# Cat fountains?



## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

So, these two pretty much only drink out of the toilet. Their previous owner gave me their plastic food and water bowls and at first I tried food in one side, water in the other, like most people. It's a little stand with two bowls that fit into it. I kept finding water splashed into the food because they love to slide on my tile floors and they crash into their bowl sometimes. I noticed them drinking out of the toilet (I question the sanitary-ness of this, but it's always flushed and I don't use any of those leave in chemical things). They also fight over the food bowl so I started dividing what little dry food they get into the two dishes and putting their water in a stoneware crock that holds a quart, maybe quart and a half. Thought it might remind them of the toilet. LOL. They ignore it and continue to drink from the toilet. It's really not feasable to expect my kids to close the bathroom door every time to keep them out of the bathroom, and I try to shut the toilet but not everyone does. 

So. I was thinking of getting them a fountain. Who has one? Does your cat use it? Any toilet drinkers who have been converted to fountain drinkers? I know Drinkwell is popular, I see a Hagen Catit drinking fountain on Amazon for $20, it gets good reviews, just wondering if MY cats would use it. And last but not least, do they all have to plug in or do any of them take batteries? Where I keep their bowls there is no outlet but if I had to I could move it to either the kitchen or the bathroom. Right now it's in between.

Soooo... any suggestions or experience with this?


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## ownedby4cats (Jan 23, 2012)

I have a Pioneer Pet Rain Drop Ceramic Fountain and love it! So do the "boys." They really drink a LOT more water since I bought this. Easy to clean, quiet and looks nice. I can't remember exactly what I paid, I think about $50.00 and that was with an extra package of filters.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

My cat has always been curious about the toilet but we always keep the lid down so he never actually drank from it. I have a plastic Drinkwell and he loves it, It did get clogged with cat hair once, but i was able to take the motor out and unclog it without issue. I dont like the plastic, i feel like it may harbor bacteria so as soon as i have some extra cash i am going to get a ceramic one.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I had 2 cat fountains in the past. One cheapie one I bought at Petco, lasted about 6 months, and then I got a Drinkwell. The fountains did not entice the cats to drink any more than they usually would. Most of the time, I found water all over the floor since they liked to play with the stream a lot. Then, again, for a couple of years now, I have fed mostly raw and canned so they really don't need to drink vast amounts of water. Now, I have a promotional green Iams plastic bowl I got at a cat show I went to, and go figure, they drink out of that quite often on hot days.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

*no luck with cat fountains here*

neither of our cats took to the fountains at all unfortunately. we had a Drinkwell one where the water came out of a spout and also a Petmate one where the water flows down a nice shiny mirror surface to a pool below. our first kitty preferred the bathtub spout so we were constantly on the alert to when she went into the bathroom to turn it on for her. we're lucky with Angel now, though, because she actually just loves drinking water out of porcelain bowls. it's easy enough for us to wash the bowls and change the water every morning since we never go anywhere. 

also, washing the water fountains was a pain and with all the nooks and crannies, i was worried bacteria would start growing in them despite the washings and the filters. 

maybe you can put up a sign in the bathroom to remind everyone to put the lid down and try the bowls instead. i know it'll be frustrating, though, trying to get everyone to comply.


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

If we find something they will drink out of maybe I'll make more effort to keep them out of the toilet. For now I kind of think, at least they're drinking, you know? And I try to discourage them from being on the counter and in the kitchen sink too.


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## Kitty-The-Cat (Apr 8, 2012)

1. I *always* close the toilet seat lid after I use the toilet. Not sure my cat would drink out of it if I didn't, but shortly after I got her when she was a kitten, she was always curious and checking out the toilet when I was taking a leak, so it didn't take me more than a day or two to figure out I need to always close the toilet seat lid.

2. I have a Drinkwell Platiunum fountain. She drinks out of it ... sometimes. The place she drinks water the most from, however, is a water dish I put in my upstairs office. She almost never drinks from an identical dish I put next to her cat food. Have no idea why she likes the bowl upstairs but not the other one, but ... there it is.

BTW, aparrently the cheaper Drinkwell fountains get a bit noisy. Mine does sometimes, but if you keep it full it's usually not bad. Sometimes it gets a bit noisy after I turn it on, but if I press on certain parts of the thing it'll quiet down. I'd recommend reading reviews on amazon.com.


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## sandyrivers (Apr 9, 2012)

*water fountain*

Hi,

I have a Cat-it cat fountain, and a Drinkwell cat fountain.

Both are a hit with my cats. They also have a few bowls or water also.

They like to drink from the fountains, but keep in mind that some cats also like to put their paw in the water and lick their paw afterwards to lap up the water.
I do get a bit of a mess around the fountains, as some of my cats like to paw at the water... but it's nothing really serious.

I would recommend them, as the are a novelty for the cats, and anything that makes them get more liquids is a good thing!

Just don't forget to change the filters! That way the water keeps nice and fresh!

sandyrivers


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## Mimosa (Dec 2, 2010)

I have owned two different cat-it fountains, have seen (and heard) all kinds of other fountains that my friends own but for me nothing compares to the cat mate fountain by petmate.
The cat mate is very silent and exceptionally easy to clean.


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## Lenkolas (Jan 18, 2011)

Hey 

I used to have a catit fountain, but then one of my cats got some nasty chin acne (probably not because of the fountain, since Gatito had a depressed immune system) so I got rid of all plastic dishes and water fountains.

I got a stone fountain that is meant to be used as decoration. I checked for any plastic part or any dangerous material, but it is completely made of stone (plus the pump that makes the water flow). I don't know if you can get one of these, but it is a good idea if you don't like plastic stuff.

I'll post a picture when I can


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## Julz (Feb 17, 2011)

I had a problem with my boys "digging" at their water bowl so I bought them a fountain partially so I didn't have to clean up water all the time lol.
I got the ceramic one from petco. I like the style, it runs quietly unless the water gets too low for the pump and my boys love it. The big plus is that it's too heavy for them to knock over. Not for lack of trying! They drink a lot more, too, than I'm used to cats drinking. My two big complaints are that there seems to be a lot of residue from the filter though that's easily remedied by not using the filter (it's not really necessary) and that the pump itself has been having some trouble starting again after it's been unplugged. It's fine while it's running but when you clean the fountain and plug it back in again, it needs a bit of a kick start to get running again. My other beef with it is that I bought a ceramic one to avoid the acne issues that another member mentioned (occurs when bacteria grows in the pores of the plastic) but the motor casing and motor itself is still plastic. I haven't really had a problem with it yet, I'm just keeping an eye on their chins.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

I'm not sure what kind I have, but my cats love their fountain. It stopped working once, but then I realized that I have to completely disassemble the fountain every so often to get fur off of the motor (Simone is fluffly and likes to stick his paw in the water). Finding the right size filter has been a pain, but overall I think the fountain is worth the trouble. FYI- my cats were scared of the fountain for a couple of days before they figured out the purpose of it. Just save your receipt for the first several months


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

You're right, I am not a big fan of plastic. I don't like to drink out of plastic, I swear I can taste it. So I like to get ceramic pet dishes too. Funny, after I posted this, I was doing the usual night time ritual, putting out the cats' dry food snack, rinsing and refilling the water bowl, and when I went to set the bowl down both cats were waiting for it. They both drank for a while, same thing this morning and afternoon. Yeah, I change their water 3 times a day. Maybe it just took them a few days to realize water tastes better out of this bowl. Also I have noticed the toilet lid has been down most of the time for the last couple days. Maybe the kids don't like them drinking from the toilet either. Still thinking about getting a fountain because when we go on vacation I can get someone to come once a day but probably not 3 times a day  and I don't want them going on a water strike.


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

Milky has been using a catmate fountain since about a week after we brought him home. For his first week we just had a water bowl for him. We definitely noticed that he drinks a lot more water since having the fountain. He sometimes likes to play with the stream but not very often and I personally think it's cute when he does it and don't mind when he gets water splashed around a bit. He paws at the fountain sometimes when he can't see the reflection and on the odd ocassion he likes to plunge his whole face in it but it's just water and a quick wipe fixes everything.

The fact that it's a plastic fountain is a little concern to me, but since we've got refill filters for it, I'm not going to let it go to waste as they are quite expensive to me (HK$80 for 2 which is around US$10). I clean the fountain regularly and use a toothbrush to get into all the nooks and crannies. It doesn't take more than a few minutes. I definitely recommend using a fountain and not just a normal bowl, but I am planning to buy a ceramic one when we have more money and another cat and a bigger apt to live in!


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