Water fountains

[boscibo]

Does anyone here have one of those drinking fountains, with the moving water? I'm thinking about getting one for my cats. There are two main brands, Drinkwell and Fresh Flow that I have seen. Is one any better than the other, the Drinkwell is more expensive, but the Fresh Flow is available at my local Wal-Mart. Anyone have opinions?

[AmberLee]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Fresh Flow.

We've had the Drinkwell with the detachable auxillary reservoir for about two years. Both fur babies love love it. I burnt out the motor once (forgot and left it plugged in when we went away on holiday) -- it's very easily replaced though. I rave about the Drinkwell, but perhaps you should get comments on both systems and evaluate which works best for you.

[auggie]

boscibo,
I have both Fountains. My cats love the Drinkwell but totally ignore the Fresh Flow.

[Janeway]

I had the Fresh Flow and my cats loved it. They're all boys and I'll do anything to get them to drink as much as possible! However, it stopped working and I suspect the pump burned out after only a couple of months. No mention on how to replace it, so I'm pretty disappointed in it--what a waste of money! I've just ordered the Drinkwell mainly because it says the pump can be easily replaced. Not that I have the Drinkwell yet to be able to recommend, pump replacability should be a main consideration. I wish I had known that would be a problem. Now, fingers are crossed that the extra filters I bought will fit the Drinkwell. I'll let you know how my boys like it, but I'll bet they're going to love it! BTW, I couldn't find it in any of the local pet supply stores, so I had to buy it online. The best price was at
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1783
If you decide to get it, you might want to go ahead and order the extra filters, because you'll need them if your cats use it.

[Cataholic]

A long time ago...well, like five years, I tried one of these things. The pump seemed kinda loud to me and the cats (no, I didn't drink from it- I use the sink)...is the pump quieter now these days? What are the benefits to it over water from the filtered fridge? I put ice cubes in mine, cause it seems to get warm - room temp, too soon...

[NoahsMommy]

Originally posted by lut
There was no mentioning of when to replace the filter on the box . Does anyone know ? I hope that the shop where I got it has the replacement filters !!:rolleyes:

Every two to three months....depending on if your kitties like to put stuff in the fountain....:)

[sasvermont]

I have the DrinkWell version and my cats love it. I have had no trouble with it.

[Freckles]

This is a good thread because it shows PT cats demonstrating fountain use.
fountains (http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13953&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)

[boscibo]

Thanks for the great advice! I'm definitely going to get one, probably on eBay (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=Drinkwell+fountain&categoryid=&ht=1&category2=20737&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&BasicSearch=&from=R2). Hanna loves running water, and I think Abby will like it too.

[Cataholic]

But....don't they make alot of noise?

[krazyaboutkatz]

I have the drinkwell and I've had it since August. I bought it for Sunny's 2nd birthday. Storm and Sunny seem to love it but I haven't seen Pepper using it at all. He seems to like the other water dish. I also like the fact that you can buy the detachable auxillary reservoir so that you don't have to add water to it all the time. I think that the motor is very quiet. I mainly hear water running. I also use bottled water because my tap water is very hard and the instructions said that this could be hard on the motor. Here's a pic of Sunny and the fountain.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid29/pe6a4b659425065ac6f26e42bb612451b/fd5c12f1.jpg

[moosmom]

I bought a fountain out of one of those "gadget" catalogs. My cats used it for a while but then went back to the water bowl. It was actually the 3rd fountain I bought. My cats seem to like drinking out of my "serenity" fountain (the one with the rocks). So I clean that out every week and keep it filled with filtered water. What the heck. At least I know they're drinking. Maybe I should just put it on the floor next to their dishes:confused: .

[boscibo]

Update: I bought a Drinkwell on eBay last week and it came today! Hanna is fascinated by it - she just sits in front of it and stares at the water. I was hoping that by getting her a fountain, she would leave me alone in the bathroom, but no such luck. She will tear herself away from the fountain long enough to follow me into the bathroom and harass me in there.

She likes playing in it. :rolleyes: Abby likes it too, but I am keeping the normal water bowl out for Bo - he's a little suspicious. Thanks for all the advice, and Hanna thanks you too! She thinks it's the greatest thing ever!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad that you bought one. It may take your cats a little while to get used to it but I'm sure they'll love it. :)