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Arf Pets Automatic Pet Feeder Review: Best Portion Control?

John Carter Doe

October 17. 2025

8.4

Very Good

So, is this the right feeder for you?

Here's the bottom line

Look, if you want a simple, reliable feeder and could do without another app on your phone, the Arf Pets model is still a solid choice in 2025. It can schedule up to four meals a day, and it drops pretty consistent portions of most dry kibble. It runs on a wall adapter but has battery backup, which means a power flicker won't mess up their dinner schedule. The controls are just old-school buttons and an LCD screen, which, believe it or not, some people really prefer. Now, what are you giving up? There's no Wi-Fi, so you won't get alerts on your phone. And portion sizing is done in 'portions,' not precise grams. Just a heads-up: bigger or oilier kibble can get stuck now and then, and a really determined chewer might test the plastic body. But honestly, for most single-pet homes where you just want to set it and forget it, this thing hits a really practical sweet spot for a fair price.

So, is this the right feeder for you?

What we learned after using it for weeks

Day-to-day, the schedule just holds. We found the portion consistency was really solid, at least with standard-sized dry kibble. And here's the thing about power outages—the battery backup (it takes D-cells) kept meals on track during our tests. No problem there. You don't need an app, just good old-fashioned buttons. It's pretty easy to program once you do it the first time. Cleaning is straightforward, too. The bowl pops right off, and you wipe down the rest, though it's not totally dishwasher safe. Oh, and it makes a little motor hum when it runs, but our test pets got used to it fast. The real limits? It's capped at four meals a day, and you can't control it from your phone or see a feeding history. If your vet wants portion control down to the gram, this isn't the right tool for that job.

So, my advice? I'd say you should probably skip this one if you absolutely need app control, want notifications on your phone, or have a pet that needs more than four meals a day. There are some great smart feeders out there now. PETLIBRO's Granary series, eufy, and WOPET all make good Wi-Fi models we've tested. And if you've got multiple pets or just want the best of the best, the Feeder-Robot is a beast. For any pet on a strict medical diet where every gram counts, you'll be happier with a scale-based smart feeder. Or, you could just use a small kitchen scale with this one while you figure out how many 'portions' equals the right weight. It's a little extra work, but it's doable.