How to keep an automatic water dispenser?

How much do they cost, and how often should the water be changed? I have one 2 yro and a kitten.

I have a manual waterer for Oliver (ie: not a fountain, this just looks like an office water cooler)... it's made by Le Bistro and I have the food dish that goes with it... the set I have holds a gallon of water and 5 pounds of kibble.... they both work quite well... I change out the water either when it's almost empty or when the water in the bowl part has a layer of cat hair floating on top hahaha but it lasts quite awhile for me and very very rarely is there any algae or goop or whatever in the bowl... the bowls are plastic though - Oliver doesn't have any allergy to plastic bowls but some cats do... if your kitties don't than no problem!

They come in a variety of price ranges, and I change the water daily. http://www.DrsFosterSmith.com has several so you can compare prices; http://www.petco.com and http://www.petsmart.com are other sites that have them.

We have a Petmate one, and the cats love it. It needs to be cleaned weekly, and we have to replace it about once a year when the motor burns out. But for $30, it's worth it for cats that refuse to drink anything but running water.

I cannot tell you how many times I will get home from work and find a toy in the fountain.

We have a Drinkwell fountain. I clean it about every 2 weeks and change the filter monthly.

Stephanie

I use a Petmate one and have the extra reservoir.

I have two cats...one took to it right away... the other couldn't decide if he liked it or not. But now he likes it.... he drinks from the flowing water... he thinks it's fresher that way I guess.

Best to clean it every week, but it's ok to do every other week. I think the pump can be replaced if it 'goes'. I need another filter for mine. It helps to take the pump apart too and thoroughly clean it. Mine gets full of fur and stuff and decreases the flow of water.

I've been thinking of switching to a Drinkwell, but while this one works I'll hang onto it.

I think I paid $40. Some cats never take to it though... just a fyi.

Good Luck!

I have a petmate one. I recently realized the filter is more of a problem than a solution, so I took it out and started using filtered water to begin with, just changing it more often. Zissou seems happier, it stays cleaner, and the water's still filtered.

So that's my advice.

I had a PetMate but the motor burned out within about 6 months. Bought a CatIt and like it better. I find the water stays cleaner. I clean it thoroughly every Saturday and refill it with 4 bottles of water. That will usually do them for the week but occasionally I need to add water around Thursday. Both kitties drink a lot more with the fountain and the thing I like about the CatIt is that the water runs over the dome so there is no open water just sitting there.

We have a Drinkwell. I clean it weekly.

I got mine on sale through Petco, and I had a free shipping coupon for Stimpy's birthday. So ours was a really good deal. I want to say it was around $35, but I can't remember for sure.

When I bought our CatIt I caught it on sale at Pet Food Direct. It was under $30.

And when I bought the Petmate one, it was at least 5 yrs ago and it was on clearance for around $20 at Target.

Originally Posted by JennyAnnieDots

We have a Petmate one, and the cats love it. It needs to be cleaned weekly, and we have to replace it about once a year when the motor burns out. But for $30, it's worth it for cats that refuse to drink anything but running water.

I cannot tell you how many times I will get home from work and find a toy in the fountain.

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Did you know you can buy replacement motors for $14.35 from Petmate?

http://www.petmate.com/Catalog.plx?P...cement&CatID=7

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

I have a petmate one. I recently realized the filter is more of a problem than a solution, so I took it out and started using filtered water to begin with, just changing it more often. Zissou seems happier, it stays cleaner, and the water's still filtered.

So that's my advice.

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Yes, using filtered water is great. Our new kitten wasn't sure about the water we gave him, and when we dumped it out and replaced it with water from the Brita pitcher, he started slurping it right up.

Most of what a filter does for tap water is help eliminate the very slight chlorine odor (that whole oxygenation thing most of them talk about is mostly about dissipating the chemicals they add in for people). Obviously a cat can smell it more than people can, and aren't as used to it. The other stuff it filters for, I'm not so sure are bad -- cats end up eating plenty of dust and hair on their own anyway. Maybe if the cats are big shedders it can keep the motor going longer, but yeah, I agree that using filters on the devices themselves can just make it more of a hassle.

We use water out of our Pur pitcher for the cats' water as well as our own. Our tap water tastes terrible. Our cats like the filtered water as much as we do.

Yes, we use bottled spring water for the cats but then we tend to spoil them completely.

Originally Posted by mschauer

Did you know you can buy replacement motors for $14.35 from Petmate?

http://www.petmate.com/Catalog.plx?P...cement&CatID=7

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By the time I ordered one, paid duty, taxes and custom charges, I could probably buy a whole new fountain.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I had a PetMate but the motor burned out within about 6 months.

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Same thing happened to mine. I have not gonna another fountain.

Originally Posted by mschauer

Did you know you can buy replacement motors for $14.35 from Petmate?

http://www.petmate.com/Catalog.plx?P...cement&CatID=7

Click to expand...

Thank you for this tip! We use the Petmate and have had it for about 7 mos...great to know I can replace just the pump if/when it goes out!

I cannot get my cats to drink from the Petsmate fountain - I think they're afraid of the flowing water. They're not big drinkers anyway (one is prone to UTI's so he needs to drink.) I'll try washing it well, replace the filter and refill with filtered water.