Drinking Fountain?

I know how important drinking plenty of water is for cats.  Gizmo eats mostly wet food, and a small amount of Orijen, but I would still like him to drink more water.  Does anyone use drinking fountains?  If so, which ones do you recommend?  Thanks!

I use the Drinkwell Premium. It has a large receptacle to put water in so you don't have to refill it often. It comes with filters and has a nice flow that can be turned up high or low. I wash and clean mine about once a month, which is a chore for me because I have a bad back and it's hard to pick up the fountain with water in it. My cat likes it just fine. He would not drink from a dish, so it was either the fountain or let him drink from the toilets. 

I have this one and also this one. I like the PetSafe ceramic one better. It's easier to clean/fill/put back together. My only complaint with it is that its capacity is smaller so in my house with multiple pets i have to refill it more often. 

mjpeter said:

 
I know how important drinking plenty of water is for cats.  Gizmo eats mostly wet food, and a small amount of Orijen, but I would still like him to drink more water.  Does anyone use drinking fountains?  If so, which ones do you recommend?  Thanks!

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I have 2. I have the Pioneer Pet stainless steel Big Max. I can't say enough good things about it. Great capacity, it's nice and quiet, it's easy to clean and it's nice to look at. Amazon carries the filters as well.


I also have the Pioneer Pet ceramic raindrop in black. I like this one also but it has a smaller capacity and it's quite heavy. It takes the same filters as the Big Max


I bought the Big Max from Amazon but the raindrop came from Kohl's during a sale so I paid about $30 for it. The raindrop is in a cabinet right now. It was in Henry's safe room with him for a long time. Now all 3 cats and the dog drink out of the Big Max. This is the one that gets my vote hands down.

I have the Catmate. Very quiet, easy to clean, holds lots of water, 3 levels, adjustable water flow.

The one thing it lacks which might have been nice is a little drip of water, like what comes out of water faucets. But my cat, a faucet junkie, doesn't seem to mind. He used to BEGfor me to put the faucet on. But now if I do, he doesn't seem interested.

This Catmate is so quiet, my cat makes more noise drinking than the whole thing makes.

We use the Drinkwell Platinum, got it for $32 on Amazon during black Friday. Highly recommended. Has a pretty large capacity, we refill it every 4-5 days or so. It becomes quite noisy when it's low on water, which is actually a good thing in some ways.

Kat0121 said:

 
I have 2. I have the Pioneer Pet stainless steel Big Max. I can't say enough good things about it. Great capacity, it's nice and quiet, it's easy to clean and it's nice to look at. Amazon carries the filters as well.


I also have the Pioneer Pet ceramic raindrop in black. I like this one also but it has a smaller capacity and it's quite heavy. It takes the same filters as the Big Max


I bought the Big Max from Amazon but the raindrop came from Kohl's during a sale so I paid about $30 for it. The raindrop is in a cabinet right now. It was in Henry's safe room with him for a long time. Now all 3 cats and the dog drink out of the Big Max. This is the one that gets my vote hands down.

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Love the Pioneer Pet stainless fountains.  I think it is much easier to clean than the Drinkwell, which I used for years.  FWIW, I tried the Pioneer Pet ceramic model, but mine cracked after only a few months.  So I switched to the stainless.  

RickR said:

 
Love the Pioneer Pet stainless fountains.  I think it is much easier to clean than the Drinkwell, which I used for years.  FWIW, I tried the Pioneer Pet ceramic model, but mine cracked after only a few months.  So I switched to the stainless.  

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Yeah I love it too. I first bought the Drinkwell platinum but returned it less than 1 day after I got because I decided I didn't want a plastic one. The ceramic one hasn't been used since Henry came out of his safe room. The dog drained it every time she went in for a visit anyway. 

misterwhiskers said:

I have the Catmate. Very quiet, easy to clean, holds lots of water, 3 levels, adjustable water flow.

The one thing it lacks which might have been nice is a little drip of water, like what comes out of water faucets. But my cat, a faucet junkie, doesn't seem to mind. He used to BEGfor me to put the faucet on. But now if I do, he doesn't seem interested.

This Catmate is so quiet, my cat makes more noise drinking than the whole thing makes.

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I have the catmate. Highly recommend, quietest I ever had.

I have the Catit Design Senses fountain.  I really like it.  Holds a good amount of water and Sawyer loves it, I see him drinking from it often.  I bought it on Amazon for maybe $25.  

We have a sanctuary, and we've tried 'em all... But we always come back to the Drinkwell Platinum... They are very reliable, and relatively easy to clean.  (Although IMO you can't do a proper cleaning job with the Drinkwell brand brush kit)  When we need parts, they're readily available and reasonably priced through the PetSafe website.  The Platinum has good capacity (1.3 US gallons) right out of the box so you don't have to buy a 'jumbo' reservoir.  I typically have to refill them 1 time between cleanings. 

Watering stations (regardless of brands) need to be cleaned thoroughly and routinely.  When you can dip a finger and feel slick surfaces, it's time to clean it.  (Micro-organisms)  We clean ours every 7-9 days, and they're always in need of cleaning in that interval.  We have 9 Drinkwells and (presently) 40 kitties.   (Plus static water in the back yard for those hot arizona days!)    

The filters are not necessary... Especially if you clean the unit on a 7 to 10  days schedule.  I haven't used any of the filters for 7 years.   You are much better of using good water and cleaning them routinely.  Rule of thumb:  If you won't drink the tap water, your animals should not either.  And you MUST take the motor & pump apart to properly clean it!  You simply cannot clean them assembled. 

And keep in mind - NOT all kitties are happy with running water fountains!  We do keep 4 other static water stations for those who get spooked around running water.  We even have one male who ONLY drinks out of the back of the Drinkwell when the reservoir is out!  (He LIVES for water-cleaning day!)  Otherwise he prefers the static water stations or just an old fashioned bowl.  

Best regards,  Pete & Linda

I have the Drinkwell Platinum and my mom used a PetCo fountain she had found both new and sealed at Goodwill for relatively cheap so that's how it began. My cats don't really use either of them though (their on a 100% wet food diet so...).

This is my cats fountain . It's a Drinkwell Hydrate . I put it in a glass baking dish . It works great and the cats like it ..

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I found this one at Petco, Rhett and Rayna seem to enjoy it.  It has minimal parts and is easy to clean, replacement filters are available at Petco.  I was thinking about upgrading to the Drinkwell Ceramic Pagoda Fountain, but after reading reviews and understanding it has the same pump my existing fountain has, I decided to stay put for now. 

Maybe this link is better.

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/harmony-white-automatic-pet-water-fountain

Rugerhound said:

 
<snip>And you MUST take the motor & pump apart to properly clean it!  You simply cannot clean them assembled. <snip>

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So true.  For ages, I wondered why my pumps kept breaking.  I don't know how many replacement pumps I went thru.  It turns out none of them were broken; they were clogged.  Now I take the motor apart every week and soak it for a few minutes in hot water with a few drops of bleach.  Then scrub each part with a small brush before a final rinse and reassembly.  

I'm curious to know whether you're using tap water or bottled water?

I ask because here in San Diego tap water has a fair amount of chlorine in it, perhaps minimizing bateria/slime build up.

Red Dog said:

I'm curious to know whether you're using tap water or bottled water?

I ask because here in San Diego tap water has a fair amount of chlorine in it, perhaps minimizing bateria/slime build up.

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I can't speak for anyone else, but I use filtered water; e.g. Brita or PUR.  I don't trust the tap water where I live and I can't afford bottled water.  

I also have the Pioneer Pet stainless steel Big Max. It works well for my 2 cat household. The cats use it a lot. One likes to dip his paws in it to we them to clean himself also, so it needs cleaning every 1-2 weeks, a hassle, but not that bad. This is an item I wouldn't be without! 

We have the Glacier Point Basic Pet Fountain. Looks a bit like a science fair project, but it's the best we've seen yet. Porcelain bowl, good motor for the pump, and granulated charcoal filter. There is also a foam filter when keeps larger particles from entering the pump. Our three cats love it. It's very easy to clean and maintain.