Water Fountain Question

[myrnafaye]

I just got my cat a bubbler type fountain (stainless steel). I have had it a week, and he shows no interest in it.

I would like to either find a way to get him to use it, or find another model. Any suggestions? of either alternatives or suggestions to pique his interest?

 

[abyeb]

Charlie gets more interested in drinking his water when I put a few ice cubes in it, maybe try that?

 

[Ardina]

Try putting a couple pieces of ice in the fountain. I tried it yesterday and my cats spent ages trying to fish the ice out of the water bowl, only giving up when the ice melted. Not sure if it got them to drink any more than usual, but it certainly caught their interest!

Edit: Whoops, you beat me to it, abyeb!

 

[Margret]

Why did you invest in a fountain? Does he reject water from bowls?

Fountains are lovely, and some cats really prefer that their water be constantly aerated, but other cats just want the water to hold still so they can drink without getting it in their adorable little noses.

That said, ice cubes in a bubbling fountain sounds like a fantastic cat game! Kind of expensive for a toy, though.

Margret

 

[MoochNNoodles]

It might help to leave the fountain off for a few days so it seems more normal. Then try plugging it in for a little while after he figures out it's for drinking from.

 

[mizzely]

What kind of diet is your cat on? I find that mine drink a lot less (even from the fountain they loved!) now that they are on a wet diet and I add extra water to their food.

 

[myrnafaye]

the one cat is 17, he needs to be well hydrated. Both my cats are on a very high quality canned food, and yes, he does drink out of a bowl. But recently he was slightly dehydrated. So I purchased a bubbler fountain, because it looked pretty similar to his stainless water dish. I dont think ice cubes would make a difference...thinking of returning it.

 

[cheeser]

It might help to leave the fountain off for a few days so it seems more normal. Then try plugging it in for a little while after he figures out it's for drinking from.

If the pump for your fountain has a little switch that allows you to control the water flow, check to see if it's on the lowest setting before plugging the fountain back in. Then if your cats are cool with that, you can gradually move the switch up a notch at the time until you find whatever setting works best for your cats. Mine get spooked when the water bubbles too much, so our optimum setting is in the middle. We also threw in a ping pong ball to encourage them to give the fountain a try.

 

[myrnafaye]

no, no adjustment of the pump. just pour water in, plug in and it goes.

 

[kittens mom]

Leave it off until he drinks from it then turn it on. Mine ignored that expensive toy for almost 2 weeks. I heard an awful noise one day and it was so low the pump was vibrating all over. Guess they fooled me and started using it.

 

[cheeser]

no, no adjustment of the pump. just pour water in, plug in and it goes.

Oh, dear. So much for that idea.

What kind of fountain do you have?

 

[kittens mom]

no, no adjustment of the pump. just pour water in, plug in and it goes.

There might be one it's just a tiny thing on the pump itself

 

[cheeser]

There might be one it's just a tiny thing on the pump itself

I didn't even notice that little switch on mine until I went back and read the instructions again.

myrnafaye , does the pump for your fountain look anything similar to this picture? If so, the switch that controls the water flow is that little tiny little doodad inside the horizontal slit, just below the plus sign.

 

[kittens mom]

I didn't even notice that little switch on mine until I went back and read the instructions again.

myrnafaye , does the pump for your fountain look anything similar to this picture? If so, the switch that controls the water flow is that little tiny little doodad inside the horizontal slit, just below the plus sign.

I thought it was the toggle to take the end off for cleaning the first time I took it apart. I may have been remiss in reading the instructions.

 

[myrnafaye]

Kitten's mom, its a bubbler type fountain, with a nice stainless steel top (bowl). His regular bowl is stainless as well so I thought it would be a good choice. Cheeser, the pump looks like that but does not have the little "doodad" that moves. The pump is also not removable from the fountain. Apparently its a One speed.

 

[kittens mom]

All I can say is don't despair it took my cats time to start using it. I keep a bowl of still water available at all times.
I have no idea what kind of fountain you have but I would not have one that could not be taken apart and cleaned on a regular basis. The pump filters the water and all the stuff that gets in a water dish so a pump that doesn't come out to be cleaned , you pop it apart to clean the wheel, is going to fail rather quickly , do you have a filter you replace ?

 

[myrnafaye]

Yes, it has a doughnut shaped filter that gets replaced. Apparently I cannot post links here by URL but its on amazon and is a Fresh and Clear cat fountain. Bubbler type.

 

[lalagimp]

I actually have this model coming in 2 months of so from Fresh Step but don't know much about it yet. I did see that it uses filters, so that was a plus.
We're using Drinkwell Platinum fountains around the house.

 

[kittens mom]

Almost all fountains for cats recommend not turning them on until the cats are drinking out of them on a regular basis.

 

[myrnafaye]

Yes, good idea. I am considering the Big Max because it most closely resembles their water bowls.