Water fountains???

Ok. So I sat on here looking to find out what is the BEST water fountain for my baby PHX. After digging and digging for the "answer" I decided to go to Petsmart and get the Pets Mate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain for $40.00 and I bring it home set it up and I think I was more excited about that damn thing then the cat was! PHX just looked at it, then looked at me, then looked at it and then decided to push the water out of it with his paw all over the floor. I took away his other water bowl he was using so he would realize this is his NEW and IMPROVED drinking bowl! Well, when I woke up this morning all I could hear is him MEOWING AT THE TOP OF HIS LITTLE LUNGS standing in front of his water bowl. I soon realized- hey maybe he hasn't drank water allllll night!?!?! For $40 I really HOPE that he gets up enough courage to drink out of it today while I'm at work.

So, who else has tried this particular fountain? Have you had luck (good or bad)??? Let me know what your intakes are of this-- Thanks!

PHX'S MOM- Tiffany

I have the same fountain and Frankie had NO problem with it. Wickett on the other hand is scared of everything! At first he wouldn't even go near it... no he loves it. I love it too because it's so much less maintnance than a standing water dish. Oh and for the cost, I bought mine over 2 years ago and it's still going stong.

LOL It's good to hear that other cats like it! Yeah, my PHX won't drink out of it at this point, but he sits as close as he can and just looks at it. If I walk in there and see him looking at it- he will look up and meow. But I'm thinking that since NOONE else is in the house today BUT him- he will get curious and check it out. Thanks!

If he doesn't you could always "help" him. I'd try either sticking your hand in it and touching his mouth so he knows it's water to drink or dab his paw in it. I'm sure given enough time he'll come around.

Yeah- he watched me put the whole thing together and looked really inpatient to check it out when he saw me putting the water in it. Then after I actually put itdown and plugged it in... I put him right in front of it and helped him put his paw in there so he'd see it was just harmless water- nope that thing was NOT going to be by him!! lol But I can't wait for him to use this because otherwise with his regular water bowl he made me change it CONSTANTLY so that way the water was "fresh" lol silly kitties

I have the same fountain and Zoey and Saki both love it. It took them a while to get used to it though so dont give up

A suggestion for your cat.

Maybe if you just left it filled with water but NOT plugged in he'll start drinking. Then plug it in later when he's used to it and has associated it as a drinking spot.

He sounds cute. I bet he will like the fountain in time. I have a fountain but also other water bowls around different places in the house.
He might also like the grass you can put in the fountain.

I have this fountain and my cats love it! As a matter of fact I don't think my cats drink out of their other bowl anymore even tho I fill it everyday with fresh water.

Abby didn't know what to make of hers at first either, now when I clean it she is very protective and watches me to make sure I don't hurt it!

I just wanted to give you guys an update on PHX. When I got home from work last night- ALL of the water was gone. When I say all- I mean ALL!! That thing was dry. He must like it When I re-filled it- he watched every move I made. He's so cute. Also, I just found out a couple nights ago that he plays fetch. yeah, I've never really tried it with him before... But he'll go get his toy and bring it back to me at least 12 times before he gets too pooped out to play anymore!

I love fetching kitties! Wickett always watches me refil it too then he has to immidately play in the water when I'm done. He does the same thing w/ the litter box.

I wanted to add that since I've had mine so long it was getting some nasty hard water deposits in it. So, I took it apart and soaked it all (for about 2 days) in vinegar water. ALL the deposits came right off and it's like new again.

I use that bowl and my cat loves to play in it!......maybe a little too much though! He would take the cord and drag the water fountain around, splashing water everywhere he went! He is such a kill! We had to rig the cord so he couldn't get to it.....so then what's he do he figures out the top of the fountain is a lid, takes it off, and carries the filter everywhere!!! Other then all the tape and tisty ties the fountain is great.

Have you played with the fountains flow control? Your kitty might not like how fast the water is coming out.

I have two drinkwells and the cats love them. they are a little complicated to clean but once you have done it a couple of times it becomes routine. I use bottled distilled water to cut down on mineral deposits and also because my moms cat had a crystal problem we think occured due to minerals in the water. all in all I love them and the cats love them. The water noise is also very soothing when you are going to bed.

Popular topic! I just posted in "health" about the same thing! Anyway, I got a Petmate (little review on Meow's blog w/ pictures) which is similar I suppose. I like it and it took Meow a few hours to get the hang of it, but he's good now.

They suggest leaving it unplugged for a bit if they are weirded out by the moving water - Its a good investment I think. Just keep an eye on the water level because it goes down quickly due to increased evaporation!

I have a CAT IT water fountain, and they love it i'm always having to top it up, cant say they've ever played in it besides poking a paw in every now and then

how do you guys clean your fountain and its filter??

I have the petsmate fresh flow and after a few mouths I found that the filter has some green slimy stuff on it, so i throw away the filter, and filtered the water b4 I put it in the fountian. I check petsmart and walmart and there's no replacement filter avail.

Also, i found that after a while (about a yr) there's either mineral build up on it or the plastic wear out, part of the surface is no longer smooth and has white spots on it which i am unabble to scrub away. So I just throw the water fountain away and buy a new one. $27 lasting for 1 yr is good enough IMO. (Walmart has the fresh flow for $27 CAD while petsmart sell it for $40)

Does everyone throw away their water fountain after a while? or do you have some good methods to clean it??

WOW! Good question. Umm, I just got mine so I'm assuming I'm going to run into the same problems in the near future. I really don't want to keep replacing this water fountain every year or so. What if I clean it every 2 or 3 weeks, would that help make it last longer? What can I use to clean mine that isn't harmful to my PHX.

I also have that fountain. Over all I like the fountains for cats but I hate cleaning that thing and the pump just went out. After what I paid for it, I'll be looking elsewhere for my replacement. Also, I hope to find one a bit simpler to clean.