost feeders out there that don't cost so much. Thanks for the video.
This is so convenient, but I'm wondering why isn't there a TIMED MICROCHIP feeder in the market yet? I'd love to feed my cats on a schedule but not worry about my greedy cat eating the other one's food.
Good question! I haven't seen one yet, but I'll stay on the lookout for one :) The PetLibro RFID One is the closest I've tried, but that using RFID instead of microchip.
Very informative, presented really clearly. Great work, thank you! Pros from what I see: • elevated dish (reduces vomiting) • timed meals - "eat it or lose it" - great for weight control • warms the food up a bit • dinner bell • anti-break-in • anti-pinch Cons: • doesn't warm food enough • RFID that would deny access to other cats not present - hopefully the limited meal time would prevent theft (I have four girls, two of whom treat food like it's crack cocaine) Anyway thank you for a really informative video that was entertaining to watch!
This is so great! I am so happy to see an option for wet food! Hopefully this paves the path for another one with a microchip! I've got a hungry little thief and have to babysit while my two cats eat.
We have been really thinking about getting one or two more cats. We lost our fur babies a few years ago. I keep telling my husband I want to wait until I retire in a year or two. I refuse to try to get them to adjust to a new feeding routine once I am able to sleep past 3 am...THIS is the perfect solution. THANK YOU
I've tried a few wet food feeders over the years. The ones I tried had 5-6 food slots, so there were certainly enough slots. But that leads into one of my biggest complaints about the feeders - deep, narrow dishes. (Especially with so many slots!) I'm always on the lookout for a wet food feeder that will offer flatter dishes to avoid whisker fatigue. I saw one, once. That's it. I didn't note the name of it, and I wish I had, but it's the only one that allowed whisker room. It was impractical for another reason - it was huge. It was mutli-meal, so it was this giant square of separate eating compartments. No one has room for that. But everything else about it was super cool. Someday, they'll invent an automatic feeder that's practical for use AND avoids whisker fatigue. Someday....
Hi!! I saw your comment on wet food machine and wonder if you'd like the idea of a machine that grinds freeze-dried food and automatically adds water? Just like a coffee machine, so we can be freed from the manual work of preparing wet food.
Hi!! I saw your comment on wet food machine and wonder if you'd like the idea of a machine that grinds freeze-dried food and automatically adds water? Just like a coffee machine, so we can be freed from the manual work of preparing wet food.
this seems intriguing to me but unfortunately i have a multicat household and one resource guards like a mofo so I'm afraid he'll eat all the food 😅 im still waiting on a multicat automatic wet food feeder
Hi!! I saw your comment on wet food machine and wonder if you'd like the idea of a machine that grinds freeze-dried food and automatically adds water? Just like a coffee machine, so we can be freed from the manual work of preparing wet food.
I bought the Polar. But, I bought it for the unlikely event I might travel or for an emergency, where I can’t be here since, there’s no one to feed my 2 cats and it looks as if it can take a 6oz can in each part of the tray. I only have 2 of the PetLibro Ones, which I’ve never unboxed, because a scammer sent them to me, when I was actually ordering 2 Surefeed Connects. I haven’t opened them, because I’ve been ambivalent about the bulky RFID collar and my cats are not used to collars. The thing to note about the Polar, is that it is not for heatwaves like I’m in right now. I “think” max temperature it is to be used in, is like 77-80 degrees. This summer has been an absolute dog (I do love dogs, too though) at an almost daily average of 90-95 degrees.l, as I think we’re under a heat dome. This is not “refrigerator” technology, although refrigerators are also subject to ambient temperature. This is thermoelectric or Peltier technology, I believe. Very nice. But, not for extremely hot weather. So, what I’m waiting to hit the market is the BistroCat, due out in October. It is not temperature dependent and has more feedings than the Polar. Both have advantages/disadvantages. With the Polar, while it will only have 3 days, in decent temperatures, I can at least feed my cats what they’re used to. With the BistroCat, you get food pods. I’ve already received 3 cases of food pods and the cats have become accustomed to it. But, I’ve seen complaints about the amount of protein in it. It is also a custard like texture. For the size of the pods, you’d likely schedule 2-3+ feedings/day. It is also not a fishy smelling food. Thing is I don’t see myself putting them on a permanent diet of it and would only use it when I can’t be here. But, I do love that the food is not temperature based. Anyone whose ever used multiday feeders, like the CatMate 50 (?), knows an ice brick isn’t going to last a day, in winter. And I’d know if my cats are eating, although it’s still not a chip feeder, that will stop food theft. I know Refined Feline is putting one out. But not sure when. Still all of this is a long way from the PawBot, that was to hit the market 20 years ago, for $3-4K.
Hi!! I saw your comment on wet food machine and wonder if you'd like the idea of a machine that grinds freeze-dried food and automatically adds water? Just like a coffee machine, so we can be freed from the manual work of preparing wet food.
@@Hon.Elimas I think it can be a good process, but you know, the cats will tell us if is good, not me. If you send me the machine, I will more than happy to beta test.
It needs a 6 feeding container! I have one from Catit which I really like, but it's not refrigerated, it uses ice packs. And I feed raw food so it really needs to stay cold. 6 feeds works great for us because she has an issue where if she doesn't eat around every 4 hours she throws up acid :( but it would be perfect if it was refrigerated
We have this exact problem with our little Gemma. She has megaesophagus and the sphincter muscle at the top of her esophagus doesn't close. If she doesn't eat every 4 hours, she immediately starts to throw up stomach acid. She also has to eat on an elevated platform. If she bends her head down to eat, she throws up. She was born preemie as well at only 2 ounces.
My cat can’t eat a whole can at one serving. So although it’s only 3 trays you can get meals out of this feeders at twice a day for 3 days. Example 6am and 6pm for 3 days. If the cat only ate half their am meal then there’s a second portion for another meal time. I think that’s how it works anyway
@@AllAboutCatsYT Is there a way to check with the company? I guess I could call them but the people on call centers don't always know the details for something like that.
@@AllAboutCatsYTI assume so because many ppl in multi cat houses they have multiple dry food automatic PETLIBRO feeders - each are a different device in the app - so each unit would have different settings - example they can have different feeding schedules or you can set them both up the same.
I have one, it works well, but the app settings could be customized more in two ways that would be more realistic, sanitary, and convenient. 1. My cat is a grazer and he doesn't eat all of the food in one tray in 1 hour, the recommended feeding time before spoilage. I can set feed times to 4 hours, and he can graze, but then the food is left out for hours now in the summer for bacteria to grow. I wish I could set it to rotate each tray continuously for say 1 hour each. For example, one tray opens at noon and stays open for an hour. then at 1pm that tray could rotate and another tray would rotate in. then at 2pm the trays could rotate again. This way the food will stay fresh and my cat could continue to graze. 2. I’m glad they added the Feed Now feature that let’s you open a tray whenever. But it could use some fine tuning. If you set a meal schedule and select Feed Now it feeds from the tray of the next scheduled meal. But when you close it, the meal is counted and the schedule moves to the next planned meal. This doesn’t work well in practice, because I want to Feed Now but not disrupt the feeding schedule. This is really bad for example for breakfast, one of the main reasons I got the device. If I set a meal for 5am, but press Feed Now at midnight before as a snack and then close it, then this midnight snack counts as the breakfast meal at 5am and the next scheduled meal won’t be until lunch at let’s say noon. This is horrible because my cat still wakes me up at 5am for his breakfast! So if PetLibro could just let me Feed Now and close the meal without changing the schedule. I'm glad it exists, I like it a lot, But with these simple changes, It would be near perfect.
@@AllAboutCatsYT they can update the software with this edition, like how they added the feed now feature after launch. It's a good company, improving our relationship with our cats, and I guess dog people too
I am so glad I read your reply to this video. My cat is also a grazer… Will eat her breakfast in the course of two or three hours. So I guess I'm back on the hunt for someone to come and feed my cat while I'm gone for a couple days. Thank you
I just unboxed mine, purchased in July ‘24 and it DOES allow longer feed times now. 😊. I just set mine for 2 hours. It simply issues a warning if it is set longer than an hour.
The problem with this feeder(for me) is that once it opens... it's fair game for every cat. I'm still waiting for someone to make one like this one, but also microchipped so that it only opens for the cat who it's meant for and closes when that cat walks away. I use the surepet because it keeps cats out of each other's bowls. The petlibro is a great price, imo. Not sure that my old guy would approve of cold food and it might upset his stomach. I like that it's raised a little. Easier on the cat, especially older ones. So for now, i just have 2 surepets for each of my cats. I can't give them wet food in both, so i feed them before work and then again after work and give a small amount of dry food at night before bed in the other feeder. Please someone! Make a feeder that has a timer on it and microchipped!!
I agree that's probably one of the biggest downsides of this feeder. For Gordon it's not an issue since he's an only cat, but hopefully they will come out with a microchip or RFID wet food feeder in the future!
If I could talk through the feeder and tell my cats to sit, maybe I’d use this. 😂. I taught my 2 kitties to sit for their meals like a dog and it stopped them from swirling around my legs and calmed their energy around meal time.
I know this question is unrelated to the video, but I have a question and I think you guys could really help me, I feed my cat Purina One wet food and I just wanted to know if that wet food is good and safe to feed my cat ? I hope you guys respond thank you! and great video!.
Yes it can be washed in the dishwasher (Although PetLibro says to keep dishwasher temp no higher than 221°F/105℃), but no they unfortunately don't include any spare plates. Thanks for watching :)
@@JangryBprobably not unless a 3rd party has made one …. It’s a very particular shape and I’m sure they did that on purpose (lime apple lightening charging cables lol) I do wish they had a stainless steel tray. I wonder why they didn’t use SS. Maybe something to do with the temperature regulation as steel would heat or cool more easily I think.
How do you feel about this feeder compared to the Cat Mate C500? I've been considering both but having to buy hundreds of batteries for the Cat Mate is a turn off and I'm concerned about its ability to keep food at a safe temperature. This seems like the better option but I'm a bit sticker shocked. I just want the best for my little guy. Anyone have advice?
I have the PETLIBRO wifi camera dry feeder. Question. Can you use the wet food feeder in addition to the dry one? I spent hours trying to pair two dry feeders only to find out PETLIBRO feeders only allow one wifi feeder in one household. Help please!
Personally I have been using the RFID One and the Polar Wet Food Feeder at the same time (connected to the same app and wifi) and haven't had any issues. I've also tried using 2 RFID One feeders at the same time which also works. Although I haven't tried the wifi camera dry feeder, so perhaps that one is different!
1. How cold does this unit get when closed? i.e. is it a refrigerator or freezer? 2. Can the door be opened manually from the app (or button on the unit)? i.e. bypassing the timer
I just got this and I think it’s great and the app is great and how easy it is to use but my only concern is the plug, where it plugs into the electrical outlet, the plug gets VERY WARM. I tried different outlets and same thing. I don’t know if I should be concerned…
I’d like to travel with this feeder. Can I use it on a different WiFi network at our vacation home? Or open the feeding ports with the app? If not can I open them manually?
Can you review Goodlands cat food next ? It’s a Walmart exclusive cat food I’m sure you’ve all seen the commercial recently . It’s a new food that just came out . Thanks
Hi, thank you for the review. Why is this being marketed only to cats? I have a small dog. Also, I read it only keeps cool 2 meals at a time. I don't understand this. TY!
Cool concept just wish it held at least 9 meals. Maybe attach some sort of bluetooth device connected to a collar that unlocks it to only the cat that has that collar?? Anyways, thank you seems like a good device. Maybe even increase the cooling time more the 72 hrs,too.
re: wet food solution how would you like the idea of a machine that grinds freeze-dried food, and adds water automatically? just like a coffee machine, so we can be freed from the manual work of doing wet food.
I just unboxed mine, purchased in July ‘24 and it DOES allow longer feed times now. 😊. I just set mine for 2 hours. It simply issues a warning if it is set longer than an hour.
Is this feeder bug proof, I must have a billion ants where I am and I have to keep my cats food and water bowls on small blocks so the pest can’t get into them. The ants have made a nest in the walls so they are now free loading tenants?
My cat takes much longer than an hour to finish a meal, so I guess this wouldn't work for us. Luna is a grazer, not a gulper -- she eats a little, then comes back to it several times during the day, and usually never completely empties the bowl. It's a great idea, though, just not for us.
It would have been a deal breaker for me too. But, I just unboxed mine, purchased in July ‘24 and it DOES allow longer feed times now. 😊. I just set mine for 2 hours. It simply issues a warning if it is set longer than an hour.
I really want to buy this but my picky cat never finish & always come back later but then my other cats steal all of her food. I used the surepet before and she won't use it 🥲 even i tried with her only treat (churu) that she will eat. I hope they have microchip or something in the future. My picky cat is way too skinny but she won't eat more... 😭
I hate to leave my cats alone at all, But it stresses me out if I had to leave for a few days or a week or more, and couldn't find help with the cats. I make my cats' food, as per Dr. Lisa Pierson's recipe. It was an adaptation of another person's work. We are approaching two years and my cats look absolutely awesome.Fatty boy is no longer fatty boy. I can see his hips when he does the Sphinx position and all. The little one continues to look great. However, since I don't use chemical preservatives, I cannot use A device like this temperature! I have often thought about this. This is so close.
Had to return it, because the food was too cold and my cat would just throw it up. No way to just do a few room temp meals. Difficult customer service.
re: wet food solution how would you like the idea of a machine that grinds freeze-dried food, and adds water automatically? just like a coffee machine, so we can be freed from the manual work of doing wet food.
@@cynthia7000 I'd like it if my cat would eat it, but I've tried so many different foods and he will only eat a certain flavor of Fancy Feast. I think I finally got a Pet Libro email. I do like their water fountain. But they had no suggestions about the cold food. My cat eats about 15 tiny meals of room temp food a day, since he has a very small stomach.
i asume cat MUST know YOU control the auto feeder, or else they will just wait for NEW food to come out burry old food and be left with 80% uneaten old food.
Oh my God! Why does everything have to be connected to WiFi or an App? I don't have WiFi. My phone is on a Data Plan and I hate putting hackable Apps on my phone. Why can't we just keep things simple and plug it into the wall, ready, set, go, done! More like a non-smart appliance?
That's why I have the MUCH cheaper CatMate feeder. It's not nearly as fancy, but it works and works for wet food. No app, it runs on batteries too, so no worry about power outages either. I like there's more options but lol I keep finding that the one I already have works best for me!
If its about putting it on your personal phone just buy a cheap $30 samsung (which you should be able to afford if you're even considering this product) for these type of things. Sorry to say but phones, apps and electronics go hand in hand these days.
Agreed. Nothing against the new person but with Mallory it always felt like it was a genuine review of her experience with the product. This just feels like sponsored praise...
I'm sorry to hear you feel that way! If it makes you feel any better, the video production process is exactly the same for me and Gordon whether or not the video is sponsored. I don't personally benefit more from sponsored videos and don't keep any portion of the sponsorship payment or any affiliate commissions, so I'm not personally incentivized to share biased information to make the review seem more positive. I always share my honest experience, so hopefully I can earn your trust in our future videos :)
I agree! Typically when I have a cat sitter, they only come once a day, so I can use this to help supplement what they give him (since Gordon is used to eating 3 meals per day). It's also great even when I'm home to make sure he has a consistent schedule if I'm not available at his exact dinner time.
