Petlibro PLAF006 Review — an Affordable Automatic Cat Feeder With Two Bowls
- Review of:
- Petlibro PLAF006
- Brand name:
- Petlibro
- Reviewed by:
- Bohdan
- Rating:
- Published On:
- Nov. 23, 2022, 7:35 a.m.
- Edited On:
- Nov. 26, 2022, 10:53 a.m.
Summary
It’s one of the most affordable automatic cat feeders that come with two bowls (which is very important if you have two cats), but it doesn’t feel cheap and has a great design and build quality. Sure, some automatic cat feeders can be controlled by your phone via wi-fi, but I just decided that
I never thought I would look for an automatic cat feeder until I adopted a second cat, which has a habit of waking me up at four o’clock in the morning. My furry little girl rubs onto my face, bites my nose and chain until I wake up and feed her. So one day, I decided to buy a robotic cat feeder. I checked multiple products on Amazon and ordered the Petlibro PLAF006, a feeder with two bowls and all the features I need. Below, I’ll share my experience with the Petlibro PLAF006, and the cons/pros of this cat feeder.
Unboxing and first impression
The Petlibro PLAF006 comes in a relatively small box.
To set it up, you just need to attach a bowls holder to the feeder’s body, place bowls, and insert a little food dispenser. Overall, I’m very satisfied with the product quality. The plastic body doesn’t feel cheap, and it is easy to disassemble the main body to clean a food container or wash it with water.
The metallic bowls also look very nice, and it seems they are easier to wash compared to my other plastic and ceramic cat bowls.
What in the box:
- Main unit
- Bowls colder
- AC/DC power adapter with a USB-C cable
- food dispenser
- desiccant bag
- two metal bowls
- user manual
The food tank holds up to 3 liters of dry cat food and supports kibble sizes from 2 to 15mm.
It has a small transparent window through which you can see how much food is left in the tank. Under the tank, on the feeder base, there is a small display panel that normally displays the current time and also allows you to schedule feeding time and a portion of meals.
All the settings are made with a few buttons. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to use these buttons, but in the end, I didn’t even use the user manual. Everything looks obvious.
Main features of the Petlibro PLAF006:
- LED display
- touch buttons to control the cat feeder
- can be powered by three D batteries in case of a power outage
- Ability to set up to 6 scheduled meals per day
- Ability to set a portion of meals for each scheduled feeding
- A custom voice notification to call your cat at the feeding time (can be recorded via a built-in mic)
- Manual feeding with the ability to choose a portion of meals
- USB-powered, can operate from any USB charger or power bank
- comes with a desiccant bag in the tank to keep the meals dry
- supports any dry cat food with kibbles size no bigger than 15mm
- low power usage (only 80mAh in standby mode)
The USB power adapter looks neat, and it uses a modern USB-C connector - very convenient. Basically, you can power it from any USB adapter or even from a power bank!
Backup power source
The Petlibro has a slot underneath for three D batteries. It doesn’t require batteries, but this may be helpful if you would like to keep the device running in case of a power outage. The manufacturer doesn’t recommend using the batteries as the only source to power the feeder; they are just supposed to provide as an emergency energy source.
Ability to record your voice to call cats when it’s time to eat
The feeder allows you to record a 10 seconds message for your cat. The device will call your cats with your voice when it’s time to eat. Unfortunately, the voice is not very loud. It should not be a problem in a small apartment, but in larger houses, your cats may not notice it.
Cats first impression
My cats were cautious when for the first time, they heard the sound of a mechanism inside the feeder that supplies the meals. To be fair, this thing is pretty quiet, and cats were comfortable eating from the bowls in a few seconds.
After a few days, they completely got used to the feeder and ran to the automatic feeder immediately when they hear my custom-recorded voice from the device.
Does the Petlibro solve my problem with the younger cat that wakes me up every night?
Well, not completely. The cat got used to this habit and still wants attention at night, but she definitely is not as persistent as she used to be.
Does it completely automate the feeding routine?
My cats don’t want to eat dry food all the time, so I still feed them manually with wet food a few times per day. But as we already know, cats are creatures of habit, so they really enjoy eating at a specific time of the day, and the Petlibro helps a lot. Also, the automatic cat feeder will be very helpful if your cats sit at home alone the whole day while you are at work, so you can be sure they are not hungry.
Verdict
I’ve not used other automatic cat feeders so I have nothing to compare with, but I’m pretty happy with this one. I choose it because it has a lot of positive reviews on Amazon, and it did not disappoint me in the end. It’s one of the most affordable automatic cat feeders that come with two bowls (which is very important if you have two cats), but it doesn’t feel cheap and has a great design and build quality. Sure, some automatic cat feeders can be controlled by your phone via wi-fi, but I just decided that these features are redundant for me, so no need to overpay for them. All I want is a reliable device that can feed my two fluffy girls a few times per day, and the Petlibro automatic feeder is just the perfect device for my needs.
