Best and most affordable water drinking fountain.

[yarra]

Originally Posted by oregpsnow

I had a Catit fountain but it was expensive, noisy and hard to clean. I was also concerned about bacterial growth in the plastic over the long term. I decided to design my own. I got a ceramic dog bowl, a cheap aquarium pump, some tubing and an airstone. The pump can go anywhere as long as the tubing can reach the bowl. Put the airstone in the bowl and you have gentle bubbles. My picky cat loves the bubbles. Every few days dump the water in the sink and put the bowl in the dishwasher. No muss, no fuss, no filters. I replace the airstone every few months so it doesn't get too yucky but they only cost about $.50.

I am also concerned with bactiria growth in the plastic. (and just the chemical leaching in general that plastic does) I have thought about removing this great little pump from this cheap fountain and making my own out of a ceramic bowl.

Great minds think alike!!

 

[kit e cat]

I bought the Petco fountain right after I replied to this thread the last time. Love it! With my petco card it ended up only being $17.99! I will say its small though, and with 12 cats drinking out of it I have to pour some water in morning and night, but I just bought a gallon jug of spring water and I leave it on the floor beside the bowl. But for normal people with only a few cats

this will work fine. I use this on my top floor and my Drinkwell Platinum downstairs. Thinking about getting the Whisker City one from Petsmat for my dining room.

 

[nekochan]

I have a Petmate fountain and a Catit Fresh and Clear fountain, and they both work just fine. However I really want the new Drinkwell 360 stainless steel model!

I'd rather have my cats drinking from stainless steel than plastic because it's easier to keep clean and plus it looks really cool.

 

[iheartmycats]

I also recommend the Petco brand fountain. You can't beat the price and me and my cats love ours so far--I'm probably going to get a 2nd one considering the number of cats I have. Its easy to clean, doesn't take up much room, and makes a pleasant "fountain" sound. I think its definitely the way to go if you're looking for affordability and quality.

 

[nekochan]

I take back my last post. I just found a website that makes ceramic pet fountains out of American materials and they actually chill the water as well as having two filters! It's called the "Perfect Pet Fountain." Now THAT is what I really want. Of course it is really expensive. :/

 

[kittykrista]

I'm also going give that inexpensive Petco fountain a try, but I'm putting it under the tree from Santa so I'll be leaving feedback after Christmas to let you know how they like it.

 

[ondine]

I bought three Petco fountains and set them up two weeks ago. Today I changed all the filters and washed them all in less than half an hour! It used to take me almost two hours with the Drinkwells. Lord, I hated how complicated those things were.

So I am sold on the Petco ones. I got all three for the price of one Drinkwell. At that price, if the plastic gets too crudy, I can replace it easily.