Drinking Fountain Recommendations

ezwriter

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The motor on my Petsafe Pagoda went out after almost a year. It's an expensive fountain (about $100), and a bear to clean (you have to completely dismantle it every 2-3 weeks and clean it...mine still managed to get gunked up after a year, despite my best efforts).

My cats really enjoyed the fountain, and I'm torn between just seeing if I can replace the motor on this one, or trying a new brand.

I'm not so much concerned about cost, I would just like something that is a little less labor intensive than the one I had. Any suggestions?
 

xx18xx

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I have 2 from Pioneer Pet(the big max & the 96oz raindrop). Both are super easy to clean. I love the big max the most.
 

Kat0121

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I have 2 from Pioneer Pet(the big max & the 96oz raindrop). Both are super easy to clean. I love the big max the most.
I second the nomination of the Pioneer Pet Big Max. We have the stainless one and it is super easy to clean and the filters are available on Amazon at a good price.
 

prairiepanda

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The Pioneer Pet stainless steel raindrop is my personal favorite, out of the several fountains I have tried. After a couple years it stopped getting properly clean, though. I guess the stainless coating wore down. I will be replacing it with the ceramic version; it costs a bit more but if it lasts longer it will be worth it. My new cat prefers ceramic, anyway. But compared to other fountains I have used, the Pioneer Pet one does the best job of protecting the pump from cat hair or other crud while still being easy to clean.
 

EmmiTemmi

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I'm guessing if you're willing to pay out bigger money for the Petsafe Pagoda you probably wouldn't use what I do. But I recently purchased the Cat Mate Pet Fountain for $24 and my boys love it. Then again, I've only had it a couple of weeks, so I don't know if it will last as long as a more pricey one. It's very easy to clean, though. And has filter replacements on Amazon for a reasonable price.

Another thing you could consider doing is just replacing the motor on your old fountain if possible. I'm not familiar with the variety, but it should be possible to install a new motor if the old one failed.
 

happilyretired

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I have always used Drinkwell fountains, and I switched from plastic to ceramic with my last cat. But if you don't like cleaning, you won't want this. I clean it once a week and change the two filters at the recommended times. Every other week, I also clean the motor.

When I was using the plastic fountain, my motor died after a few years, but I was able to buy a replacement directly from Drinkwell--excellent customer service.
 

Elfilou

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I used the catmate for a long time but am getting a new one this week. The plastic is just disgusting and unhygienic - feels very porous and gooey after a few months. Just... just don't get plastic.
 

Cataria

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I'm super fond of the Drinkwell 360 stainless steel fountains, also by Petsafe, I believe. They are super easy to clean, and changing the filter is as simple as twisting the top off, pulling it out, and putting a new one in it -- you don't have to disassemble the whole thing just to change the filter. I have two right now and am considering a third.

Even better, there's a guy on Amazon that sells reusable filters for the fountain -- essentially, it's a plastic capsule that you just replace the carbon in once a month. It's very convenient because you can buy carbon any place that sells fish supplies.

I've also used the Pioneer Pet Raindrop fountains (both ceramic and stainless steel) but I didn't like them as much. You have to take it apart to change the filter, and I think something in my water either left deposits on or ate at the ceramic and I can't get it off. I also don't like that the filter and pump is in a plastic casing -- the plastic gets kind of gross.
 

tarasgirl06

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The motor on my Petsafe Pagoda went out after almost a year. It's an expensive fountain (about $100), and a bear to clean (you have to completely dismantle it every 2-3 weeks and clean it...mine still managed to get gunked up after a year, despite my best efforts).

My cats really enjoyed the fountain, and I'm torn between just seeing if I can replace the motor on this one, or trying a new brand.

I'm not so much concerned about cost, I would just like something that is a little less labor intensive than the one I had. Any suggestions?
Thanks for giving your cats a fountain! Most cats do really enjoy them and drink more water from them than they do from stationery water bowls.
We're on our second basic Drinkwell PetSafe fountain and it is easier to take apart, clean, and reassemble than the first one. Because we have to be careful about money, this one works just fine for us. We've never had any problems whatsoever with it. I clean it weekly, as recommended, and have the special cleaning kit (different size brushes to help get into all the cleanable areas) but it is not really necessary with this second fountain, as you can reach everything with just a kitchen sponge or dishcloth. They are widely available through Drs. Foster & Smith online, Petco and other "big box" 'pet' stores, are attractive, affordable, and best of all, they work.
 

angelsmom1988

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The Pioneer Pet stainless steel BigMax fountain is the preferred fountain at our house. We originally purchased a plastic bubble up fountain. It was hard to keep clean and our pet had to stand to drink. We replaced it with the Pioneer Pet BigMax. The pet can either sit or stand to drink. The fountain is easier to clean and filters are not very costly. My only complaint, but not huge, is the life of the pump. A pump lasts around two years, but I haven't completed any studies on average pump life across brands.
 

sophie1

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I had a ceramic fountain but absolutely hated it. The filter gunked up with cat hair and dust quickly, and if I didn't clean it every day or two the water would get slimy. I was so happy to switch to a plain water bowl that I refill every morning, and so were my cats.

What if I stick with the plain water bowl and just get an aquarium pump to put on the bottom? It looks far easier to deal with than those snap on white pump/filter housings. IMHO those are very poorly designed, and WAY overpriced.

[edit: the link isn't showing up. Try searching "aquarium pump" on Amazon. The one I found is the Maxesla Submersible Pump 80 GPH.

Not to mention the OP could use this to rescue the existing pet fountain.
 

angelsmom1988

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My concern with an exposed submersible pump is having my cat seeing the water come up from the pump and taking the pump to be a play toy. Having a covered pump makes me more secure in not having the pump removed by kitty to play with. Kitties just love following anything that has movement.
 

sophie1

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The pump has suction cups to fasten it to the bottom of the bowl, but if you're concerned an upside down small ceramic flower pot (with hole in the bottom) should solve the issue nicely.
 

Alicia88

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We have the CatIt 2 flower fountain. I can't say much about longevity, but we've had it for about a year and no issues so maybe it's long lasting. It's pretty easy to clean but the filter needs replaced fairly often - especially with 4 cats using it.
 

cryptic

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Would love to have one of these, they're pricey though!
My friend has one by Pioneer Pet and they love it, have had it for awhile and no issues.
 
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ezwriter

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A belated thank you to everybody for your recommendations.

I bought the Pioneer Pet Big Max stainless steel. At first, I wasn't too impressed. There isn't much movement of water, it just kind of weakly bubbles up into the top bowl and dribbles down the side of the top bowl into the lower bowl. And the lower bowl is pretty huge, so it seems like a lot of the water barely moves at all. It is also totally silent, and I really liked the soothing sound of the trickling water from my old fountain.

However, my cats seem to like it just as much as the old one, and that's all that really matters. There apparently is enough movement of the water to catch their interest, and they're using the fountain much more than the water bowl.

Thanks again!
 
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