water fountains

Does anyone have any experience with the water fountains for cats?

I was told by the vet that my cat Kameron (1 yr old) needs to drink more water so he suggested the water fountain (Drinkwell Fresh Water Fountain), but my cat seems to be unsure about it I've only seen him drink from it once in the last two days we've had it, he thinks that he needs to sneak behind our backs to drink from it. Is there any way to encourage him more to drink from it? Thanx.

It took a few days for my kitties to get used to it, but once they started drinking from it, they LOVED IT!!!
They have been drinking much much more than before... Give it a few days, make sure to have another water dish available though.

There is absolutely a learning curve, usually they are afraid/unsure at first, then usually there's some play involved and then they'll start to drink.

Took about a week for Stan a little longer for Bella, but they both use it now provided I keep it clean.

If it's only been there for a few days, and he's sneaking drinks, I think you're in good shape.

We've had one for a while. I keep another dish of water for them as well, and they alternate between that and the fountain.

Our cats took different times to get used to it too but they all drink more now (except for one who was a big drinker anyway). It really tricks them to drink extra as they are curious just walking past it, they check the flow or they check it when it bubbles or when someone else is playing around. Our nerdy boy was a bit cautious and he still prefers to go 'sneak-drinking' - when nobody else can surprise him - I think he needs to concentrate on drinking from the fountain, hehe.

We too keep regular bowls available, so there is always an option. In the beginning I also kept the flow on the lowest setting but I don't think that matters much anymore. I also made sure that the fountain was very level, so no rumbling and buzzing deterred the kitties when they were getting used to it (In some parts of my kitchen the floor is so uneven if someone walks past the fountain can bubble all of a sudden and it was a put-off in the beginning for our wimp).

I have this one

http://www.theanimalfiles.com/images...esh_flow_1.jpg

I bought it last year in April or so as a birthday present for Chynna. But Chynna was completely freaked by it and took one look at it and crouched down to the ground and slinked away. I had to keep a bowl of water out for her.

Abby however loved it from the get go. And in face drinks from it until she hears it gurgle and refilling from the reservoir and then drinks some more

Last year in November or so I heard loud slurping sounds. Abby is a quiet drinker so I looked and there was Chynna drinking from the fountain! I removed the bowl of water and now Chynna only drinks from the fountain.

So there is a learning curve, but don't give up. Your kitty will get the hang of it and use it more and more.

I find that because the water is running and being filtered and circulated that both of my cats drink more than they did when I used regular bowls. Plus it's nice to not have to fill up a bowl twice a day, especially in the summer. I just throw in a few ice cubes to cool down the water and it's good to go.

I have the drinkwell, honestly their is a bit of a learning curve at first none of mine were sure now they play in it

i do like the product but i hate cleaning it, spilled many a bowl of water doing that

I've got the Drinkwell Platinum, and both my cats now drink more from it than they ever did from their bowls. I agree there may be a learning curve, and certainly keep another bowl out, at least as first, but I bet you'll find the fountain being used more and more. I am using distilled water now - they seem to like it and makes the fountain even easier to clean - I use about a gallon a week, so about $1.10 from my grocery store.

We have a fountain for our guys. They seem to love it. Our middle girl kinda plops down infront of it and cuddles with it, lol

I have the freshflow (the one natalie posted a link to). I've had it about 1.5 years now and the cats really seem to like it. It is definately harder for them to tip over than a regular bowl and they drink more than they did before.

My only gripe is that the water reservoir runs out fairly quickly (every other day with three cats) so I have to refill it often. Reassembling it after cleaning is also a pain.

Art

I use the CatIt and clean it every Saturday and refill it. Our cats do drink more with a water fountain.

I also ave the catit ( 2 of them) and my cats were a little afraid at first but now they love it I clean it out about 2 times a week.

I have a drinkwell downstairs that Swanie drinks from and a Freshflow upstairs that Cindy drinks from. I also keep a regular bowl down here which they both use. I think the more options you give them, the better.

my cats will only drink from the fresh flow fountain now. if the water is running low and the motor is making noise sometimes i just shut if off if i don't have the time to refill it. well, they have gotten so used to drinking fresh running water that they won't drink the water unless it's moving!

One of my cats always drank out of the faucet and licked the bathtub after I had a shower, so I bought a Petmate Freshflow. The stupid thing broke down after a couple months. So, I bought the Drinkwell Platinum. Ryoohki loves it. She'll sit and drink and drink and drink. She doesn't even come into the bathroom with me anymore for a drink out of the faucet. Edea always preferred to drink out of the dog water, so, I have not seen him try out the fountain. I don't know where Vivi drinks. I have the fountain, a large dog bowl of water, and a smaller bowl of water on the counter next to the cat food.

Originally Posted by yankeegyrl95

Does anyone have any experience with the water fountains for cats?

I was told by the vet that my cat Kameron (1 yr old) needs to drink more water so he suggested the water fountain (Drinkwell Fresh Water Fountain), but my cat seems to be unsure about it I've only seen him drink from it once in the last two days we've had it, he thinks that he needs to sneak behind our backs to drink from it. Is there any way to encourage him more to drink from it? Thanx.

Click to expand...

We have one and one of our cats drinks straight from the fountain. It took a couple of days for him to do this and our other cat it took a couple of weeks to get used to this. Your cat will eventually come around.

Hi all. I am from Australia and both my cats are affected with a neurological disorder after eating Orijen (Australia only / do not stress). Part of this disorder makes them 'forget' how to eat/drink. My cats stopped drinking so I rushed out to get the Catit drinking dome (A few people here have mentioned it so I know you can get it). Thankfully within the first few minutes my female drank from it. My male played with it for about 2 days and then realised you can drink as well. My cats love it and so do I as it made my cats use their natural instinct to seek out fresh running water and had hopefully helped protect their kidneys.

I really recommend this product and in my case it has been a life saver.

Originally Posted by darlili

I am using distilled water now - they seem to like it and makes the fountain even easier to clean

Click to expand...

Distilled water shouldn't be drank. Distilling water removes all of the electrolytes such as sodium from the water.

What happens when such water is drank, is that it can lead to dehydration rather than hydration.

The blood and the fluid inside the cell walls strive for equilibrium. By drinking distilled water, you are creating an environment in the blood that has less sodium than in the cells, so the sodium from inside the cells seeps out into the blood until there is an equal balance again. The blood then flows through the kidneys and the electrolytes are disposed of as urine.

Where sodium goes, other electrolytes such as calcium, magnesium and potassium follow. So you are also creating an imbalance with those as well.

The body requires potassium and calcium for muscle function, including the heart muscle.

It's best to buy filtered water or just use plain ordinary tap water.

Distilled water should only be used for things that don't require consumption, such as cleaning your iron, or inside a reservoir such as a humidifier or CPAP machine that provides humidity.

Thanks - I"m a little confused, as I found this on the about.cats web site regarding water, so it sounds like a lot of the processes are very similar. Also, a reader of Cat Fancy wrote in about a year ago swearing by distilled water for her male cats - the vet's reply said he'd heard similar anecdotal stories, no clinical research, but he didn't see a problem with distilled water. I appreciate your comments, and will do so more research - although, even though Chicago water is considered pretty good, I"m not at all sure it's as pure as could be...I remember Milwaukee's issues with Lake Michigan water about a year ago.

<The FDA Consumer Magazine offers brief descriptions of some of these purification processes:


Distillation
In this process, water is turned into a vapor. Since minerals are too heavy to vaporize, they are left behind, and the vapors are condensed into water again.
Reverse osmosis
Water is forced through membranes to remove minerals in the water.
Absolute 1 micron filtration
Water flows through filters that remove particles larger than one micron in size, such as Cryptosporidium, a parasitic protozoan.
Ozonation
Bottlers of all types of waters typically use ozone gas, an antimicrobial agent, to disinfect the water instead of chlorine, since chlorine can leave residual taste and odor to the water. Bottled water that has been treated by distillation, reverse osmosis, or other suitable process and that meets the definition of "purified water" in the U.S. Pharmacopeia can be labeled as "purified water."
Your closing remarks stated, "Even if you don't have any trouble with FLUTD now, adding 'drinking' water can cause it."

In light of what I've learned during this research, I find that to be unlikely, since "drinking water" on a label would also include "purified" or "distilled" to comply with regulatory standards. However, I have no problem whatsoever with your suggestion of using spring water or distilled water for cats' water needs.>