# Are water fountains REALLY worth it?



## anotheruser (Aug 17, 2011)

I'll be moving house shortly and was thinking, are fountains REALLY worth it?
My kitties do okay without it but for £25-£35, I'm thinking it might help them. I guess the things that worry me are noise, mess, upkeep effort and running cost.

Which one do you have?
Is it noisy?
Do your cats play with the water or actually drink it?
How often do you have to change the filters?
Do you know how much it costs to run?

I was looking at the Cat Mate but now I see there is 50% off the Drinkwell Platinum.

I'm just thinking as my kitties do okay without one, although I rarely see them drinking from their bowl. Hmm.

Thanks


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## Munchkyns (May 11, 2012)

I can't answer all your questions as I've only been using a fountain for a week, so don't really know how long the filters last and the overall running cost.
My kittens are young..now 14 weeks, & I started them off with a saucer & then moved on to a shallow bowl. I never saw them drink water & was never sure when the water level dropped slightly if they were drinking or whether it was just evaporation. Also, we live in a hard water area & each time I changed their water there seemed to be a rough deposit in the bowl.

I bought this one, one you haven't mentionned, Hagen Catit Drinking Fountain 3l: great deals on food and drinks dispensers at zooplus. I was a little worried at first as they just seemed to look at it, dip their paws in the bowl & then of course walk away in disgust. I had of course removed their water bowl & it didn't take them long to start using the fountain. I now see them drinking from it several times a day. Mainly from the bowl, but my girl also licks the dome & the top as the water is flowing out.
The water looks fresh and clean and it is very very quiet. If anything I hear the water trickling rather than the pump.

I'm really happy with it and will be using a fountain from now on.


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## amszephyr (Mar 10, 2011)

I have this one as do my sister, mother & a friend - all of our cats drink happily from them and have done for years. 
Cleaning is simple enough - I tend to let mine run through with white vinegar added to the water for 5-10 minutes before taking it apart for washing. The filters are frequently on offer in [email protected] or Zoo+ and I find mine last much longer between uses than the packages suggest (but then I have short-haired cats so there's not much fur/fluff to get trapped).


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## Space Chick (Dec 10, 2011)

anotheruser said:


> are fountains REALLY worth it? In my opinion Yes
> 
> Which one do you have? The Drinkwell Platinum
> Is it noisy? its a quiet hum and a quiet sound of trickling water, you get used to it really quickly then it becomes background noise like a fridge
> ...


Hope this has helped


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

I bought a Drinkwell one, I think it is noiser than I though it would be. It is located in the kitchen and I can hear it when I am upstairs.

She only really seems interested in it when I top it up, however I have just ordered one of those lovely ones Hobbs posted about. 

No idea about the running costs - can't be much.

I live in the northwest we have great tap water, so no I don't change the filter as much as it should be done either.


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## Mo1959 (Mar 31, 2012)

Nice Scottish water here so I think I'll just stick to letting her share the dog's bowl.  What I usually do is fill the kettle last thing at night and boil it then fill the bowl in the morning. Just in case there are any nasties in the water.


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## sarahecp (Aug 22, 2011)

anotheruser said:


> Which one do you have? Cat Mate.
> Is it noisy? I don't think it is  OH does
> Do your cats play with the water or actually drink it? I've had it about 3 months, I've seen Seb drink from it once, Frankie never. Seb is fascinated by water but never seen him play with it.
> How often do you have to change the filters? Every 4-5 weeks.
> Do you know how much it costs to run? Filters are £4.99 from [email protected], £3.99 I think From ZooPlus.


Even though they don't drink from it I like to have it there just in case, I've also got a few water bowls around the house, but they're both not very big drinkers.

I clean it out once a week and I use bottled water as we live in a really hard water area, the tap water tastes horrid, I don't drink it so won't let the boys  I know it has a filter but it's got a very strong chlorine smell.

HTH


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Which one do you have? Cat Mate
Is it noisy? No
Do your cats play with the water or actually drink it? Yes they do both, daily.
How often do you have to change the filters? Every month or 2
Do you know how much it costs to run? Not much


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## MoggyBaby (Mar 8, 2011)

Due to not having any plug points in a decent location, we can't have one at Moggy Towers. 

I feed wet food however, with plenty of added water (soup anyone??? ) to ensure a decent fluid intake. Given the amount of pee lumps I remove each day from their litter trays, I'd say this method is working just fine!!!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Some cats much prefer drinking running water, and in such cases a pet fountain is ideal. (less wasteful than leaving the tap running!)

But if your cats drink happily from a bowl I would stick with that.


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

To be honest, only one of mine drinks it regularly (Treacle) because he mainly eats dry, Jumpy is very fascinated with it and loves to stare at it and pounce when I fill it up!! And Pixie has lapped from a bowl a few times, but put her paw in the fountain last night - multiple uses for different cats!!


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

Like a lot of things we buy for our cats it is not absolutely essential, but if you have a spare £25 it's a nice thing to have. I have the Catmate and it is silent, my tap water is filtered so I don't change the fountain filters all that often which keeps cost down.


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## coral. (May 11, 2011)

anotheruser said:


> I'll be moving house shortly and was thinking, are fountains REALLY worth it?
> My kitties do okay without it but for £25-£35, I'm thinking it might help them. I guess the things that worry me are noise, mess, upkeep effort and running cost.
> 
> Which one do you have?
> ...


Thanks for making this thread, as i was thinking of buying one of these myself for my 4 when i move, so its intresting reading peoples answers!


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## TatiLie (Nov 2, 2010)

Which one do you have?
Catit Design

Is it noisy?
 when the water level goes down it gets noisier but in a normal level it's far less noisy than a fridge

Do your cats play with the water or actually drink it?
 In the beginning she played but now she just drink it. I can see by the amount and size of the litter clumps.

How often do you have to change the filters?
 I noticed that the most dirt of the water was actually the filter bits, so I removed the filter and change the water more frequently.

Do you know how much it costs to run?
 I haven't calculated.


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## Jiskefet (May 15, 2011)

We have 2:










and










They love the running water, some of my cats will not drink from a bowl if they can help it.


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## Alaskacat (Aug 2, 2010)

I've got the drinkwell platinum and you can hear the trickle of water from it but it's not really noisy, it's in a sunny location though and does go through filters a bit. I am sure that it encourages my elderly, dry addicted, silver tabby to drink more as she chooses to use the fountain over any bowl and i'm sure drank less when we were between fountains - be careful not to drop the clear water container in the sink as you can't buy it on it's own so I had to buy a whole new fountain.

I think it was worth it and coughed up to replace it, as they do seem to like it - though my BSH girl still drinks from the tap if she gets a choice. Probably less point in having one if your cats will happily eat wet food though I guess.


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## MaineCooner (Jun 26, 2011)

My lot are addicted to running water but I've not bought one yet because of the associated electric cable - they so love to chew cable I have to keep them away from all electrical appliances!!!


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## dee o gee (May 21, 2010)

Which one do you have? This one: http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_bowls_feeders/cat_fountains/14806

Is it noisy? A slight hum in the background like a fridge, you can set the water flow speed so you can hear trickling water or not. I had it in my bedroom for a while and when I took it out I actually found it hard to sleep without it, you get so used to the constant background hum. It's a bit noisier on wooden floors so I put two facecloths underneath it.

Do your cats play with the water or actually drink it? Bit of both.

How often do you have to change the filters? I couldn't tell you how long the current one is in, months probably. I just rinse it through and stick it back in, still have 1 or 2 left in the press and when they run out I don't plan on buying any more, they're not necessary.

Do you know how much it costs to run? Not a clue, if it's any help it's only a tiny little motor in it so probably not much.


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## Burretje (May 7, 2012)

anotheruser said:


> I'll be moving house shortly and was thinking, are fountains REALLY worth it?
> My kitties do okay without it but for £25-£35, I'm thinking it might help them.


A water fountain is an investment worth making, especially if you feed dry kibble. Cats would normally obtain the necessary fluids from their prey. They have a poor thirst drive. They need to drink about 250 ml a day (I think that is about 0.44 pint?). Cats rarely drink that much. This means that most cats fed on dry kibble are chronically dehydrated to a certain extend. A fountain will entice them to drink more.

So when you take all this in account: Yes! They are certainly worth it.



anotheruser said:


> Which one do you have?


Catmate



anotheruser said:


> Is it noisy?


No, as mentioned in another post: The fridge makes more noise. It does get louder however if the waterlevel is too low.This is actually a good thing, since it damages the pump if it runs in too little water.



anotheruser said:


> Do your cats play with the water or actually drink it?


They drink it and do not play with it.



anotheruser said:


> How often do you have to change the filters?


I do not use filters. The water quality is very good here. I drink from the tap myself, so I do not see why I should use a filter at all. Especially since I clean the fountain regularly.

Be carefull using vinegar when cleaning the machine. Vinegar is toxic for cats. So make sure to rinse it very thoroughly.

If you do want to use filters, consider buying them in the Dutch Zooplus store. Considering the exchange rate between the Pound and Euro they are quite a bit cheaper there. The fountain itself is cheaper as well, but this does not help, since you'll need a different connector.



anotheruser said:


> Do you know how much it costs to run?


The pump uses 2W, so using that you can calculate the running costs. It uses 17,5 kWh a year. You need to multiply this number with the price of a kWh. In the Netherlands (where I live) I pay about 0.20 euro for a kWh, which means the fountain costs about 3.50 euro (which is about 2.80 pounds?) a year in electricity. You should check this against your local electricity prices, since they can be different from what we pay here.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

I have got this one (see pic). It is ceramic, easy to clean, virtually silent and it looks fab! Great investment imo. Needs cleaning about once a week though I know some people who have this one and who change the water more or even less often.


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## Decima (May 11, 2011)

I have the Catmate but have stopped using it. 
It was quiet in use.
He didn't play with it.
I can't remember how often I changed the filters.

Why I've stopped using it:
My cat didn't seem to be drinking any more from it than from a bowl.
I didn't like the trailing electric lead.
It didn't look attractive (some other types are much more attractive so that wouldn't be an issue).
It was a faff to clean.
The filters were an added expense.

My cat prefers to drink out of a glass (yes, he's pampered!), and that means it's easy to see how much he's drinking.


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## Cats cats cats (Feb 4, 2011)

My kittens are obsessed with cables so i cannot have one  nothing is plugged in when they are around ........... OH has built a wooden cover for the TV cables and sockets so at least we can watch tv !   I can't even hoover with them around as they're not that scared of the hoover and the attraction of the cable is just too much for them !   

I did have a water fountain years ago though and none of the cats were interested !


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

We've had our Drinkwell Platinum for about a month now. The cats seem to love it. Jezebel, who hardly ever drank, plays in it multiple times a day, but she doesn't cause a mess--she just sticks her paw in the stream. They all prefer it to the dog bowl, which remains for our old man, Aber. He hates the fountain. Lots more pee lumps in the litter box now. It's very quiet, and I don't think uses a lot of electricity at all. Can't see a difference in the bill anyway.


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## anotheruser (Aug 17, 2011)

Just a quick note of thanks for all the replies 
You have all been most helpful.


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## 1290423 (Aug 11, 2011)

In our instance no, cat wouldn't go near it, but passed it on to a lady in weim rescue who also had cats that suffered with something! Crystals mabe???? and her cats loved it


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