Petlibro has expanded its automatic feeder lineup with the Granary 2 series, a four-model range of dry food dispensers that starts at $129.99 and tops out at $249.99, according to Techcrunch. The lineup’s central hardware change is a built-in scale that weighs the food sitting in the tray, not just the amount the machine dispenses.
Techcrunch reporter Lauren Forristal tested the $189.99 Granary 2 Vision, the second-tier model, which pairs that scale with an AI-powered camera able to recognize up to 10 cats and log each animal’s individual eating behavior.
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Key facts
- The Granary 2 series has four models priced from $129.99 to $249.99 for dry food.
- The entry-level Granary 2 offers app-controlled feeding, precise portioning and intake tracking.
- The $199.99 Vision Duo uses two separate dispensing chutes and bowls so each pet gets its own portion.
- The $249.99 Granary 2 X applies AI recognition to provide individualized portioning for pets with specific dietary needs.
- Petlibro Care subscriptions start at $59.99 per year, and a Video Cloud plan costs $119.99 per year.
What the scale and camera actually measure
Standard automatic feeders confirm that food was released at a set time. Petlibro’s built-in scale is designed to go further by weighing what remains in the bowl, which the company uses to estimate how much a pet truly consumed.
The system logs intake, eating duration, feeding frequency, preferred eating times and eating speed. The companion app then assembles daily, weekly, monthly and yearly views of an animal’s normal patterns, a format that could surface gradual changes in appetite that a single day’s data would hide.
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The camera-equipped models add a 1080p sensor with night vision and two-way audio. Owners can record a short voice message that plays from the feeder, and the unit only opens when the correct pet is recognized. Instant app alerts cover low battery power, low food levels and food jams, and a built-in rechargeable backup battery covers power outages.
How the two feeding modes work
Smart Refill Mode keeps the bowl supplied with small fresh portions through the day, stopping automatically once a daily food limit is reached — a fit for cats that graze. Scheduled Mode restores conventional control over specific feeding times and portion sizes, and a manual feeding button allows dispensing outside the schedule.
Petlibro’s earlier Granary line dispensed food on a schedule without this level of per-pet measurement, and the series arrives in a crowded smart feeder market where vendors are increasingly adding cameras and health tracking to hardware that once only portioned kibble.
Why it matters
Multi-cat households have long struggled with a basic problem: once several animals share a bowl, no one can tell who ate what. Per-pet recognition changes what the hardware can report, and for cats on prescription or weight-management diets it turns a daily guess into a logged record.
The recurring fees also illustrate a pattern spreading through consumer hardware, where the device purchase buys the dispenser and the subscription buys the data. Buyers comparing on sticker price alone may find the effective cost higher than the shelf figure suggests.
What to watch
Forristal noted that Pawsync’s $79.99 feeder, which also uses a built-in scale, is the closest cheaper alternative she tested. How Petlibro prices and bundles its Care and Video Cloud plans will determine whether the Granary 2’s tracking features stay accessible to buyers who skip the subscriptions.
This is not financial advice. Markets are volatile and uncertain.
Source: TechCrunch
