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Petmate Le Bistro Portion-Control Automatic Pet Feeder, 5-Pound Capacity, Black By: Petmate       Average Rating: 4.0     Total Reviews: 488 More Information Frustrating to program, and my cat can empty it of food...     On: 2008-11-20 We have only gone out of town once since getting our cats earlier this year. We left them alone for a weekend. One of my cats is obsessed with food and ate nearly all of the food we left out for them (not a small amount). He resembled a basketball when we returned home. I saw this item in a catalog and decided to give it a try. Upon receiving it, I found it *extremely* difficult to program. After about 20 minutes of trying to break the code, I managed to get the thing to dispense the appropriate amount of food at a specific time. Wonderful! Well, not so wonderful after Kitty realized that he could, by poking with a paw, dispense more food. And more. And more. The dispenser mechanism has soft, flexible plastic "fingers" that hold the food before tossing it in the bowl at a given time. A few well placed paw pokes let food fall into the bowl. Endlessly fascinating my cat, who already has a weight problem... I found that he would spend long periods of time lying in front of it, gazing and occasionally poking. The food level went down, down down... So. We have not gone out of town again. I am afraid that if we leave him with this, he will eat all the food again. No, we do not have someone we trust to pet-sit. However, its looking like we may have to go that route next time. I think that perhaps it did not have the design flaw of the soft dispensing mechanism it might actually work. But, the difficulty in programming it also took a star off. Perhaps someone with a different sort of pet might find it useful. My other cat was not interested in poking it, nor were my dogs. A great idea that just didnt work for us. Frees up your schedule     On: 2008-11-19 We purchased the Le Bistro because our cat was waking us up hours before normal feeding time each morning. Le Bistro was fairly easy to program once we got the hang of it and feeds her exactly 1/4 cup each morning and evening at the exact time we programmed. While this does exactly what it says it will, our cat still wakes us up in the morning to get fed. I dont think she understands that we dont really feed her anymore! Pros: -Frees up your schedule -Feeds correct amount(helps with weight loss) -Reliable Cons: -Cat can get food out using her paws or just knocking the machine -Battery powered -Cat is still waking us up :( A little confusing to program, but a great product.     On: 2008-11-19 I really like the feeder. At first it was a little hard to get used to, trying to program it, but once you get the hang of it, its awesome. My cats love it. When they hear the feeder dispense food they run to the laundry room to get it! Good product, GREAT service     On: 2008-11-13 We also experienced a problem with the digital display within the first month. Amazon was GREAT....I just notified them and they immediately shipped out a replacement BEFORE I returned the defective one. We had it within 2-3 days. Amazon not only had the best price but the best service. We also agree with other reports that small kibble is dispensed at quantity greater than requested. However, it is such a great device to wean kitty off of human feedings. She waits for sound of machine dispensing food and does not "ask" to be fed. Also great when kitty is left home alone for a few days! I can now sleep in on Saturday     On: 2008-11-12 Ive had it for a month. So far no problems. I will most likly always need to pull out the directions when I need to program the thing. Sometimes I still dont get it with the directions in hand. Day 1 I though my cat was going to paw at the food in the clear container but he let it be when he realized he couldnt get at it. He goes running to it every time he hears the food come pouring out. No longer is he waking me up for food. A pain to program, and dead within a year.     On: 2008-11-09 This thing is pretty terrible. Programming it is an obscure ritual requiring the manual every time (and I make my living as a software engineer). And every time the 3 D batteries die (every month or two!) you have to reprogram it because it loses everything. Dont misplace that manual! Oh, and then theres the problem that it was dead within a year. We actually gave up on using it as an automatic feeder after about 6 months because the programming was so annoying, and the thing is really noisy. But the other day I decided to give it another try. I put brand new batteries in it, and it wont even turn on--totally dead. This thing is a piece of junk, dont buy it. Very Pleased     On: 2008-10-31 We have outdoor cats that live in our insulated barn. It is nice to know that every morning they will be fed without us having to go out there first thing. Sometimes in the past, weve had a critter come in the barn and eat the cat food. Now, we can remove the temptation as we only dispense enough food for the day and try to make sure it is empty by nighttime. This unit has worked without fail and we had no problem getting our cats to eat out of it. Very glad we bought it and would highly recommend. The only negative is my husband had a little problem with programming but still only took him about ten minutes to figure it out. Smokin' lil' feeder     On: 2008-10-31 Had it for awhile now, but only began using it a couple of months ago. Even on the weekends our dog loves getting fed in the morning on a regular schedule. I programmed it just to try it out when I first got it then promptly lost the instructions except for the set in Spanish. Jeez! Was able to decipher enough to find out how simple it is to program/re-program the thing. We love it. The only thing additonal I had to do was build a little rack to hold it up in the air so the dog wasnt tempted to try to help herself. I used a piece of 4" plastic drain tube to carry the food down to her dish. I give it all 5 stars for good consistent portion control, simplicity in refilling the food bowl, overall intuitive ease in programming, dependability (so far), and, best of all, no hungry dog trying to get us up when we want to sleep in. Great invention! good autofeeder     On: 2008-10-30 I got one each for my cats and they seem to like it. I did not find the programming instructions to be too hard but a bit cumbersome. YOu lose everything if the battery comes out. My main complaint is that the food reservoir has a loose lid and if the kitty is smart enough to knock it over, they get buffet service. If they modify the design with a latch or screw on top, it would be perfect. This saved my sleep and sanity     On: 2008-10-26 Before I got this feeder, my two fat cats would pester me for food all day and then at night at about 3:00 on until I surrendered. I was at my wits end and didnt know what I could do short of locking them in the front bedroom whenever I was home asleep or awake. I starting looking online for a solution to the problem and found this product. I was not completely sure it would work even though it had good reviews, but I thought ANYTHING would be worth a try. When I got it, I programmed it to feed 1/4 cup at 6am, 12pm, and 6pm. I was disappointed that it did not have the capability to feed 4 times a day to give the 1 cup total I feed them in a day, so I decided to do a manual feed before I went to bed of 1/4 cup (this could explain why they are so fat...). Anyway, it has been a lifesaver! I started out by rounding them in a closed bedroom with the feeder at night so I could sleep through the night uninterrupted, and now I have just recently let them have the run of the house overnight and I am delighted to say that they do not bother me one bit anymore! They do not try to tip the feeder over, they understand the feeder takes care of them and do not bother me near as much anymore, and we are all much happier. Programming would only be a problem if you tried to figure it out without the instructions, but if you sit down and read them and take time with them, it is not a problem at all; but keep them in case you need to refer back! I have had no problems and would recommend this product to anyone with cats as demanding and insatiable as mine are!! Best idea ever!     On: 2008-10-26 I got 2 for 2 cats, and one of the cats is a monster! It took 2 days for them to get used, i.e., not through down. Now, both cats are used to the machine and its simple to set up times. Wonderful feeder!     On: 2008-10-24 Okay - as others have said, the programing instructions arent terrific. It was easier for me to just play with the buttons a bit - took about 20 minutes to get the thing set up. Like setting the buttons on one of those multifunction watches. A bit of redesign would keep the more enterprising cats from reaching up the chute to get food. Our younger cat was only able to get a few pieces of food out a day - not a big deal, since she had to work so hard for so little. Eventually she got more adept at this, got more food out. We followed advice from here and put tape over part of the chute. Problem solved. If you have a "thinker" type cat, it might be worth your while to tape the feeder before introducing it to your cat - so s/he will never realize that there might be a way to "unlock" the food. We measured the output, found that 1/4 cup is a bit closer to 1/3 cup. So we adjusted the portion control to allow for that. Not a big deal. We have two cats - one of whom is a Maine Coon with a largish head. The large dish that is a part of the feeder allows for both of them to eat comfortably together. Nice. It took our more timid cat a bit of time to get accustomed to the whirring noise. Now they both run for the feeder as soon as it whirs! I have been monitoring the timing of the meals; havent had any problems...and its a huge relief to know that if Im not home at the cats feeding times, theyll still get fed. This Product works OK with some bad points     On: 2008-10-24 I ordered 3 of these for my cats to use while I was going on a long weekend. I had to return one because it didnt work, but got a replacement which did work. It was a good feeder for the few days I needed to use it and I found it accurate with the portion, which I confirmed with a measuring cup and accurate with the clock. The bad thing is I could not continue to use it daily (for my long working hours) because my cats were able to put their paws up the hole where the food comes out and pull out pieces of food at a time. Also, unfortunately, whatever controls the settings for the time on the clock must be in the area of that hole because eventually the clock and feeding settings were zeroing out or changing to different times by my cats putting their paws up there. When I came back from my long weekend, the clocks were still set up correctly, but after the second week of use, they were eating pieces whenever and resetting the clock by paw. Unreliable, inaccurate, impossible to program and freezes!!!!!!!!!!!!     On: 2008-10-22 The screen freezes over and over during programming. Dont even try the manual feeding because it will not stop pouring out food. When set at 1/4 cup a full 2 cups came out. This nightmare is repeated over and over. It is a serious design flaw. I am so sorry I bought this piece of junk and now I have to pay postage to return it. Makes me wonder if Amazon screens the products they sell. Stress-reliever     On: 2008-10-17 Knowing that my cat will be fed regardless of whether or not I make it home is a huge weight off my shoulders. She wasnt scared of the sound at all, and took to it right away. Weve had the feeder for about a month now, and she comes flying across the apartment when she hears the whirring sound. I gave it 3 stars for a few reasons. #1, somehow the clock is a tiny bit off and has slowly shifted earlier and earlier, so that its now going off 5 minutes before the time I originally set it for. #2, the bowl is kinda huge for my cat who has to practically climb inside to get the kibble on the far side. And #3, For some reason I couldnt set the feeder to give my cat lunch at 12:00pm... it doesnt like noon!! That could just be my inability to figure it out, though. Also, Im not entirely sure that the portion is exactly 1/4 a cup, and for a cat on a diet, thats pretty important. BUT, despite all of the minor problems, Im very happy with the purchase. petmate dog feeder     On: 2008-10-15 works good but my dog can get off the top and hit the unit and extra food will fall out. Will be returning. I love it, Cats don't!     On: 2008-10-15 I love this machine!! It was super simple to program and I am able to put my cats on a diet without them screaming at me twice a day to feed them. I have caught my fattest cat sticking his paw up the shoot and getting a couple extra morsels, but not much. It holds a lot of food which is great for me since it is very low maintenance. Overall I love this product and think it is the best investment Ive every made. Just a thought though, if you have more than two cats, it might not be the best idea if your trying to use it for weight loss. Both of my fat cats needed to go on a diet! Not the right one     On: 2008-10-14 It seems like a great product, but it was too much for what we needed. MY 1ST REVIEW ~ 100% Satisfied & Pleased With This Gizmo!     On: 2008-10-14 I like this item so much I thought it was worth writing a quick review. CONS: Nothing comes to mind PROS: Decent price, Easy setup, Right size, Flawless operation (so far, so good for 2 months). Im using Purina Deli Cat. Ive found no need to lessen the outlet size of the hopper, as some have suggested. A big reusable pail from Costco for cheap $$$ and my calico cat loves it. See her photo sometimes in our eBay item photos. To find her, lookup seller "mom-nd-pop" < shameless plug > but thats another story, altogether. Removable bowl in this Rev B model is a _BIG PLUS_ - well worth the extra 5 bux, IMHO. Very handy in those "hack up a hairball" episodes around mealtime. With all the other manufactures, model options and buying venues out there, all of which I considered, I feel fortunate I ended up with this choice and lets not forget the free shipping and great service from AMAZON.COM! < yet another shameless plug > Michael Works great but the min meal size is too large for cats     On: 2008-10-09 I managed to set it up and the device works fine by its design, but I am putting this thing aside only for the use when I have to leave town for more than a week. Here are reasons... The panel interface is counter intuitive and the instruction is hideous BUT it works well once you set up. Their instruction tends to explain what would happen before telling us what to do. For example, 1) "Set AM/FM" and 2) "Press this and that to pick AM". By the time you finish reading #1, our tendency is to actually try setting - without knowing how to do it! Plus, the levels on this and that buttons just dont make sense. Perhaps it may be because the designer was from some other country..., I dont know. So, the setup instruction wasnt the reason for which I gave this product only 3 stars... Another annoyance was, the dispenser window is so shallow/close to the flaps that keep food from falling off that my cat learned instantaneously to reach food through the flaps. This problem was, however, solved by duck-taping a piece of wood over the opening in such a way that it still leaves enough space for food to fall through. So, cat-reaching-food wasnt the ultimate reason for abandoning this device either. The very reason was that the minimal meal size you can set was 1/2 cup. Thats my cats whole day meal size. And, my cat dont like having only one meal a day. Having being fed more and snacking all day by reaching through the flaps put an extra 2 lbs on my cat in a week. Hope this helps. GOOD BUT NOT PERFECT     On: 2008-10-09 Auto feeder is a bit bulkier than expected. It does dispense on time every time. My cat is not afraid of it which I was worried about, she is skiddish. The feeder does dispensce more than it should on the lesser quantities. The larger the dry food seems to be more accurate. All in all, I would recommend it for people like my husband and I that travel and dont want some one in the house all the time. Science Fair project gone right.     On: 2008-10-07 Ive had a great experience with Petmate products in the past, and this feeder is no exception. I had this thing out of the packaging, display-locked, battery-loaded, and programmed within 15 minutes. My only complaint is that the construction feels a bit unsteady. The "blades" of the mill mechanism are made of a stiff rubber that feels prone to crumbling, the bowl does not detach for cleaning, and the storage cylinder on top merely rests atop the main body of the device. The whole thing feels like a Science Fair project adapted for sale on QVC. But it feeds my cat. Twice a day. Every day. Which means that I get woken up by *WHIRRRRRRRR CLACK CLACK CLACK* instead of cat tongue in my armpit. A fair trade for $50. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking     On: 2008-10-06 I purchased this for my always hungry fat cat in hopes to get her to stop constantly begging. So far this product has been great. She has realized that the mysterious black machine is responsible for her food, and not me! I occasionally find her sitting in front of the feeder just staring and waiting. and if shes in another part of the house and hears it dispense a meal she comes RUNNING. When we first set the feeder up she could see and smell the food and thought she could break in and help herself. She has tried everything from scratching, to knawing, to tipping the feeder over and has failed to get it open. She has finally given up trying to outsmart the machine. Score ONE for me - ZERO for my fat little baby! Great Idea for frequent absentee pet owners...     On: 2008-10-06 This has to be the best idea for frequent absentee cat owners. It was easy to set up and put in place. I love this product... would definitely purchase it again. Excellent!     On: 2008-10-06 This feeder [ASIN:B000BVWVUA Petmate Electronic Portion Control Le Bistro Feeder 5 pound - Black] programs precisely by hours, minutes and seconds. Unit performs reliably and precisely. This unit is great for pets that need metered feeding. Le Piece OCrapO     On: 2008-10-05 Ive read it out there from other people as well but SERIOUSLY this thing is a piece of JUNK!!! It will probably kill your pet if you rely on it feeding your pet. Ive had two units the first one I got an exchange from the place I bought it because it didnt work as set it had a mind of its own. The second one worked just outside the exchange date and now the internal memory is so secrewed up I cant even set it. Im single and wanted to rely on using it for my cat if I wasnt home yet but NO WAY, it will count a feeding yet not disperse any food even at times. This things a cruel attempt at cheap manufacturing!! I hope the manufacturers get what they deserve for making this piece of junk and somebody sues there butts off!!! MFk#$%^**!!!! works as designed     On: 2008-10-04 I am really happy with this purchase. It works as described, was not difficult to set up and shipped to us quickly. I do agree with the fact that it is loud when it dispenses food but what would expect if you had bunch of hard dog/cat pellets coming down a plastic chute? I just want to warn of this so that if your pet feeding is near your bedroom and your feeding time is during your sleep time you might want to consider this. Also the measurement of the food dispenser is off. The lowest measurement of food dispense per meal is 1/4 C. I use Hills W/D for my cat so the nuggets are small and round. I have it set at 1/4 C and when it dispenses about 1/3 C comes out consistently. So if you are using this as a strict diet/measurement control I might look elsewhere. failed after 2 meals     On: 2008-10-04 We got this pet feeder to feed our cat while we were out of town for 2 nights (the most wed ever leave her by herself). When we got home we found her very hungry...because the feeder only gave her food twice! I cannot recommend this machine. It is expensive and doesnt work. We returned it and got our money back. Kitty gets lots of extra food in a dish when we leave her overnight now or she gets boarded. A Piece of Junk     On: 2008-10-04 I purchased this item from Amazon in February 2008, the unit looked sturdy and I felt it was a good investment until using it for two months when the display started to malfunction, then it totally conked out, after reading the reviews in Amazon, I considered that I made a bad investment and out of pocket by $50.00, since I do not have the packaging to sent it back. One thing for sure I WILL NEVER BUY OR RECOMMEND TO ANYONE TO BUY THIS PIECE OF JUNK FROM PETMATE. Review of Petmate Feeder     On: 2008-10-03 Recently I purchased the larger automatic petmate feeder. I have previously owned the smaller version. I ordered the larger version because it was white. I do not like the fact that the food holder in the larger version is so flimsy. Could easily be broken or crushed when putting the cover on. Also it is too lightweigh and it moves when my cats eat from it. I would recommend the smaller version which comes in black, as the food holder is of a much better quality and the feeder does not move when the cats are eating from it. Petmate Electronic Portion Control Feeder     On: 2008-10-03 I just LOVE this feeder. My cat does not nag me anymore for food- she just knows breakfast is at 6am and dinner is at 5pm. For some reason 6pm was too late for dinner so I re-programmed it. That was NOT an easy task. The directions were extremely hard to follow- so I just played with it until I figured it out. I also think my prescription catfood will last longer because it is portioned out better than I could do it. I would definitely recommend this feeder- a little spendy though- Amazon was the cheapest I could find although the price fluctuated a few times- not sure why.? destroyed in 2 days     On: 2008-10-03 feeder was destroyed in two days, top is too easily removed and feeder needs some way to be attached to something that cant be drug under the house. I love this product and so does my cat !!     On: 2008-10-02 I highly recommend this product. I purchased one and my sister purchased two!! It works great. No need to worry about being home to feed the cat. He is HAPPY - I am HAPPY :) Great Purchase     On: 2008-10-02 I was a little bit leery at first when I was looking to purchase an automatic feeder for my cat. There were so many negative comments on many makes and models. As I look back, Im glad I made this purchase. Ive been using this feeder for almost a month now and it has performed flawlessly. The programming interface is simple and fairly straightforward. the amount of food dispensed will take some tinkering, but once you get that setup, operation is a breeze. I recommend this feeder for anyone who has a cat and is looking to simplify the feeding schedule. Wonderful     On: 2008-09-30 It has been great, it is battery operated and I dont know how long they will last, so far so good... You definetely need the instructions to operate the feeder so DONT throw them away- It dispenses the amount you want at the time you want and up to three times a day, I just wished it would have a power backup... specialy if you go away for a couple of days and the batteries die. No more food sitting on a plate for hours... the dog waits for it and eats it all up... I love it     On: 2008-09-29 I love this product. I saw a lot of bad reviews, but there are always complainers so I tried it anyway. I did not feel like it was hard to program or difficult to use and Marbles loves the more regularly timed feeding. Functional     On: 2008-09-29 The Petmate Le Bistro Portion-Control Automatic Pet Feeder, servers the purpose it was intended for, not having to get up every morning between 4:30 & 5 am to feed my cat especially on the weekends. The product does keep to the feeding time that I programmed but the amount of food that it is suppose to dispense isnt accurate. For the first several weeks the amount of food dispensed was correct but now its like 3x times the amount even after reprogramming the Feeder. But it still serves the purpose for which it was intended and I am satisfied with my purchase. Very disappointing     On: 2008-09-28 This product broke within 3 days of use. The screen was blurred and malfunctioning, and no longer dispensed any food. I tried changing the batteries (which were brand new) but that had no affect. It just simply BROKE. Its possible that I bought a lemon, but I opted for a REFUND instead of a REPLACEMENT because of the following: The sole reason in buying this product was the " pre-programmed food portion" feature. Unfortunately the pre-programmed "portions" dispensed were VERY inaccurate. When I programmed it to dispense 1/2 cup, it dispensed a FULL cup. For the 3 feeds that it DID dispense before it BROKE, it was supposed to dispense 1/4 cup, the lowest possible quantity, and it dispensed 1/2 cup. I know this because I measured the amt dispensed fearing my cats would gain weight. I wasnt impressed with the overal structure of the product either. I thought the big plastic tub that stores the food was a bit flimsy and made of very thin, cheap plastic, about the equivalent of what they use to make 2L plastic soda containers. While it did screw in nicely to the holder making it impossible for the cats to knock over, when I tried to open the lid off to put more food in, I thought I was going to break the bowl in order to get the lid off. The lid did not come off easily and I really had to give it yank to get it off. I think the bowl would have eventually snapped or cracked and been rendered useless within months anyway had it not completely broken within days. Works great     On: 2008-09-26 We purchased the the feeder to stop our cat from thumping at the bedroom door at 4:15am for food. Well, the idea worked for a little while, but now she just thumps the door (after she eats) because shes lonely. The feeder was easy to program and dispenses the correct amount at the correct time. What are the negative reviews about?     On: 2008-09-26 I am not one to make a hasty or impulsive decision these days, so I researched and researched automatic pet feeders. After reading what everyone said about the ERGO pet feeder I decided not to buy it. I am REALLY glad that I didnt. This feeder was GREAT! I had it running in 8 minutes. The only extra time it took was cutting a paper plate to limit portions. I have a kitten, so she needs less than 1/4 cup. I read what others decided to do about the 1/4 cup or more portions, and tried the "paper blocker." It worked, but nobody described "how" to work it... so here goes... Get a paper plate and scissors. Take the feeding container and draw a circle on the plate. Cut the circle out, cut it in half, and then place between feeder and container. Viola! it now becomes a 1/8 auto feeder! I gave this product 4 stars, only because Le Bistro needs to make a smaller portioned option for young/heavy cats consumption control. Other than that, this is a 5-star product! My kitten loves it, because she no longer relies on a dead-beat daddy to get home and feed her. This product seems like an upgrade from the black one, so make sure you get this one. The complaints, I believe, are from the old model. No cat will break into this one! Best wishes! Reliable and Easy to Use     On: 2008-09-24 Easy to program and reliable for up to three times daily. More times would have been handy for what I like to do. I would also have liked some kind of "dinner bell" signal to train the dog by. But, this feeder works very well and is quite dependable. go with it     On: 2008-09-23 After the initial assult of less than perfet step by step directions (you have to assurme a follow-thru on the limited initial instructions), this item was a god-send for our overly-pampered kitty. We tested it for two days before our trip and it preformed very well. He would sit and try to pry more food out but only on occasional nugget would fall. Love it!! LP from Salem, OR Feeder works but     On: 2008-09-23 Feeder works but Local Raccoons are able to easily open and empty the feeder. This issue makes it impossible to use outside. Poor customer service     On: 2008-09-22 I contacted the manufacturer after my machine started missing feeds (it would randomly not dispense food for a given feeding time despite adequate programming and battery life). They were extremely unhelpful and made it very difficult to get service and obtain a replacement or repair. Beware the bad service backup for this product. My rabbit likes it! Works great with small pellet food.     On: 2008-09-22 We know is works well with dog and cat food, this review is for rabbit owners. I picked this up to feed Bud, my large free run rabbit who loves his Oxbow pellets. During the summer I go on extended motorcycle road trips and leaving for more than one day was difficult. Pellets should be a supplemental food source to hay but if I put three days worth of food in his bowl hed eat it all within the first night. If left with hay as his only food source, hell go on a destructive hunt for his pellets. Rabbits are very sensitive to dietary change so I decided to try the Bistro and so far its been flawless. Not only did it work perfect while I was on vacation, I left it as his regular food bowl which should help him lose some weight. Instead of begging me for food he now expects it from the Bistro and knows to wait next to it at its preprogrammed times. Construction seems good. With the D batteries installed and the hopper filled its pretty heavy. Bud weighs about 15 lbs and he hasnt moved it an inch. Operation is quiet and the amount of small pellets it spits out is very accurate. It allows for many options such as feeding one, two or three times a day off a standard time clock. The food delivered can range from a 1/4 cup to two full cups, however you cant vary the amount at each schedule (eg. 1 cup for breakfast and 2 cups for dinner is NOT possible). Theres a manual feed option by pressing two buttons at the same time and a counter in the upper right of the display that keeps tract of each feeding. Only thing keeping this from a five star rating is the PROGRAMMING. Whoever designed the logic needs to be taken out back and shot...a 1981 VCR is a walk in the park to program compared to this! The included instructions are accurate and if followed youll be able to program it. Just dont lose them! There is no memory backup while changing the batteries so youll need to reprogram at that time. Also turning the power switch off erases the program which is really bad if you only want to use it periodically. Overall its a great product for the price and works well with small pellet food. Good automatic feeder     On: 2008-09-22 I bought this auto-feeder as a solution to feeding times. Having the feeder allows me to not worry about getting home late as I know the cats will be fed. It also feeds early in the morning so that they dont wake me up. At first I was leary of this because of the bad reviews of the previous generation of this feeder. This one is much easier to program. From what Ive heard the older model was very difficult. As others have noticed, it does not dispense exactly 1/4 cup of food. I measured it with Purina One and was getting 1/3 cup per bar. With two cats, this is not a problem for me. Other nit picks: Mine runs a little fast... a few minutes a month. Its easy to accidentaly detach the hopper when undoing the lid on the top. I also agree it doesnt feel very robust. But it still seems to be the best out there for what it does and I am happy with it. It has been feeding my cats dry food now for 4 months successfully. Stupid programming, great functionality     On: 2008-09-20 Like most say, the programming on this thing was designed by a monkey, and the manual doesnt help much. We bought this and returned the first one thinking it was broken...got the second one and realized my mistake. The last line in the instruction manual under the "PROGRAMMING" section is actually the first instruction I would have put in the "SETTING CURRENT TIME" section. Once youre into programming, you have to watch out for inconsistent use of the different buttons...and setting the time on the thing is not like any other clock Ive ever programmed. You have to set the first digit of the hour and minute separately from the second digit (0 or 1 for the first digit, then 1 through 9 for the second). Dumb. Aside from that the unit functions perfectly and has made feeding our 2 cats at the same times each day very easy. The 4.2 pound capacity of the hopper on our unit was enough for at least 2 weeks of meals, depending on your settings. Aside from its programming, there are a couple things I would have liked to have seen done differently on this product. First, you can only set one meal size in incriments of 1/4 cups. I would have preferred to had the meal size programmable for each meal. Weve set ours to dish out 2 meals a day at half a cup each. That seems to be just a bit too much for our cats. But the only alternative would be 3 meals of 1/4 cup each, which was closer to what I would like them to eat, but when we did that, one cat would eat almost all the food, ending up with one overfed and one underfed cat. Also the unit only runs on batteries. I would have preferred an AC/DC combination, even if it cost more. The batteries we put in it had not been used, but were past their best-by date, and they have lasted over a month now, but if youre on vacation and the batteries run out...well, there you go. With AC/DC the unit would run without problems and if the AC went out while you were away, the DC backup would act as a fail safe. Still, worry free feeding is amazing and even with this units drawbacks, Id still recommend it. Everything it claims to be     On: 2008-09-18 Others had some negatives about this product, but I found it to be a solid value for the price. It feeds reliably three times a day and since Ive got two big cats, the portion size increments werent really an issue. Seems to work just fine with the smaller kibbles we usually buy, too. Some people said their cats were able to jiggle food out with their paws. However, our cats are grandmaster kibble hustlers, having gotten food out of just about every other feeder weve tried, and they dont seem to be able to get anything out of this when theyre not supposed to. Yes, the whole thing doesnt seem super sturdy and the clear plastic holder for the kibbles is pretty thin and will probably crack if abused too much. Still the price is good and what you get for that price, a reasonably well thought out feeder, make it a worthwhile product if you in the market for such a thing. Great Product Roxie Likes It     On: 2008-09-16 Researched many automatic pet feeders before we decided to purchase the Petmate Le Bistro Pet Feeder for our cat Roxie. My husband programmed the feeder without even looking at the directions with no problems. As with other peoples comments about how big the portions are, we took the idea from another reviewer by putting a small piece of cardboard to make sure the portion size was correct for our cat. Now Roxie waits by her bowl at feeding time and watches the kibble come down into her bowl and then eats. At first the sound of the motor did scare Roxie a little but now she is use to it. We also find cleaning and refilling the feeder is no problem. Over all we do like this product and we hope other pet owners will enjoy it too. Happy cat     On: 2008-09-15 I am away a lot and got this feeder so I dont always have to arrange for someone to come in and feed my cat. It works great. You can set it to feed 2 or 3 times a day. It is a bit tricky to program but once you figure it out (and save the instruction book) its fine. Very cost effective compared with other sources. Good helper!     On: 2008-09-13 Works well, a little difficult to program and food container is loose fitting. But my cats love it and you dont have to worry about them going hungry! I wish it wasnt battery operated. it didn't work     On: 2008-09-11 a friend has this pet bistro so i bought one to prepare for a two week vacation. mine worked for one or two days and then stopped working. the counter advanced however, so i didnt realize it wasnt working until my cat showed signs of extreme hunger. shes always hungry, so it took a while to catch on. luckily, i was able to borrow my friends for the duration of the trip and it worked fine. i will return mine for a replacement and hope for the best. frustrating, though. bottom line: when it works, i have no complaints about this gizmo, but when it doesnt, all bets are off. buyer beware. We have 2 we loved the 1st one so much we got another     On: 2008-09-10 We have 2 cats and wanted to try one out to see how it worked. its not the easiest thing to figure out but oncw we got it programed it works great. we knew we were going out of town so we bought a 2nd so we had one for each cat. So far they have worked as well as we could expect. AWESOME     On: 2008-09-10 We just recently purchased the Petmate Le Bistro Portion-Control Automatic Pet Feeder. My first thought upon opening the box was "Oh my Gosh, this is so big." It is wonderful how much food this holds. Our cat found out very quickley where the food was going to come from. She would set and wait and then give a little jump when it dumped the food. Now we wont have to worry about our cat getting fed while we are gone or that we are feeding everyone elses cats. Wonderful product. Great product     On: 2008-09-09 It takes a few minutes to figure how to program it, but once you get the hang of it, this thing works well. My cat took a day to get used to it, rather than looking at it like it was a mouse or predator. Ive used it 5-days straight for twice daily feedings and am confident that itll work well the next time I leave home for a few days. Great buy! Love this! So does our cat!     On: 2008-09-07 I love that this keeps the food fresh. I use it w/ Iams dry cat food and have had absolutely no problems. Plus, its super easy to program. Good buy! About to buy my second     On: 2008-09-06 Ive had great success with the item. Yes, I agree that you have to get the instructions out each time you reprogram it. But since I only have to do that when I changed the batteries (which last for months) and when I was originally setting it up, it really isnt a problem. You do need to limit it to dry food; I cant see how it would work with moist food at all without gumming up the works. The minimum is 1/4 cup. If these dont meet your situation, Id suggest one of those units where you manually measure out each of the meals for 4 - 8 days. PIECE OF JUNK     On: 2008-09-05 Stopped dispensing the propper amount of food after one month. Total junk, dont waste your money Great Product     On: 2008-09-03 This new model is easy to operate and works well. We do not care any more coming late home as we know our cat already got his meal. We just wish PetMate will sell an extra part so we be able to feed our cat more than 1/4 of cup and less than 1/2 cup. What a load of junk     On: 2008-09-01 Like everyone else I think this product is a load of junk. The display is not intuitive, I had to keep the instructions nearby so that I could work out what was going on each time I tried to adjust the thing. Further it worked fine for about a year, and then I changed the batteries out and it just broke. Conveniently after the 1 yr guarantee was up. I tried everything to fix it short of throwing it against the wall. The interface would start working when I inserted batteries, and then the clock would stop (the colon would stop blinking - if you are having problems with yours then check to make sure the time is incrementing) so it would never feed my cats. I thought I had a problem as my cats were always hungry when I returned home. Further it cost me about $100 in Petsmart. Its in the trash. Love this feeder     On: 2008-09-01 We purchased this feeder after reading many reviews on different automatic feeders, and I could not be more pleased with it. We had it together and programed in less than 15 minutes. We have a Pomeranian that seems to have a built in clock telling her when it is time to eat. Work day or weekend, she expects to be fed at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. This feeder does it better than I did. We often have to leave her alone overnight and had been paying someone to stay in our home to care for her. Now when we have to be away this feeder takes care of her needs. It paid for itself very quickly. She eats a very small dry dog food and it doesnt clog the feeder or have any problem. At five minutes to six, she is pacing around it waiting for the food to drop. It does seem to feed her a little more than the lowest amount option, but she doesnt seem to mind. With a heavy work schedule and new triplet granddaughters to help out with, this feeder has given me freedom and peace of mind in at least one area of my life. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Love it!     On: 2008-09-01 I own two of these for each of my dogs. They dispense the appropriate amount of food and do it consistently and reliably. My dogs are 20 pounds and 70 pounds each. As gently as I can say this: If you have trouble programming this, YOU are the problem. You need to sit down in a quiet place and do this with patience. This has made life so much easier. They get breakfast lunch and dinner and are fed on time every day. I will never be without this product again. Great!!     On: 2008-09-01 one month and is working very well, I was afraid because I read bad reviews about the difficulty of programming it, the clock, etc. I havent touch the programming since the first day, and it wasnt that difficult. I`m confident my two cats will have food every time, and Im less worried about overfeeding them. Smarter than the average user!     On: 2008-08-28 I just read some of the 1 star reviews and I couldnt disagree more. If you have even the slightest bit of common sense, you can set this machine up. For those complaining that the cat knocks over the bin, it TURNS to lock in place. Be smarter than your cat. I have had this for over almost 2 years, with no problem. In fact, I am barely getting a "low battery" light now, this week. I will agree that the lowest setting still dumps out too much food. My solution, only set it to dispense food once a day, around noon. Or twice, early morning, and late afternoon. I find that what my cat doesnt eat, she snacks on later. And I happen to think its super cute when she claws into the slot for that extra little bite. Its hardly worth crying about. that nibble isnt going to make your cat fat. The crappy food you put into the machine might though. Another person complained about cleaning it. My solution, DONT. Other that dusting the exterior, i have had ZERO need to clean out this device. But then again, I only use quality food such as Nutro or Eukanuba. It doesnt crumble or powder up, or leave much residue. I absolutely love this machine and would have given it 5 stars, if it had smaller food dispensing settings. But its a sturdy, solid piece of equipment and has saved my life when Ive had to go out of town for a day or two. another 1 star reviewer commented about the programming, and someone was kind enough to post some better instructions, so I will pass them on here. ------------------------------------------ Initial post: Aug 20, 2008 3:42 PM PDT Sandstone says: Ive had one of these for a few years, and it has worked without difficulties. However, I do agree with most of what WorldyOne says. Regarding programming the unit, it is difficult. Ive rewritten the instructions for myself in a way I find easier to follow, here they are in case anyone else wants to use them: (P&H means push and hold) SET cycles thru what you want to set in time mode, PROG cycles P&H PROG + to enter P&H PROG SET to exit Time: + + SET select am pm then SET then PROG to go thru fields, adj w + SET to finish Meal time: SET then use PROG upper right corner 1 feeds 0 no feed use + to advance to next meal SET to finish + to advance to meal size, SET to change Meal size: + to change 1/4 cup = 1 1/2 cup = 2 SET to finish exit setup: P&H PROG SET Decent, but beware if you have a smart cat!     On: 2008-08-28 Needed to purchase an automatic feeder for when were away for the weekend for our cat. The feeder assembled easily, and programmed easily. I have noticed some discrepency in the amount that dispenses. Also, the cat figured out immediately that she could fit her paw up the dispenser hole and dislodge more food. Still trying to figure out if this is "extra" food, or the food that would have been dispensed if it was working properly. So far, I can only recommend this unit for short-term use, as its not 100% reliable in my case. UPON FURTHER REVIEW: After working with the feeder for a week, I think we worked out the kinks. First off, when we had the feeder dispense more food, but less often, the cat stopped "fishing" for more food. If there is extra food around after a couple feedings, we just poured it back in the hopper. Im sure most people can set up a system of number of feedings and amount of feedings which works for your pet. Im upping my score to 4 stars! Great fior the dog not the Smart Cat     On: 2008-08-25 This is a great feeder for our dog! You need to READ the instruction each time you program. Not a good feeder for some cats One of my two cats lives to open doors, cupboards, and climb "the Smart Cat". He has found by inserting his paw in the food slot he can have as much food as he can eat. He is now a Smart Fat Cat. The other cat is clueless, even watch after watching the Smart Fat Cat. I also always tape the cover on... because of the Smart Fat Cat. He has opened pet food storage containers climbed in and self fed! Completely fails at one of its primary functions     On: 2008-08-24 To me, the purpose of this item is two fold. One, to provide your pet with food at certain times. Two, to limit the amount of food your pet receives. My cat figured out on the first day that I had this that she could just reach her paw inside and grab more food. This completely destroys the purpose of this item. If my pet can access food whenever she wants, whats the point in trying to restrict her access to food in the first place? Maybe it would be more successful with a dog who might be unable to get the food out on its own, but with a cat, this item is a complete failure. My cats will be taken cared of.     On: 2008-08-21 Gotta love this pet feeder. Super easy to set up. I dont know what some of these other folks are complaining about. I also followed another reviewers suggestion to insert a barrier between the top and bottom with a smaller hole for my cats small kibbles. Ill be leaving my cats for 3 days. Ive tested this unit for a few days now and Im confident theyll be fed properly. In my view, the only thing they could have improved on was to include 3 D batteries with my order. Aside from that, Im very happy with my purchase. inconsistent     On: 2008-08-20 Ive been messing with this thing for a couple of weeks now trying to figure out how much food it will distribute. The first time I set it for half a cup, it doled out a cup and a half. Its gotten better, but I do set it for a quarter cup less than what actually comes out. It also still scares my cats (and me too!). Poor Product     On: 2008-08-18 Bought this product to try and control my cats large appetite. Like the others, programming this thing takes a NASA degree, then you still dont know what your doing. No warning when the batteries died. And one day, it just stopped working all together. Getting ready to take a trip and not much else is offered out there, but I dont want to risk getting this thing again. Best Cat Investment I Have Made So Far     On: 2008-08-18 I have had this product for at least a year and a half, and I have had no problems so far. I was looking at this page again to see if they had a waterer, which I may buy soon. The best part about this purchase - I havent had to change the batteries yet, for over a year. But it does take 4 D batteries, so make sure you have some or buy some with this product. Other reviewers on this site have had problems programming it, but it comes with directions. I read the directions when I bought the machine, programmed it correctly on the first day, and have been able to just let it run since then. Programming is not entirely "intuitive," though, so the directions are important to keep if you want to change the programming often. I got this for my cats because they put on too much weight with the free flow feeder we had before. We have had no problems with them forcefully "pulling" food out of the machine, mostly because the lid is tight-fitting and there is a hard plastic paddle holding the food in the receptacle. Feeder is actually easy to clean because the bowl is large and smooth (for wipe-out cleaning) and the top receptacle can be wiped out easily by taking off the top lid. It is at leat 6 inches across, so it is not too small. If you are wondering how the food dispenses, you can choose up to three feedings a day, and each feeding can be from 1-4 portions. As far as I remember, the portions are each 1/4 cup, and my vet recommended 1/2 to 3/4 cup per cat per day. If three daily feedings of 1 portion are too much for a cat, you can reduce it to two daily feedings of 1 portion, and they can be spaced out at any time of day. One major consideration: I have two cats, and I had to make sure, at first, that they were sharing the amount of food. Luckily for me, I found that the bowl was big enough that both cats could eat at the same time, although sometimes my "less dominant" cat would wait it out and let the other cat eat some first. If you have cats that dont like to eat together or fight for any reason, I recommend two feeders in separate areas, although this is an expense I couldnt afford at the time. Overall, I think this product is one of the best I have bought online, and I would recommend it to anyone with a pet who needs to start a consistent and controlled feeding schedule. Another POC from China     On: 2008-08-18 This is a good product in theory, since it feeds your cat at regular intervals so it doesnt get fat, but it is difficult to program, and my electronics went crazy after a few weeks. I wouldnt recommend this product. Maybe theres something better thats made in America. Fixed Portion Problem     On: 2008-08-17 This feeder has been a very useful tool in keeping the cat on a consistent feeding schedule. It also has eliminated the cat waking us up in the morning wanting to be feed. Worked extremely well while we were on vacation as my mother only had to check on the cat every couple days. Our dumb cat cannot self feed so an automated feeder was really the answer. The problem: The advertised minimum portion amount of 1/4 cup could not be further from the truth. With this small cat food, it was closer to a half a cup. So here we are feeding our cat (who is suppose to be on a controled diet) almost a cup and a half of food a day with the three feedings. We thought she was getting only 3/4 cup. Well I thought it was too much, and sure enough after the last three months of use I think shes gained 10 pounds. We could not continue this so I began looking at other feeders, but complaints with those prompted me to take another look at this one. After a little thought I figured I could modify it to serve less per cycle simple by reducing the amount of space in the rotating hopper. After taking it apart I was able to fabricate out of some spray paint caps a spacer that reduced the hopper size by more than half. Now the feeder spits out a little less than ¼ cup each time and is just what we needed. The company should make different size hoppers to better meet the consumer needs. If you want to attempt the modification I could send you some pictures of what I did for reference. Just ask: fixfeeder@codelevel.com and Ill try to get that to you. Im sure it voids the warranty, but it wasnt working for me the way it was so I didnt have much to lose. As far as the cat reaching up in the feeder, I have only seen her do it once and now with the filler it will be a little harder(less flex on the hoper dividers). If it becomes a problem it would be easy to fabricate a shield over the outlet chute that would make it really difficult for the cat to get at. I wish you could do a onetime feeding by just pressing one button, but instead you have to press two and the same time, then press it again to stop it. Ive had a hard time stoping it and when it does stop you could be left with the hopper wheel in-between to settings, which seems to throw the whole cycle off for the next automated cycle. I found it best just to leave that option alone, and just scoop some out if you want to feed them a little extra. Programming is a bit awkward, but its manageable. I like the fact that it is battery powered (dont have to worry about power outages messing up the timer, and no power cord to drape across the floor that the cat could chew on). All in all, Im now satisfied with the product and would recommend it with a warning about the Portion size. Amount of Food Dispensed NOT Accurate     On: 2008-08-17 We decided to try this product for our cat. Shes on a strict diet of Prescription Diet r/d. Shes ONLY allowed to have 3/4 cup of r/d per day. We decided this feeder would be great because she could have three 1/4 cup meals without us having to be home three times a day. Sounds great, right? WRONG. This feeder does not dispense the correct amount of food. On the 1/4 cup setting, the amount of food ranged from 1 HEAPING 1/4 cup to almost 1/2 a cup of food!!! This is UNacceptable for anyone whose cat has strict dietary needs. We tried various things including leaving the hopper very full and leaving it almost empty. NOTHING worked. I should also point out that the box and instructions state that the feeder works with ALL shapes and sizes of dry food (and the box even pictured a food in the exact shape and size as ours). Not to mention the creators of this product seemed to forget that cats are intelligent and they can very easily stick their paws up the chute and release more food. This product might be okay if youre just going out of town and want to make sure that your kitty is fed, but stay away from it if you have more specific needs. You may feel that the product deserves a higher rating, but the way I see it, claiming that your product can dispense a specific amount of food when it cannot is false advertising and makes the product completely useless to me. Worked great for 2 years straight.     On: 2008-08-16 We purchased this for our cat 2 years ago for about $80 without reading any reviews. It ran every day for 2 straight years with no problems at all. The first set of Duracell D batteries lasted over 9 months and were still going strong but I replaced them because we were going on a 2 week vacation. The second set lasted over a year. Only now is the unit starting to show its age. Like others have noted the clock gains time but ours gains only about 5 min a month. The real problem now is that it is occasionally missing a feeding but again thats after 2 years. Were going to get the new version next. Good concept, not so good in reality     On: 2008-08-16 Thought this was a great idea; still do. It does feed on time but the measured amount it delivers is WAY off. I had it set to deliver two cups at each feeding and what actually came out was only 3/4 of a cup. My dog (whos huge) was starving all the time. Within a few weeks it stopped even delivering the number of "scoops" it was supposed to (8 scoops is supposed to equal 2 cups) and started delivering about half that. Im back to feeding her on my own. Im still searching for that perfect automatic feeder for long weekends away. Great Price for a Great Product     On: 2008-08-15 "Meow!" Thats cat speak for Thank You from Anna Belle and Jade Kitty. We appreciate it very much. Because now, whenever Momma is at work pulling a double shift or out visiting Grandma and cant get home when we are ready to eat, we wont go hungry anymore. Momma sets the timer and we have food three times a day, every 8 hours! Its perfect for us because our little tummies are full and we can do what we enjoy best...CATNAP!! all day long. :):) <3 --Anna & Jade Thank you for their new Automatic Feeder by Petmate Le Bistro. It works beautifully and at the price that I paid, Im glad I bought it at Amazon.com instead of SkyMall or going through the manufacturer because I would of paid at least double the cost. It has helped me out immensely and I know my girls love it also. Thanks again! -RC Good deal for the price with minor issues...     On: 2008-08-14 I like the idea of this product so purchased for my dog when we needed to be away for two weeks. I needed it for outside and only discovered once I received it that it is for indoor use only. So, I put the contraption into a secured/covered dog house so that was a non-issue for this time of year. Product was easy to program and did drop food on schedule. Did apparently malfunction after we left for a couple of days--jammed even though used smaller dog food size--but then was fine after discovered/corrected. The clear plastic container is flimsy and easily tips out of its holder if not properly held. If not in an enclosed cover I think a larger dog could upset the contents with his/her nose or knocking against it. All-in-all, it was worth purchasing for me but next time I would purchase a sturdier product and one for outdoor use. Don't forget     On: 2008-08-14 Dont forget to buy D batteries for this thing (which I did and am now extremely annoyed)! They also have to option of using a DC adapter, but do not include it. Later 'Linen' Model is great!     On: 2008-08-13 After reading the reviews here, I purchased the "Linen" color one that is a later model. It was super easy to set up - less than 5 minutes. My cat cant get food out, although shes not aggresive either. She acts like a new cat since I purchased the feeder. Although we fed her at almost the same time everyday, it wasnt the same. Shes a cat and likes perfect routine. She has gone from an 13lb cat to playing like a kitten. She looks like shes lost weight, but most of all shes much more playful and HAPPY. Doesn't measure food correctly     On: 2008-08-13 We purchased this for our three cats, set to dispense 3/4 of a cup 3 times a day. After watching it dispense, we discovered it dispenses the wrong amount. The 1/4 cup setting dispenses a little more than 1/4 cup, the 1/2 cup setting dispenses nearly 1 cup, and 3/4 cup setting dispenses over 1.5 cups. Its possible that this is because our cat food is pellets that are pretty small, but either way - if you buy this, be sure to check to see how much its *actually* dispensing! Changed My Cat's Life and Ours!     On: 2008-08-13 We are extremely happy that we purchased this for our cat. It took only 5 minutes to set up. I set it up to serve 1/4 cup twice a day for our 13lb cat. I also tested it, and it really does serve 1/4 cup. I used Hills Prescription R/D until I read some negative information about the ingredients, so switched to Natural Balance cat food. Both types of food worked perfectly in the automatic feeder. We have had the feeder for a little over a month, and noticed the positive changes immediately (before changing the food). My cat has gone from a 13lb cat that mostly slept, and not much anything else to a playful kitten! Shes 8 years old and is acting like a kitten all over again. She also looks like shes lost a little weight. Plus, I dont have to get up at 6am on the weekends to feed her and she doesnt associate us with food. We fed her twice a day everyday, but it would vary by an hour or so before we got the feeder. I guess cats like exact routine because it has made a big difference for her and us! Works w/ Helpful Hints     On: 2008-08-11 I wont bore you with all the pros and cons of previous reviews. I have been satisfied with the 4 or 5 times we have used them. Other concerns of DOA or short life can be mitigated by buying from a good company like Amazon. Just to add my experience. I have owned two ( purchased from Amazon )for over a year and have learned to work through the programming issue. We are using them as vacation suppliment feedings for a large and a medium Retriever mix dogs. The small bite Pedigree dog food we use does jam the feeder if you do not manually override the program and let it operate a couple of times before leaving it unattended. It is probably as a result of a few things. First the dispenser vanes are very flimsy plastic for the size pellets. Secondly, the dispenser vanes should be set manually to form a V (looking from the top) before putting the storage bowl on top so that the food does not jam them during its first turn. Finally do not overfill and squeeze the top on as the compacting of the food doesnt help. The new batteries will last 5-7 days depending on quality. Protect from the elements. We are using them outside but covered by porch and behind x-large dog portable kennel. One last consideration. The amount of food may vary by pellet size so experiment with times and amounts dispensed. Petmate is great for Cats     On: 2008-08-10 This version of the Petmate Le Bistro is a huge improvement over the older version. It is easy to program. Has a removable feeding tray. So, it is easy to clean. We took a gamble and bought two right before going on vacation for our 2 cats. It works so well that after our vacation we have continued to use it for about 2 months on the same set of batteries. It can be connected to a power supply, but it does not come with one. The only wish is that they could have made smallest dispensing amount smaller. It is a bit much for our cats. So we feed them twice a day rather then the three times a day we used to. Great product, with a few quirks.     On: 2008-08-10 After looking around for an auto feeder it seemed like they all had some issue, but this had mostly positive reviews so I figured Id give it a try. I bought two so each of my cats could have one. Unfortunately one of them did not work upon arrival so I sent it back and had a new one sent within a week. A few things to point out based on other reviewers problems. 1. Programming is quite easy if you just follow the instructions, it took me about 2 minutes to have it set up and ready to go. 2. If you attach the container and lid on properly your cat will not be able to get into it. 3. It will only take a day or two for your cat to realize if it sticks its arm up the food chute it can get a piece or two out but its probably more of a hassle than your cat will want to deal with after a few tries. 4. If you are using normal dry cat food (which is smaller than the 1/2" recommended size on the instructions) the portion control isnt very accurate. I found I had to just set it 1/4 cup smaller than I actually wanted them to have. Once you figure out a few of the quirks of this product it will work without problems. Both of mine have made my life much easier since the cats know I dont control their food anymore than just sit around until they hear the food being portioned out by the auto feeder. Almost Perfect     On: 2008-08-10 I bought this so when we were away our cat could still get fed at her regular times. Besides I was getting tired of getting up for her 1AM feedings. That problem has now been solved by this automatic feeder. We now can stay overnight without having to worry about the cat being fed and no more being woke up during the night. The only complaint I have is with the portion size. Like others our cat prefers a smaller size cat food. I had it set to dispense 1/4 cup 3 times a day. Boy was I surprised when 1/2 to 3/4 cup was dispensed. So I had to reset it to feed twice a day or I would have one fat cat. Ive read other reviews where people have cut a paper plate to control portions. You think that Petmate engineers would have already come up with some kind of insert to control portions better if you used different sized cat food. Other than that Im happy with my purchase so far. Thank heaven     On: 2008-08-08 We love this automatic feeder. We never have to remember to feed our dog. He also knows when feeding time is even if he isnt in the house. We have a lab, so the 3 cups isnt enough. However, I just set 1 more cup to come out in 2 minutes, and he can finish his dinner. Thanks to everyone who suggested it. Well worth it! I've had no problems with the food dispensing portions with cat food - all works great!     On: 2008-08-07 This newer version fixes all of the problems with the earlier model. Its a breeze to program, the food dispensing dish is detachable (and therefore washable) and everything works great. Ive had no problems with the dispenser releasing too much cat food (I use Wellness formula cat kibble which is pretty small). either theyve fixed this problem, or the reviewers who reported having the problem were using some kind of dry cat food thats even tinier. Ive dispensed the food a number of times and measured it in a measuring cup, and every time I get an even 1/4 cup (obviously having selected the 1/4 cup dispensing option). I used to own the earlier model, but after the nightmare with the programming and other issues, when I saw the new model was available, I returned the first one to Petco where Id bought it (they only sell the old model) and ordered this new one from Amazon. Not only is this one much cheaper ($50 as opposed to $70 plus tax from Petco), it works better and looks nicer! The screw on bin that holds the food is a lot easier to attach and detach, too. I couldnt be happier with this purchase (I bought it mainly for when Im traveling for the weekend but now, since its so easy to program, if Im going to be out for several hours (or the entire evening) I just do a quick programming so my two cats are fed and I dont have to rush back early to feed them. And although they never like to share a food bowl otherwise, this bowl is big enough that they dont get in fights over whose turn it is to eat. Best portion controlled automatic pet feeder ever!     On: 2008-08-07 I have tried several portion controlled timed pet feeders and this one is by far the best yet! Some of the others needed to be refilled and have the timer reset daily. With this one, you set the "feeding times" and the quantity of food to be dispensed at each of the three meals only once and forget it. The container holds a significant amount of food (at least 5 lbs.) and the lid on top of the container keeps the food fresh. The instructions were very easy to understand and the unit is very user friendly. At first, the noise of the food coming down the hopper startled my cats, so I set it to release the food an hour or so before their normal feeding time so the food is already waiting for them when they decide its time to eat. They quickly adjusted to the sound of the food coming down the hopper so its not a big deal anymore. The amount dispensed is accurate when using dry food that is at least 3/8" to 1/2" in size. This is a great product. I currently use the unit with batteries but I ordered the US model converter AC adapter so I dont have to worry about the batteries wearing out. It does not take up much space and the neutral linen color matches any decor. Works Great! Nice and Easy!     On: 2008-08-04 Either they recently changed the programming functions for this unit, or the people reviewing that complain about difficulties with programming it are new to electricity. :-) I bought the medium size (10 lb hopper) version of this unit. Setup was extremely easy and quick! You set the current time, then you set the time and amount of food you want to feed for up to three meals per day. Took about five minutes take it out of the box, put the batteries in, fill it with food, and program it. It also has a place to plug in an AC adapter, however you will need to buy the adapter yourself. It is a little light overall -- I wouldnt mind if they had made the base a little heavier as I can imagine that my dogs might figure out how to tip this over. Ill have to monitor this and might have to secure it somehow if they get smart. :-) I set the meals to feed 3/4 cup. Using the manual feed function I tested the unit and measured what it spit-out. It was right-on at 3/4 cup every time. This thing is pretty cool and will make it much easier for our house/pet sitter when we are out of town. Recommended. Works great!     On: 2008-08-04 Im so glad Le Bistro came out with this model. After reading reviews of their earlier model (the black one) I had decided against it. The new model does exactly as promised. Its easy to program the meals, its quiet, and my cats cant get to the food like users of the earlier model complained about. The bowl/feeder tray is also easy to clean without disrupting the whole feeder. You just lift it up, clean, and slip back into place. One thing I am not sure about is the actual measurement. I gave my cats 1/4 at breakfast and then measured what was dispensed and it actually comes out to more than 1/4 of a cup but not too much more. Really no complaints here! Cats and I both like it     On: 2008-08-04 OK, the programming is counter-intuitive on this thing. Sometimes pressing a button combination does one thing and sometimes another depending on where you are in the process. But it does work and it is not really that hard once you realize it isnt consistent between menus. For the reviewer who said it dispensed too much food - it will dispense as little as 1/4 cup per day! How small IS your cat, fella? I really like this device - it will feed my two cats for almost two weeks with no input from me. Also, it seems that the cats have started to think their food comes from the feeder and not from me, so they dont pester me so much to put more food in their dish. They have learned the times of day it dispenses food so they wait patiently for it to feed them. One trick I have learned is to layer different types of food in the reservoir. That slowly changes their food type over the space of few days and back again. They seem to like the variation. You can also mix in some dry treats with their normal dry food so they get a bonus every once in a while. I have not tried it but I suspect you could mix in some semi-moist treats as long as they were well dispersed in the dry food. Id give the LeBistro feeder five stars if it were not for its annoying programming. Love it and shocked by some reviews, please read.     On: 2008-08-03 I have owned the same unit for 2.5 years and love it! At first the programming was difficult, mostly because I am not a directions reader, but once I figured it out it was smooth sailing. I travel a lot so am often changing it from "at home" to "on the road" portions and times, so maybe that keeps me trained on how to use it. The only problems I have had with it were my fault. The "kids" figured out one day that they could bump into it and get food out of it. Imagine my surprise (not really) when I realized that when you put the container on you are supposed to turn it and lock it in. Hello! Me not reading directions again! lol I havent had a problem again. I also love how my cats seem to know when its about to dump. They will start running toward it before I even hear the intro grind to food dispensing. When I first got it, it took about 3 days for my cat to realize what the noise was and to enjoy and not be afraid of it. Please, if you buy this unit, read the directions, give it some time it your cat doesnt warm up to it at first, and sit back and enjoy being able to walk into the kitchen without being begged for food. When this one finally goes kaput, I will definitely buy another! Good buy...if not for the shipping charges!     On: 2008-08-03 The product itself does a good job - easy to set up and easy to do the setting. Now, I no longer worry about my pup going hungry whenever I cannot rush home in time. An adjustment I need to make is the amount per feed. This product measures the size of feed by cups, but I use unit measurement, e.g. 200ml of dried food per meal, so I spend some time initially ascertaining how many cups equals 200ml. As it turned out, 200ml is between 3-4 cups in the setting, so a little bit of frustration here. Some pieces of dried food pellets will drop out of storage once in a while and my pup thinks its a surprise treat. This product is value for money if not for my hefty shipping costs. I ordered the product online and have it shipped to Singapore; the shipping charges itself was as much as what I paid for the product! Excellent once you figure out the programming     On: 2008-08-02 This automatic feeder has worked flawlessly since I started using it 3 weeks ago. I was disappointed with the programming - its far from intuitive. After carefully reading the instructions several times, I finally got it to dispense food the way I wanted. As I currently work from home, Ive been able to track the performance and it has not missed a beat. That gives me the piece of mind when I travel for a long weekend. No more begging for food!     On: 2008-07-31 My only hesitation in purchasing this product was the litany of complaints about the confounding system to program it. The system *is* totally craptastic and seems like something youd have found cutting-edge in the mid-eighties. I mean, its just not intuitive AT ALL and is hindered by a few quirky limitations (like the portion size has to be the same for all feedings). However, any patient, intelligent person can follow the directions and have LeBistro up and running in no time. I spent about 15 minutes programming it. The plus side--and this is a HUGE plus for me--is that my cat no longer begs me for food. He used to spend a good portion of the day meowing at me in anticipation of his next feeding (particularly annoying in the morning). Now he gets the same amount of food, but doesnt waste any time yelling at me like hes starving to death or tangling himself up in my feet every time I walk toward the kitchen. He seems more playful and less stressed out because he knows his food is coming on a punctual schedule and he doesnt need to lobby me for it. Id love to free-feed my cat, but I cant because hed turn into a furry blimp so this was a great solution for the attendant annoyances of portion-control. Honestly, I wish Id made the investment long ago. Works as advertised     On: 2008-07-30 Works pretty much as youd expect (we use it for our cat). Set a schedule, food comes out when its supposed to. Food drum on top holds a regular sized bag of cat food which lets us fill it up whenever its near empty and forget about it for another week or two. Only problem is some cat food types that use the smaller granules will cause the feeder to drop more food in the dish than expected. Other than that, works great. Must have!     On: 2008-07-29 I am very happy with this product. Now my cat does not have to eat at erratic times! I no longer have him begging for food when I get home. The product is easy to program and use. It does measure the food on the fuller side of 1/4 cup, but that is really the only negative that I have found with this product. I would definitely recommend this to others. At last sleep zzzzzz : )     On: 2008-07-29 Im pretty happy with this product. As others have said, the set-up is awkward and not the most convenient. I am more than happy though that my cats are on automatic breakfast feed, which means no more, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow (you get what I mean) meowing cats waking myself and my neighbors early in the morning. If you cherish your sleep and wish to avoid neighborly feuds, I highly recommend this product. The product is fine, I just have a stupid cat.     On: 2008-07-28 I purchased this at the recommendation of a co-worker and even after reading some of the negative reviews still decided to go forward with the purchase. Though I understand some of the complaints about the manual, it only took a slight reinterpretation to understand what they forgot to include. It would be an easy fix for them to make the instructions clearer, but I dont know how that would help all of those who already have it. Perhaps an updated manual could be posted here. I dont know. Even the way it was written, I programmed it in about 3 minutes. I will admit, I scratched my head about 1 of those minutes. The food is dispensed as it should be and like clockwork. The problem is my cat doesnt "realize" it has been dispensed. He is so used to me giving him food manually he will not go into the "cat room" until I do -- morning or night. Ive been awakened by the sound of it dumping food, its loud and obvious, so I dont get why he still waits for me. One of these days hell get the fact that the food has been there and I didnt do anything other than walk into the room with him. Again, the product is fine, I just have a stupid cat. My only complaint would be its size. There needs to be a smaller version. Finding the floor real estate this requires would be tough for someone in a small apartment. The one major positive to the product is my cat now eats normal. Dont know why he used to devour his food like it was his last meal. Now hell nibble throughout the day. He used to binge and purge. Hasnt happen once since I got this. Again, dont know why since hes still always waiting for me to "go in with him" just like before. Whatever it is, Im happy about it. This product, just like my plan to live for ever, is going well so far. My cat tipped it over     On: 2008-07-27 I had tried the first version of this product a few years ago and returned it after may cat was able to pull food out of it and it really did dispense too much at a time. I was curious when I found the redesigned unit at my local pet store, and thought Id try it. Unreal - other than holding more food and being a little different in style, its got the same problems. AND because its so top-heavy, my cat tipped it over the first day, which, of course, makes it non-operational. Good-gawd. So back to the store it went. Cat tipped it over     On: 2008-07-27 I had tried the first version of this product a few years ago and returned it after may cat was able to pull food out of it and it really did dispense too much at a time. I was curious when I found the redesigned unit (in black) at my local pet store, and thought Id try it. Unreal - other than holding more food and being a little different in style, its got the same problems. AND because its so top-heavy, my cat tipped it over the first day, which, of course, makes it non-operational. Good-gawd. So back to the store it went. Overfeeds, jams easily     On: 2008-07-25 I bought this item after my vet told me I had to put my cat on a diet. I sometimes have to work long hours and cant always be home at the same time every day to feed her, so I bought this to keep her feeding times consistent. It was easy enough to program and worked great for a week, but it was giving her a little over 1/4 cup at each feeding. Then it began jamming at every feeding. It will drop a tiny amount of food, but I have to reach inside to get the rest of it out. As you might imagine, I dont enjoy getting up at 5 a.m. to feed my cat because the feeder cant handle the job. Le Bistro Pet Feeder     On: 2008-07-25 Excellent, I have an older model and this one out performs that hands down, also has a larger food container. Can be a little tedious to program the meal times and sizes, but once done it saves them even if turned off. Love it!!     On: 2008-07-24 Great design, well made and easy to use. Our cats love it. They no longer have to worry if the kids will remember to feed them on time. I think the cats have a watch now, they hear it go off and away they go. Great Item!     On: 2008-07-18 Our first auto cat feeder, we use Purina One and it works great! Very easy to program. The one thing that doesnt make it perfect is the plastic bowl is pretty flimsy, for a great/pricey product, youd think the plastic would be tougher then milk-jug plastic or that annoying stuff that wraps batteries. If my cat could jump on the top(12lb cat) it might break... Does what it says...     On: 2008-07-18 I was thinking its lowest food setting (1/4 cup) was going to work for us. Turns out its much more than I feed my cat at one feeding and I wouldnt want her to be fed that amount 3 times per day. Shes already gained a little weight and Im only doing one feeding with the Bistro and manually feeding her smaller portions other times during the day. Otherwise, this product is nice. Its reliable, easy to program, and hassle free. Its much cheaper through Amazon than any other pet store in LA that I could find. Dispenses Too Much     On: 2008-07-18 I had the opposite experience of another reviewer. The unit dispenses too much. I purchased Le Bistro Auto Feeder ($80) because my cat was waking me at the crack of dawn wanting food and I wanted to get his focus from me to the feeder so I could sleep in! Within one month I discovered the cat had regained all the weight he had lost slowly over a four year period and now is considered over-weight again! The measurement amount is set at the lowest amount possible (1/4 c.) and it actually dispenses just under 1/2 cup. I only use the feeder now when Im gone over-night. Disappointing for the price I paid. Easy to use and something your pet will appreciate     On: 2008-07-16 We purchased this pet feeder for our two cats. One is fairly big and the other one is about average size. It is easy to program. I set the thing to feed three times a day and give them about 1/4 cup each time. It is also good because our cats are on a feeding time. They were getting their food at erratic times since I wake up at different times each morning. Given the 5 lbs. capacity, that its nice that we dont have to worry about it for a few days. I use Science Diet and like the other reviewers, use food thats bigger than pebbles. This is highly recommended along with the water fountain to give your pets the best water and freshest food on a daily basis. Easier programming - dispenser is not effective!     On: 2008-07-16 I had the original LeBistro feeder for several years. Other than the CRYPTIC programming technique, it worked wonderfully. I was surprised to see that the plastic "flaps" that hold the food in place had disintegrated. I wouldnt expect a feeder this expensive to do this, but I travel a lot, and need an automatic feeder. I purchased the upgraded version (linen, larger capacity) and was dissapointed from the first day. The container is chinsy, light weight plastic and easily comes off the base if you open the lid. Ive had two major spills in the month Ive owned it. The cats (2) cant "get in there" and eat as easily as the new bowl is tucked under the mechanical part. But, the worst is that I keep going into that feeding room to find that the food does not stay put! I use the exact same type and it just falls through the plastic flap barriers (the part that disintegrated on the old model). So, instead of being fed 1/4 cup twice per day, the cats get a steady stream of food. Completely undesirable for me, fantastic for them... This is a complete waste of fifty bucks. There is no way to return this since I bought it through Amazon and have used it, so Im SOL. Buy the older model, and put up with the difficult programming a few times per year, or search for a different brand altogether. Le Fat Kitty     On: 2008-07-15 The cat figured out withing 1/2 hour ( I kid you not) that he could swat the unit and pellets would come out. Might as well just leave food out. Easy to use, controlled feeding     On: 2008-07-14 I bought this product to automate and portion-control feed my cat. It works well and works great so far. Easy to set up...just add food. Worth the cost, even if you only use it when you vacation. Works better than most of the reviews I read     On: 2008-07-11 I read the reviews on this product before I bought it and most panned it as being difficult to use and easy for a smart cat to break into. I bought it anyway because I needed something affordable right away. This feeder does not suck. The scheduling interface isnt as hard as other reviews would have you believe and Ive not had problems with the cats reaching up inside to get more food. However, the digital face is not illuminated well and can make it hard to see at certain angles. And the cats were able to knock it over accidentally and because I had not secured the feed bin well it came off. That was all owner error though. Not a bad product for the price and availability. I do not recommend this pet feeder     On: 2008-07-11 I purchased this newer model of Petmates LeBistro feeder last week for feeding my cat. Its performance has not been satisfactory. Feed portions are inaccurate and inconsistent, especially when using the small cat food pellets. One-quarter cup may be anywhere between almost nothing to as much as a half cup. There is also a design shortcoming that allows a few of the small food pellets to sometimes lodge between the upper lip of the bowl and the main feeder housing, making it impossible to remove the bowl without the use of a tool to remove the stuck pellets. This feeder is not suitable for cats; so I decided to use it for feeding my dog rather than tossing it. As a dog food dispenser, it is better. The larger food pellets can not lodge above the bowl lip, and measuring out the larger pellets is more consistent and accurate. However, there is a new problem with the larger dog food pellets: they some times bridge together completely blocking the hopper bowl outlet, resulting in zero discharge in the the feeding bowl. On the plus side, the electronic control is well thought out, reliable and very easy to understand and program. As far as how long this product will last, I dont know, but a look at the internals (plastic gears and tiny rubber-band belt drive) doesnt give me a warm feeling. Overall, I can not recommend this feeder, and have replaced it with another brand called Super-Feeder that I do like, and has been working fine. It is more expensive (about double the price), but well worth it. I will write a review on it also. Petmate Automatic Feeder     On: 2008-07-10 The programming is extremely counterintuitive. Once figured out it works great and is perfect for weekend getaways. Handy     On: 2008-07-10 I read reviews for a different model which said the unit was hard to program, but I found this model easy to program. This unit has stopped my cat from bothering me in the morning to feed him. It dispenses in 1/4 cup increments but it actually dispenses slightly more than the selected amount. It would also be nice if it could be plugged in. Overall though, if you have a cat that meows like crazy in the morning bc hes hungry, try this! Pet Feeder has Bugs     On: 2008-07-09 This pet feeder is difficult to program. It took me about twenty-five tries and talking to Customer Service to get it right. The problem is that you only have about 10 seconds to spend on each step, and if you have to stop and read the directions, the machine goes back to the default setting without you knowing. Also the portion control is not guaranteed as they warn in the instructions. But it seems to me to be off more than it should. The fourth cup setting is more like a third to a half, and it does not come out the same amount each time. Not perfect but probably the best option for the price/aesthetics     On: 2008-07-07 I would completely agree with other reviewers about the disparity in the volume being dispensed when using kitty kibble which is usually small. I will try the paper plate trick and see if that fixes the portioning, otherwise the 1/4 cup setting dispenses 1/2 to 3/4 cups. The timer and the programming have worked well so far. The other thing that I would note is that the plastic container is a little flimsy, I expected something a little bit sturdier. I was afraid my voracious cat would try to destroy it so I placed a cardboard box over it for the first few days until we could make sure that he would be ok with it. Great feeder - very easy to use     On: 2008-07-06 We got this feeder so we could go on trips with less worry and checking up on needed for our 3 cats. Reviewers on older models reported difficulty in programming the feeder but this one is a breeze. We have set it up for normal daily feedings but the cats STILL wake us up and make us show them that there is food - I guess you cant teach an old cat new tricks. Be patient     On: 2008-07-05 This feeder is fantastic for cats that need diet control. While the programming IS difficult, the company does provide a phone number and will walk you through it, very patiently, even waiting while you do it with them on the phone. I am not much for writing reviews, but in light of some of the bad ones on this product, felt compelled to write my own. Le Bistro Large Electronic Pet Feeder     On: 2008-07-03 I bought one of the largest units they had about a year ago. It works great (original one was a little tricky to program however), but it did not hold enough dog food nor did it dispense enough food per serving. The new larger unit that holds 10 pounds of dog food and handles large pieces of dog food is excellent. Also, you can program it to serve very large portions and is much easier to program than the previous model. The bowl disconnects from the unit for easy cleaning. No complaints! Dogs happy, too. I am going to use the original one for my cat. Great cat feeder!     On: 2008-07-03 I bought this feeder for my two cats since they wake me up at 5am every morning for breakfast. Initial impression - it was a little larger than I expected but it does hold 5 pounds worth of food. I would have preferred the option to get a slightly smaller version but none was available. Programming - very easy to program. I barely even needed to use the instructions. Food dispensing - food dispensed right on time and I was able to synchonize both feeders so that both cats would be able to eat at the same time. The machine made a slight noise which startled them at first but was a lot quieter than I thought it would be. I think they were probably more startled by the fact that food was coming out than anything else. Portion - the portion that came out was too much. I set it for 1/4 cup and got closer to a 1/2 cup. The cat food I use is a small pellet so I used the suggestion that others had posted of cutting a hole in a paper plate and fitting it between the hopper and the base. It worked perfect! It now dispenses the perfect amount of food! Overall this feeder is a great purchase! I gave it only 4 stars because of the size and because of the adjustment I needed to make for the food portion but otherwise I love this feeder and cant wait to get some extra sleep in the mornings now! Elegant design Failed after 3 meals     On: 2008-07-01 My wife and I wanted to leave our dogs in our fenced yard for 3 days. The feeder failed on the first day. I most-carefully read and followed directions (dry food only) I found it easy to program. I tested it before leaving - it dispensed food automatically just fine. We left to visit family. Upon return, we discovered the feeder quit working the evening of the first day we were gone. It served breakfast fine It served lunch fine It failed to serve any food for the next 7 meals. I am an engineer - so I opened it up and found a rubber belt had jumped off a pulley. Very disappointing. Otherwise Good Product with One Major Flaw...     On: 2008-06-30 I have owned these cat feeders for several months, so this review is from a seasoned owner. My two cats, when left to their own devices, will overeat, and put on too much weight. So, I was hoping these pet feeders would provide good portion control without me having to be around all the time. Setup: Several other reviews say that the setup is difficult and unintuitive; I completely agree. The secondary instruction "cheat sheet" linked to elsewhere was a big help, and once I had that, programming was not too hard. Operation: The devices run for a long time on their D cell batteries. Operation was as advertised, and the devices dispensed the food reliably. One complaint; when you have to replace the batteries, the unit has to be reprogrammed from scratch. However this happens once every few months, so its not that big of a deal. This brings me to the Achilies heel of these units: within one month, my cats had both learned how to defeat them. The cats quickly figured out that if they stuck their paw all the way up the chute and poke around, that it would dislodge a pellet of food. Granted, just one pellet, but being cats, they have little else to do all day, and can repeat this as necessary. Ultimately, the cats ended up getting to eat as much as they wanted anyway. Might as well have just left big bowls of food out for them. No more meow's!!!     On: 2008-06-30 We have a very vocal cat when it comes to feeding time, the never ending meows would start at least an hour before feeding time! We tried everything to discourage and change this behavior. Purchasing this product was the best thing we could have done for our beloved kitty, it is well worth the money (I was a little apprehensive about the cost but the results have been worth it)! Our cat no longer meows for food, she is on a regular schedule with her feeder. She is more docile and does not seem as stressed out prior to feeding time and WE are more relaxed and have more time to enjoy our kitty!!! The feeder is very easy to set up it took me no time at all! Awesome product! Programming Simplified for LeBistro     On: 2008-06-28 Programming the Le Binsro is a pain, and the provided instructions are not good. Below is a set I created. I suggest having one person read the steps, slowly, and a second person push the buttons, deliberately. Legend for the codes is at bottom: Simplified how-to Le Bistro programming steps - starting from normal display: Turn on/off Breakfast feeding: p+,s,p,p,p,p,p,+++,s,ps Turn on/off Lunch feeding: p+,s,+,p,p,p,p,p,+++,s,ps Turn on/off Dinner feeding: p+,s,+,+,p,p,p,p,p,+++,s,ps Set Breakfast time: p+,s,p,+++,p,+++,p,+++,p,+++,s,ps Set Lunch time: p+,s,+,p,+++,p,+++,p,+++,p,+++,s,ps Set Dinner time: p+,s,+,+,p,+++,p,+++,p,+++,p,+++,s,ps Change meal size: p+,+,s,+++,s,ps Change current time: p+,+,+,s,+++,s,+++,p,+++,p,+++,p,+++,s,ps Manual feeding: s+ on, s+ off To return to normal display from any point: s until "meal time" shows, then ps Where ... p = prog button + = plus (+) button p+ = prog and plus buttons at same time s = set button ps = prog and set buttons at same time s+ = set and plus buttons at same time +++ = hit plus repeatedly till desired value Needs a bit of tweaking for cat food     On: 2008-06-28 I just bought this after deciding that I could no longer deal with having to get up every day at 5 when my cat wanted to be fed. Now this can feed him! The issue I had though was it is designed for bigger food than appears in the picture, so my small (about 1/4 diameter) cat food was making the portion sizes huge. I set it for 1/4 cup and out came about 3/4 cup! Per another post on this item, I cut a paper plate and placed it just below where the food goes in, and cut out a small circle to reduce the amount of food that was released. Now it works perfectly! Also like another post, I wish it came with the cord (instead of having to buy it separately) because the large (D) batteries make the unit heavier than it needs to be. instructions?????     On: 2008-06-28 Great product.....the programing instructions are AWFUL!!! Please get word to manufacturing source or distributor.... Sale$ could double with u$eable in$truction$...get it??? This Feeder Can Be Dangerous....     On: 2008-06-27 ...if you depend on your cats meowing to be fed to wake you up in the morning. Ive been using this pet feeder for a couple of weeks and I find myself sleeping later and later each day because the cat isnt meowing at the bedroom door at 6:30 am wanting to be fed. The meowing at 6:30 am wasnt a problem during the week when I had to be up anyway, but I was getting tired of having to get up so early on the weekends. I was dreading the early daily summer wake-up calls by the cat (because I wasnt going to have to be up early during the summer) when a friend recommended getting an automatic pet feeder. I did some research online and at the pet store and decided that the Petmate Le Bistro would be the best option for me. I was a little concerned about the programming because most of the reviews said it was difficult. Ill agree it could be a bit easier, but you dont have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. Just keep the instructions close at hand if you want to "fiddle" with feeding times and schedules at first as I did. (It appears that they have addressed this programming problem in the new model which I would have purchased had it not been on a long backorder at the time I was ready to buy.) This programming "problem" is the only reason that I didnt give the product 5 stars. So now the kitty is getting fed when she wants in the morning and Im getting that extra couple of hours of sleep in the morning that I wanted. I wonder now why I didnt buy this product years ago! Does NOT accommodate all dry food sizes!     On: 2008-06-27 I bought this product for my cat who gets fed 1/4 cup twice a day. The 1/4 cup setting actually dispenses close to 1 full cup of regular dry cat food. My friend experienced the same problem and has cut a hole in a paper plate and placed it at the bottom of the cat food reservior to limit the amount of cat food dispensed. The product description says it "accommodates a full range of dry food sizes" which clearly is not the case. FAIL! Be sure to use pet food with greater than 1/2" diameter!!!     On: 2008-06-26 The product description on amazon.com does not include the description on the box, which says pet food needs to be at least 1/2" in diameter... so when I tried the machine out, it fed WAY MORE food than required when using the classic, small pellet cat food (~1/4" diameter). The box photos are misleading... the feeder is filled with small cat food pellets! And you can only get down to 1/4 cup per meal... which means most average size cats could only get 2 meals per day, not more frequently like the box advertises. If I had a dog, this feeder would be great. But I have a cat... Great product!     On: 2008-06-25 This product lives up to expectations. I was a little worried after having read other reviews, but the manufacturer instructions werent so bad. I programmed two of these in less than 10 minutes. It is a savior for us too! Our cats dont wake us up for food anymore. The only change I would make to this product is to allow for different portion sizes throughout the day. But its fine - we give our cats a 1/4 cup twice a day and they are happy. Buy this product with peace of mind! Fido is starving!     On: 2008-06-23 This product is unreliable which renders it useless. After my first one would not dispense any food (after about three months) I sent it back to the manufacturer who promptly exchanged it for a new one. However, the same problem happened again after a month or so. The motor would run and no food would come out. The clock and timer are a little backwards but if you read the manual you can learn how to set it - that is not the problem. The problem is it doesnt dispense the food and if you arent home to see it for yourself (which you probably arent - thats why you got it in the first place) you may wind up starving your pets! Total piece of JUNK!!!     On: 2008-06-22 The programming instructions are impossibly wrong and cofusing (Im an engineer). It worked fine after a frustrating few days of changing the programming but then I noticed the clock was gaining over 1 minute per day - a month into this it was feeding 30 minutes early. After a few weeks it grew a brain of its own and started divering varying quantities of food. I programmed it for 1/2 cup per feeding but watched it as it sometimes delivered 1/4 cup, other times it delivered 3/4 cup and sometimes didnt deliver anything at all. DONT BOTHER WITH THE CHEAP PRICE AS IT IS A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY!!! Le Bistro fulfills need     On: 2008-06-19 The Le Bistro automatic pet feeder was purchased about 1 month ago. So far, it has operated perfectly. I also found the instructions for programming not at all difficult to follow and was able to program and reprogram several times without difficulty. The only problem, and the reason for 4 stars not 5,was a design flaw the allows small paws to reach up into the feeder and dislodge extra food. I modified the feeder by screwing a small piece of metal across the opening, leaving enough room for the food pellets to still come thru, but little paws not able to reach in. I also have been using the feeder on my deck outside even though it says for indoor use only. I made an enclosure for the feeder to keep squirrels, racoons, other cats, etc. out and it has worked perfectly! No animals, and the feeder doesnt seem to mind being outside as it is protected from the weather. I am very pleased with the feeder, and except for the one design flaw, which I was able to modify, it is well worth the price. Fantastic Machine, period     On: 2008-06-19 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 cant 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. Ev