Water fountain?

We're going on holiday soon, and our cat loves drinking from the tap. Obviously we can't leave the tap on while we're away, so were thinking of getting him a cat water fountain. I was wondering if anyone on here has a cat that uses one, and whether they're any good?

We use the Drinkwell Platinum and love it.

I have the Petmate one. Do you have someone coming to watch the cats while you're gone? They'll have to clean it and refill it, depending how long you're gone.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

I have the Petmate one. Do you have someone coming to watch the cats while you're gone? They'll have to clean it and refill it, depending how long you're gone.

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We're only away for a week, & have someone coming in twice a day to feed and change litter tray.

I would think it would be available in the UK. We got ours off ebay.

We have the Drinkwell original. We've had it for a few weeks and the cats like it.

I don't know if you have big chain pet stores like Petsmart and Petco in America, but those two places always have at least one model of cat water fountain in stock and usually actually have a selection of several models... if you don't have big stores like that or something like a WalMart and have some time before you go away, you can DEFNITELY get a fountain online - either through ebay, Drs Foster & Smith online or from an American store that ships to the UK....

I don't personally use a fountain - Oliver likes big ceramic soup mugs filled with water in various places around the house (as well as stealing from glasses of water that people happen to be drinking ), but maybe one day when I've got some extra money to spluge I'll pick one up and see how he likes it, but wanted to give you some ideas of where you might find one over there... good luck! Going away anywhere fun that would make the rest of us jealous? haha

Thanks for all your replies. We're going to the Algarve, looking forward to it, but not looking forward to leaving kitty, as he's never been left on his own for more than one night before.

The Drinkwell is a firm favourite with my boys - it's a similar flow to that which comes out of a tap. However Radar dunked everything he could find into it and it's now making strange noises, probably because of fur from toys etc. getting wrapped around the motor

My cats do have a propensity for breaking things though, if your cat is less abnormal than Radar you will probably be ok

I use the drinkwell and have been very happy with it

We have 3 fountains (for a tiny apt!), 2 cats:

CatIt Fountain (the dome-only version...less popular with the furry guys now, stored away...probably should have gotten the regular version b/c they're favoring drinking from a "pool" instead of the stream)

PetMate Fountain - still going strong after 3-4 yrs

Drinkwell Platinum - most popular with the guys

P.S. I got them from eBay.com, thecatconnection.com, and petco.com.

The Drinkwell Platinum is about UK45 + UK7 shipping on ebay UK. Even if you don't get it in time for your vacation, it's still a good buy as your regular drinking source when you're at home.

has anyone gone away for about 2 weeks and used the fountains/feeders? im so confused as to which one to get. everyone has something to say about each fountain/feeder i decide on.
( btw - i do have someone coming in every other day to check up on my 2 cats and change the litter box.)

ps - my cats are domesticated feral cats (2years old) and have been feed water via bowl since i got them. im afraid that a water fountain might scare them.

i just bought the drinkwell and i have the flow set on low. the cats are just stairing at it, smelling it, one even drank a little but nothing after that. we'll see how long they'll stay away.

Originally Posted by Alisa

i just bought the drinkwell and i have the flow set on low. the cats are just stairing at it, smelling it, one even drank a little but nothing after that. we'll see how long they'll stay away.

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That's pretty normal. It's completely understandable...this new thing that showed up spitting water

Bella took quite a few days to actually drink from the drinkwell. She put her paw in the water, shook it off, put her paw in the water, shook it off, then sat and stared at it a while, put her paw in the water, shook it off,...you get the idea. She did eventually drink from it. She's the smarty, so she was more cautious. Stan just dug in

as soon as i turned it off, one of the cats drank from it like it was his last meal! boy was he thirsty. i turned it back on , and no one has drank from it since.
then i brought in more change by adding the Petmate Le bistro automatic food dispenser.

We had a PetMate and the motor went within a year. I now have a CatIt and although it seemed strange to them at first, they now both drink lots of water from it.

I do think it's important that no matter which model you get, you clean it thoroughly at least once per week. I clean ours every Saturday and even with bottled water you wouldn't believe the "slime" that covers the filter. I wash the filter and reuse it for about 3 weeks, then change to a new filter. I ensure I get all the lime deposits off the outside as well as the inside. If the lime deposits are a bit difficult to get off without scratching the surface, I will let it sit with vinegar for about half an hour and then it cleans up perfectly with just a bit of "elbow grease".

Our CatIt hold 4 small bottles of water and I usually have to add at least 2 more by mid-week. One time I saw Mika trying to dip her paw in the edge between the dome and the bottom space and figured she had some critter trapped there. When I went to check it out I found that I had not seated the dome properly and the water was not flowing. Poor wee thing couldn't get any water. I can't tell you how guilty I felt. As soon as I righted the situation she drank plenty and I apologized profusely.