Cats Love Their New Shiny Water Fountain! :)

So I decided to upgrade to the Pioneer Pet Big Max Premium Stainless Steel Water Fountain, and all three cats love it. Even Caesar, who used to be a diehard faucet drinker, likes to drink from this. Maybe it's something about the wider bowl. It is super quiet (although the memory foam bath mat that I put underneath helps absorb a lot of the sound) and super easy to clean (only two tiers with minimal nooks and crannies). The reviews on Amazon didn't excite me, but I decided to take a chance. I think the trick is to keep it clean, and that includes cleaning the motor. I wonder if a lot of the bad reviews about the motor dying were because people weren't cleaning it properly and/or frequently enough.

Sorry, I didn't think to get an action shot of the cats actually drinking from it! But here's the fountain by itself:

Ooohhh, nice!  I want to upgrade my cats' plastic water fountains to stainless steel--I've just spent SO much money on the little buggers in the past few months, I haven't done it yet.  But maybe Santa will bring them after all....  

That looks awesome.   I'm gonna have to talk to the hubby and investing in one.  We have a plastic one for our kitties that they love.

Their previous fountain was plastic, but with multiple health issues in my three cats, I wanted to eliminate the possibly of a plastic allergy/issue. This was kind of an impulse purchase. I finally just broke down and bought it before another issue came up that would deplete my funds! I'm glad I did.

The fountain looks great. I have actually seen this at my local petsmart and have been wanting to get one for our cats, especially Max (pictured) who loves to drink from the tap. I think this would make a great xmas gift. Thanx for the reminder

I LOVE this fountain, as do my cats! I've done a review on this site about this fountain, under the Reviews>water fountains tab.

It's SO easy to clean. You can put it in the dishwasher, but there are two parts so honestly it's just easier to clean by hand. You do have to be diligent with cleaning the motor, that's why a lot of reviewers say the motor broke within a short period of time - because they didn't clean the motor out! The motor collects cat fur and debris that may get into the bowl, so you have to get it out for the motor to run smoothly. The price is reasonable. I paid around $50 for it on Amazon. Other fountains I've tried cost more.

I've had three other models, the Drinkwell 360 (plastic), the Petmate water fountain and the Petco big ceramic fountain. This Pioneer Pet Big Max is the best! The two plastic ones were a pain to clean, and the ceramic one got heavy and I was afraid that I'd drop it someday (I have weakness in my arms). This water fountain is very lightweight (of course it gets heavier with water) and it keeps the water cool. The flow is nice and quiet and my cats love drinking from the flowing water. One cat just likes to drink from the basin.

This is a great fountain for multiple pets. Just as great for a single pet, but definitely big enough for my three cats to drink at once without getting snippy! I really encourage people who are interested in buying a fountain to try this one. If you have questions about the Drinkwell 360, Petmate or Petco ceramic fountains, let me know and I'll give you an honest opinion!

I just ordered two--one for our Three Amigos to share in the kitchen and one for the Newbies' safe room.  They should arrive on Christmas Eve.      

Like @molldee, I, too, had other fountains prior to this one. The first one was the Drinkwell Platinum (plastic). I thought I was getting the very best by the price I paid. So wrong! It was a major PITA to clean...so bad in fact that I dreaded doing it every time and wasn't keeping it as clean as I should have. I couldn't take it anymore. I finally cleaned it up real good, and stored it away. I'll probably end up selling it or giving it away.

My second one was this little rinky-dinky Petco brand fountain (http://www.petco.com/product/109056/Petco-Automatic-Pet-Water-Fountain.aspx). Actually, this one was great and so much cheaper. The cats liked it and I liked it, but I wanted to get rid of plastic. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have had a reason to switch. I'll probably hang on to this as a back-up. It also uses the same motor as the Big Max fountain I just bought, so I already have replacement parts!

I agree that the motor does need to be cleaned...with any fountain. I think it's actually kind of fun to take the motor apart and clean it. I use q-tips, toothpicks, and a small bristled brush used for baby bottle nipples to get in tiny spaces.

@betsygee, I hope you (and the kitties!) enjoy it!

I have two of the rinky-dink Petco plastic ones, too!     Actually they work just fine and cats like them just fine, but I also want to get rid of plastic.  Good idea to keep them for replacement motors!

I had a heck of a time finding this again because I thought it was for the stainless Drinkwell.  I did find an useful article on 3 warning signs of dementia

Anyway, when I first read it, I thought I was okay with our old Drinkwell, which is my second.  However when I cleaned it last night, I had a very difficult time getting the pump back in.  I replaced the old one because I had so much trouble getting the pump out!  I don't know what happens to them.  I've read complaints about the pumps failing too, but I've cleaned them when I clean the fountain and neither of mine failed.

My question on this one is whether there is much of a stream of water like the Drinkwell?  Dandy seems to like that.

DianaMc said:

 
My question on this one is whether there is much of a stream of water like the Drinkwell?  Dandy seems to like that.

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If you look closely at the picture in the first post, there is a little "waterfall" that runs over the side of the top tier, but it does not have a stand-alone stream of water like what the Drinkwell 360 has. I found that my cats are neutral to a stream or no stream...they just like the water to be moving.

Would love to see more product reviews of these in our Reviews section! We're going to start offering monthly perks for reviews and December is included, so whenever you get a chance to add a review, good or bad - 

 [product="19143"]Pioneer Fountain Big Max Stainless Steel​[/product]  

Anne said:

 
Would love to see more product reviews of these in our Reviews section! We're going to start offering monthly perks for reviews and December is included, so whenever you get a chance to add a review, good or bad - 

 [product="19143"]Pioneer Fountain Big Max Stainless Steel​[/product]  

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Thanks Anne! It's on my to-do. jcat let me know that it was added to the reviews section.

The cats use the new fountains just fine and the best part is they're QUIET!!!!  What a difference from the previous ones.  I haven't had them long enough to know about ease of cleaning, changing filters, etc. but so far I'm happy.

Glad to hear that the cats are loving their new fountains, betsygee, and that they are really quiet. As an update to my comments above, I purchased the 'Raindrop' model within the last week. It is a smaller version of the Big Max. Well I never expected this to happen, but after only two days use, the pump stopped working! I was quite surprised given all of the positive things I read about Pioneer's products. Its when I googled the 'Raindrop' drinking fountain after the pump quit, that I found a few negative reviews about the pump causing problems and dying prematurely. When I first plugged the fountain, I noticed right away that the sound of the pump was quite noticeable and louder than I expected given that it does say right on the box that this fountain is 'ultra quiet'. All three cats would not go near it at first due to the sound of the pump I figure, which was probably defective from the get-go. Anyway, my local Pet Valu took it back and have ordered the Big Max model. Hopefully I will have better luck with this one as Max did finally have a go at the other one, but the point of this is so all cats can have a go and enjoy lapping at the fountain.  

I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread. A cat fountain is on my to-get list.

Bookmarked the 'Pioneer Fountain Big Max' and the 'Petco Automatic Water Fountain'

betsygee said:

 
The cats use the new fountains just fine and the best part is they're QUIET!!!!  What a difference from the previous ones.  I haven't had them long enough to know about ease of cleaning, changing filters, etc. but so far I'm happy.

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Yes, they are very quiet! I'm glad you (and the cats) are happy so far.

oneandahalfcats said:

 
Glad to hear that the cats are loving their new fountains, betsygee, and that they are really quiet. As an update to my comments above, I purchased the 'Raindrop' model within the last week. It is a smaller version of the Big Max. Well I never expected this to happen, but after only two days use, the pump stopped working! I was quite surprised given all of the positive things I read about Pioneer's products. Its when I googled the 'Raindrop' drinking fountain after the pump quit, that I found a few negative reviews about the pump causing problems and dying prematurely. When I first plugged the fountain, I noticed right away that the sound of the pump was quite noticeable and louder than I expected given that it does say right on the box that this fountain is 'ultra quiet'. All three cats would not go near it at first due to the sound of the pump I figure, which was probably defective from the get-go. Anyway, my local Pet Valu took it back and have ordered the Big Max model. Hopefully I will have better luck with this one as Max did finally have a go at the other one, but the point of this is so all cats can have a go and enjoy lapping at the fountain.

 

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Oh no! I can't believe the pump stopped working on the Raindrop model after only two days! I'm glad you were able to return it. You know, I think in the manufacturing process of these pumps, some of them just turn out to be duds, and it's all a matter of whether or not you're the lucky person to get one.    I hope you have better luck with the Big Max.

Oohhh...that is really nice looking! Very shiny and attractive. I am ready to break down and buy a fountain and will definitely check this one out.

My question is: do the cats play in it or with it a lot? Pooper is driving me nuts playing in the water bowl all of the time and I don't know if a cat fountain will stop her or encourage her.

I have 6 cats and my fountain lasted less then 5 minutes. See there great as long as your cats hate water and getting wet, but I have a set if twins that love water and couldn't wait to take a bath in it. We now have giant ceramic doggie water bowls that they can't flip over in all our bathrooms. Everyday they have to be washed good before changing the water because the twins like soaking their paws in them. I just love paw prints on my hardwood floors. Gotta love those fur balls.

We have a water fountain that I put out for Mogli right after we got him, and put away again after a few days because he figured it was a toy rather than something to drink out of and made a real mess. He still drowns his toys in his water bowls, but he doesn't flick the water all over the walls and floor like he did with the fountain. :lol3: