Questions About Fountains

Cleo and Maggie both have CRF. I had them in last week for blood work, and their numbers are stable. Cleo's BUN and Creatinine are virtually the same as a year ago. Maggie only goes every other year (it's too traumatic) and her numbers are exactly the same as 2007. Lola had a re-check on her UTI, and thankfully, it's cleared.

Since Cleo & Maggie need the water for optimal kidney function, and Lola is obviously going to be UTI prone, I've decided that I should look into purchasing a fountain.

I'll admit, if it's a LOT of work to clean and care for, it isn't going to work for me. It's not really that I'm lazy...I just don't have a lot of spare time (I usually work 55+ hours a week.)

Cleo gets subQ fluids, and I can honestly say I've only seen her drink from the water bowls a handfull of times in her whole 9 years. Lola and Maggie drink regularly from clear glass (Pyrex) bowls set strategically around the house, although the one in the computer room is by far the favorite. No one has discovered the faucet, although, my Angel Spooky loved it!

I am mainly looking for something that is small-ish, more accurately, low to the ground, as Lola and Maggie are petite (about 8 pounds.) Ease of cleaning is the highest priority, followed closely by quiet operation (as Maggie is quite timid of anything new or noisy.)

Fresh Flow
Fresh Flow Deluxe
Drinkwell Original
Drinkwell Platinum
Drinkwell 360
Catit Small Fountain
Catit Deluxe Fountain

If anyone has any of these fountains....please let me know what you think of it: Noise, capacity, ease of cleaning, and do your cats use it?

I have the Drinkwell original and love it! The cats love drinking from it, and I think it has definitely increased their water intake. Kairi is so cute, she'll drink right from the spout, while Namine will drink from the bowl. I actually have a video of Kairi drinking from the spout.

Noise: There is a little noise, but mostly from the water. If you keep it on the low setting for the water, you can barely hear it at all.

Capacity: I refill it about every other day or so. Or I just add a little water every day to keep it full.

Ease of cleaning: It's really easy to clean. It takes less than a minute to disassemble it. Then you just clean the parts, like normal, and then assemble. I say it would take 5 minutes to clean. I usually let mine air dry, so I just fill a bowl of water and put it down for them.

I have the medium Fresh Flow Deluxe, and I love it. My kitties love it too... I fill the reservoir once a day for my three kitties, and wash it once a week. I don't think it is hard to clean at all - I use a baby bottle brush to clean it. The thing that I lke the most about it is that it is super quiet, almost silent...

I'd go for the drinkwell. I have the standard version & my kitties all love it. Easy to clean, and the free falling water is what reels them in!

I have a drinkwell too and freshen it with ice cubes once a day... cat loves it and drinks plenty of water.

I have a Drinkwell Platinum. Once a week, I take it apart and put it in the dishwasher. I only really need to fill it once a week as the reservoir is a pretty good size. I really like it, and happily recommend it. We've had ours for about a year, and the motor is still pretty quiet.

Mine had the ordinary Freshflow which was very quiet. The only problem is they've become bored with it and went back to having the kitchen tap turned on

I've just taken delivery at work today of the standard Drinkwell because the water flows like a tap, so i'll see what their like when i get home with it in an hour

I had a PetMate and didn't like it. I now have the CatIt (not the deluxe - I don't want their food bowls attached to the fountain). I clean and refill it once per week, usually on Saturday as part of my "cleaning" regimen. About once a month I put vinegar in it and let it soak for about 2 hours which cleans all the lime deposits off the fountain, including the motor and it works much better.

I like the CatIt because it is all encased and not easy for things to drop into the water or for cats to mess around with the water and spill it everywhere.

It's a hit!!! Infact i had to coax Sophie away from it so the others could have a turn

What i had to do though was to turn the flow of the water down because a trickle is what their used to, then they started drinking from it like they do the tap

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

It's a hit!!!

Infact i had to coax Sophie away from it so the others could have a turn

What i had to do though was to turn the flow of the water down because a trickle is what their used to, then they started drinking from it like they do the tap

Click to expand...

Fabulous! WTG Drinkwell.

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

It's a hit!!!

Infact i had to coax Sophie away from it so the others could have a turn

What i had to do though was to turn the flow of the water down because a trickle is what their used to, then they started drinking from it like they do the tap

Click to expand...

That's the one I have now, with a reservoir, and Jamie won't drink out of it at all.

I had a Petmate for several years, and he used that. It started getting loud, so DH threw it out. I should have bought another Petmate.

I find the Drinkwell a lot easier to care for, i.e., the motor is more accessible, and the reservoir is less messy to refill, but Jamie obviously preferred the Petmate's ramp to the Drinkwell's spout.

I've got the Drinkwell Platinum, and my 7 pound petite diva has no problems with it at all - she likes to supervise my weekly cleaning and refilling, though. if anything, if you have a Petsmart or other big box store around, ask about their return policy before you order. My Petsmart is wonderful about returns if kitty just doesn't seem keen on some item. If it's over $30, just make sure you have your receipt.

BTW, cleaning is a breeze - takes me maybe 5-6 minutes on a weekly basis, including refilling. And I am not mechanically inclined.

I must admit, when i saw it i could tell it would be easier to clean that the Petmate

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the great responses. I will be out and about on Wednesday, and hopefully I will get a fountain for them. I need to pick up some more corrugated tubing to cover the cord (Maggie still chews...) I'll let you know how they like it.

We've had a Petmate, CatIt and a Drinkwell. The Petmate's motor burned out (only 2 of my 3 cats liked it). I didn't like the CatIt--it was difficult for me to keep clean. But all of my cats liked the CatIt.

We have had a Drinkwell Original for several years now. I like it - easy to clean. The cats all love it. They don't drink out of water bowls anymore. No one bugs me about faucets anymore either.