Any benefit to cat fountains?

[catsallaround]

If it is a young kitten may want to hold off past its stage of toy toy toy!!!  Cord may get messed up/moved to much.

Always hated the gravity waterers, just seemed...dirty.  I guess the only people I saw use them were the ones who would "top it off" and never really clean it out.
 

 

[emilymaywilcha]

If it is a young kitten may want to hold off past its stage of toy toy toy!!!  Cord may get messed up/moved to much.

Always hated the gravity waterers, just seemed...dirty.  I guess the only people I saw use them were the ones who would "top it off" and never really clean it out.
 

Older cats also think electrical cords are string toys. You just have to cat-proof it if possible.

I hate gravity-based waterers because the water just sits there, so the only benefit is you don't fill the bowl as oftne. To always have fresh, not stale, water, the cat needs a pump.

 

[Willowy]

Unfortunately, where she lived, I had no outlet to plug it into. where the food bowl was. Moving the food bowl was not an option because Emily would not eat if I did that.

You don't have to keep the water bowl/fountain near the food bowl. . .

I got a fountain, and the cats did like it. But since I switched them to all canned food, they hardly drink any water. So I don't feel motivated to do the extra cleaning for the fountain :anon:. They drink out of the dogs' bowl, and I have small glass bowls by every sink that I refrresh every time I use that sink. And one ceramic bowl on the floor, in case someone doesn't want to jump onto a sink.

 

[carolina]

This is not going to be popular :anon:
But a study says that it makes no difference whatsoever.....

J Feline Med Surg. 2010 Jun;12(6):431-4. Epub 2009 Dec 14.
Effect of water source on intake and urine concentration in healthy cats.
Grant DC.
Source

Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0442, USA. [email protected]
Abstract

Increasing water intake and decreasing urine concentration are recommended for cats with urolithiasis and with idiopathic cystitis. Fountains are advocated to encourage drinking; however, effects on drinking of fountains have not been reported in cats living in pet owners homes. Thirteen healthy cats were assigned to have 24-h water intake and urine osmolality and specific gravity measured when water was offered from a bowl or fountain. One cat developed excessive barbering, vomiting, and refusal to drink water offered from the fountain. For the remaining 12 cats, intake was slightly greater from the fountain. However, urine osmolality was not significantly different. In this study, a fountain failed to substantially increase water intake and dilute urine in cats. A similar study including a greater period of time and additional cats may clarify the results of this study.

Copyright 2009 ISFM and AAFP. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=water fountain cat

On another hand, consumption of wet only, vs Dry food, was proven to prevent oxalate crystals (not so clear on Struvite)

Br J Nutr. 2011 Oct;106 Suppl 1:S128-30.
Effect of dietary water intake on urinary output, specific gravity and relative supersaturation for calcium oxalate and struvite in the cat.
Buckley CM, Hawthorne A, Colyer A, Stevenson AE.
Source

Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, Freeby Lane, Waltham-on-the-Wolds, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE14 4RT, UK.
Abstract

It has been reported that daily fluid intake influences urinary dilution, and consequently the risk of urolithiasis in human subjects and dogs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of dietary moisture on urinary parameters in healthy adult cats by comparing nutritionally standardised diets, varying only in moisture content. A total of six cats were fed a complete dry food (6.3 % moisture) hydrated to 25.4, 53.2 and 73.3 % moisture for 3 weeks in a randomised block cross-over design. Urinary specific gravity (SG), urine volume, water drunk and total fluid intake were measured daily; relative supersaturation (RSS) for calcium oxalate (CaOx) and struvite was calculated using the SUPERSAT computer program. Cats fed the 73.3 % moisture diet produced urine with a significantly lower SG (P

 

[orientalslave]

I cleaned the reservoir for one of my friend's fountains (she has at least 2) at the weekend and it was really yucky.  I notice that with the current ones the reservoir can go in the dishwasher, but everywhere that the water goes needs cleaning at least weekly, up to daily.  I'll stick with a large stainless dish that goes in the dishwasher.

 

[carolina]

I cleaned the reservoir for one of my friend's fountains (she has at least 2) at the weekend and it was really yucky.  I notice that with the current ones the reservoir can go in the dishwasher, but everywhere that the water goes needs cleaning at least weekly, up to daily.  I'll stick with a large stainless dish that goes in the dishwasher.

you know, I noticed that from mine too.... And since I don't have a dishwasher, cleaning it daily is not an option. That thing just kept harboring and blending bacteria. They barely drank from it, and when they drank, The water wasn't good as clean fresh water.
The filter is absolutely psychological too, as the water goes over and around..... On their volume of pee, the difference to me is in The diet..... They pee far more. If they eat freeze dry treats, or if Lucky goes on kibble for a day (happens from time to time, although rare) the thirst level increases and they drink more.... So I can pretty much tell that wet food is the way to go in keeping them hydrated, imho.