I have decided on getting Nigel a cat fountain as it seems he has found a love of drinking out of the bath tap and no longer wants to drink from his bowl.

Anyway, I am trying to pick between two:

The Petmate Freshflow or the Drinkwell Fountain.

The freshflow has loads more positive reviews on the websites you can buy them from, but I thought that maybe the Drinkwell copies the running tap more accuratley and maybe the cats prefer that?

What to dooo?

I hate having my tap constantly running, and am expecting the water board to come round thinking they have a leak any day now!

I've got the Drinkwell Platinum and my cats and I love - I like it because it's quiet and very easy to clean, and I think they like the 'running stream effect'. I'm thinking you may not be in the US, but if you are and are near a Petsmart, they're excellent at taking returns if your pet doesn't like something - you might be able to try both.

i have both - 2 freshflows & 1 drinkwell. i like the drinkwell the best - it's easier to clean [imo]. 4/5 of the cats seem to prefer the freshflows, tho.

hi,

i have had 2 freshflow fountains and i found them to be hard to clean. there are too many places to get gunked up. i used q-tips in order to get it all out. i have since switched to cat it water fountains. i had the first one with the dome and the reservoir (http://www.hagen.com/usa/cats/addinfo/catit_fountain.html) and i would have happily kept that one forever. it is super easy to clean. you can actually take the bottom off the extra water storage to clean the inside of that too, with the freshflow you can't, or at least you couldn't in the version that i had. i really like how easy the cat it one was to clean and to refill. the water flows out over the dome and then goes to a reservoir so the cat can chose to drink from the dome or the dish. i have another cat it fountain because i was cleaning the first one and lost the spring down the sink! now the water will fall out of the extra storage if i tip it over out of the water. i am so clumsy! i decided to get the newer design (http://www.valuepetsupplies.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/SFV/32440/vpid/4923249/vpcsid/0/rid/126301?zmam=33541279&zmas=1&zmac=4&zmap=50053of the cat it fountain. it is round and holds 2 litres of water. it does not have a reservoir for the water, instead it just flows up and over the dome and back down to the bottom. you might have to show your cat that the water is actually flowing over the dome but if he is anything like my kitties he will be very excited once he knows that the water is flowing there! my kitties drink so much more since we got the cat it fountains. oh, another reason that i like the new design of the cat it fountain is because it is high off the ground. i have 5 animals and hardwood floors so there are quite a few dust bunnies and they don't end up in the high dish as easily as the low one!

We just have a PetMate LeBistro water fountain (http://www.petco.com/product/6998/Petmate-Le-Bistro-Waterers.aspx) and our cats seem to drink a lot more water now. I guess it just seems fresher this way!

I prefer the Drinkwell to the Petmate.

I've had a Petmate in the past and got rid of it because I found it difficult to clean. My next purchase will be a Drinkwell - I'm hoping it will be easier.

I just got a Drinkwell Platinum.

I fully disassembled and cleaned it prior to use, and it was easy, although there are a bunch of parts to deal with.

It works properly.

The noise isn't too bad; the cats don't seem to mind. Since it's on a hard floor, I may look around for a rubber mat to put under it to absorb some of the sound.

I haven't noticed them drinking much water from it yet. That could be because I've been increasing the amount of wet food in their diet.

I was going to say petmate. I have 2 of each and a lebistro too. My Drinkwells are louder to me. But everyone is different. :)

Since it's on a hard floor, I may look around for a rubber mat to put under it to absorb some of the sound.mine are on one of those plastic runners meant for use under rolling desk chairs on carpet. i have wall-to-wall vinyl, but this keeps the floor clean. i put a couple of old towels under the plastic, too.

Don't know freshflow. We've had both Petmate and Drinkwell. The cats ignored the Petmate - it just runs down a ramp. They love the Drinkwell - it's like a little waterfall.

Laurie

we also used a mat that you use for shoes, you know those black or grey ones that you put your winter boots on to catch the melting snow. they are big enough and have a nice lip to catch any water. my big guy likes to flick water everywhere when he drinks. i know that it doesn't look the best but it does a great job of keeping the water off the floor.

Don't know freshflow. We've had both Petmate and Drinkwell. The cats ignored the Petmate - it just runs down a ramp. They love the Drinkwell - it's like a little waterfall.

Lauriethe Petmate is the Freshflow - the whole name is the Petmate Freshflow (http://www.petco.com/product/9399/Petmate-Deluxe-Fresh-Flow-Purifying-Pet-Fountain.aspx)...

I've had the drinkwell and loved it but my Cinnamon didn't lol she prefered my dogs Le Bistro so I bought another of those and gave my Drinkwell to a friend of coarse Cinnamon still prefers the Sages rather than her own lol My friend loves the Drinkwell though and said her cats just love it.

We've tried them all...The only one that all 3 of my cats agree on is the Drinkwell Original. I like it the best for ease of cleaning.:clap: I recommend getting the extra water reservoir for it.