A fridge for cats: Do you really need one?

Darina Schweizer

9/2/2026

Translation: machine translated

Pictures: Darina Schweizer

A vending machine that keeps wet food fresh for three days and serves it on a timed basis. The Petlibro Polar Smart Wet Food Feeder sounds like a game changer - but is it worth the price?

At least five times a day: That's how often you should feed cats. Theoretically. Illusory! If you work or want to leave the house from time to time, you can hardly manage that. That's why I bought my cats Jasper and Joy an automatic feeder for dry food a year ago

Food bowls

−6%

EUR149,– was EUR159,–

Petkit YumShare Dual-Hopper

500 cl

27

The only problem is that dry food is not particularly healthy. That's why I'm now testing a wet food dispenser that keeps it cool for a whole three days: the Petlibro Polar Smart Wet Food Feeder.

Large, but high quality

«My face», I exclaim when the wet food dispenser arrives. The appliance is huge! Specifically: 40 centimetres long, 38 centimetres wide, 23 centimetres high. At around five kilograms, the wet feeder also has a considerable weight.

However, the quality is excellent. The plastic of the housing and the removable food bowl is extremely sturdy. Nevertheless, Petlibro offers replacement bowls. What is practical is that - unlike the cheaper models - these are wide and not so deep that the cats bump into them with their whiskers. This prevents stress.

I fill the three bowls. One bowl would hold a maximum of about 140 grammes. Quite a lot. Jasper's eyes are already wide. Nothing there! There's only a little over 60 grammes for him. He normally has an anti-snack bowl so that he eats more slowly and doesn't eat Joy's portion as well. The wet feeder, on the other hand, contains normal bowls.

This could be exciting.

The app has made a leap

First I place the food bowl in the dispenser. I close the lid and reach for my smartphone. Using the Petlibro app, which is connected via Wi-Fi, I can set when which bowl should open and also change this while I'm on the move.

I am pleasantly surprised: the app is uncomplicated. Something has changed since the last update at the end of 2025. Previously, some people had been annoyed about this in the comments on Galaxus. One user wrote in their product rating that the software was not intuitive. And further:

I set my feeding schedule: at 10am, 6pm and 10am the following day. The other feedings come from the dry feeder. Several feeding schedules can also be set - something that was also criticised before the update. There is still room for improvement: three bowls for three days is relatively little. If I want to serve wet food twice a day, that's only enough for one and a half days. But then the machine would probably be even bigger ...

If he still had RFID now ...

I plug in the device. A power consumption test shows that the machine draws around 57 W continuously, i.e. around 1.4 kWh per day. This is roughly equivalent to the daily consumption of a refrigerator. Quite a lot given the difference in size - presumably as if due to the thermoelectric Peltier cooling, which consumes more electricity than the compressor cooling of a refrigerator. It requires less space, but also cools less strongly, i.e. to around ten degrees Celsius or slightly below.

At 10 to 10, Jasper and I sit in front of the feeder as excitedly as if it were a news programme. Jasper sniffs the ventilation at the back. It's audible, but not loud. I measure a volume of just under 40 decibels in front of the appliance. That's okay, especially in the kitchen, where the fridge is also humming.

10 o'clock, it's showtime! A soft whirring sounds. The flap above the bowl opens - much more quietly than on cheaper models. Jasper sticks his head in without hesitation. The height is a little unusual. Jasper no longer eats on the floor, but at head height. This could even be an advantage for older or disabled cats.

In less than a minute, Jasper has devoured his food. He is already peering over to Joy's bowl and approaching. «Jaaaasper», I admonish him. He pauses and looks up at me innocently. «How practical it would be if the feeder would only open for the right cat», I think. I'm thinking of RFID feeders that can be programmed using a microchip. Unfortunately, this is not (yet) possible with wet feeders. But it does cool. I guess you can't have everything.

Food bowls

EUR167,27

SureFeed Microchip automatic feeder

40 cl

556

Quick and easy to clean

15 minutes have passed. The machine is buzzing. I have set the app to close the flap over the bowl again after this time. Before that, I can see a few pieces of food remaining in the gap between the lid and the bowl

On the following day, when all the bowls are empty, I open the feeder and take out the food bowl. It is easy to clean under the tap with a little soap or in the dishwasher. The appliance itself should not come into contact with water. I'm glad I can leave the colossus on the floor. The bowl, on the other hand, is light, handy and I can fill it with food again in no time at all.

The question remains: daily or occasionally?

After two weeks, I have to admit: The wet feeder is uncomplicated and reliable. Whether I will use it every day is still uncertain. I would have to buy a second one for Jasper's ravenous appetite. That would take up a lot of space given the bulky dimensions and it would cost - for the purchase and electricity.

But I will use it occasionally, for example on a long weekend, knowing that Jasper will probably get more than Joy for a short time. I won't notice anyway. Or should I point the camera of my dry feeder at the wet feeder so that I can keep an eye on both bowls?

Maybe a nice cat sitter will just come round.

In a nutshell

An (almost) egg-laying wool-milk sow

With the Petlibro Polar Smart Wet Food Feeder, there is finally an automatic feeder that cools wet food for cats for three days. And without having to replace cooling elements. However, the power consumption is high.

The bulky wet food feeder runs quietly and reliably and the app has improved significantly since the update at the end of 2025. The quality is right, the bowls are flat so that the whiskers don't bump and cleaning is easy.

It is a shame that there is no microchip function for food-stealing cats. Nevertheless, it is currently the best option among automatic feeders that cool wet food.

Pro

• three days cooling
• Good workmanship
• Replaceable feeding bowl
• Reliable app since update
• Flat bowls (no whisker stress)
• Easy cleaning
• Quiet

Contra

• High power consumption
• No RFID/microchip function for food-stealing cats

Food bowls

EUR159,–

Petlibro Polar Smart Wet Food Feeder

14

Darina Schweizer

Senior Editor

Darina.Schweizer@digitecgalaxus.ch

I love everything with four legs or roots – especially my rescue cats Jasper and Joy and my collection of succulents. I’m happiest following the scent of stories about police dogs and cat groomers – or cultivating thoughtful tales in garden flea markets and Japanese gardens. more

---

Product test

Our experts test products and their applications. Independently and neutrally.

Show all

These articles might also interest you