Although cats are descended from desert creatures, they do have a need for water, especially cats that eat only dry food, and older cats who may be prone to kidney failure. It is important to keep a source of clean, fresh water available at all times for thirsty cats. The development of automatic pet fountains has made that easier for busy companions of cats.
Many cats like to "play" with water, and enjoy drinking running water from a sink or tub faucet. This seems to be a natural instinct, as moving water is aerated, and "fresher" than water allowed to sit in a bowl. Running water also seems to stay cooler than standing water, making it more appealing to cats.
Of course, allowing the kitchen faucet to run continuously for kitty's pleasure, or running back and forth into the kitchen to turn on the faucet at her whim, can be annoying to even the most loving slave to cats. Many caregivers also have a problem with counter-surfing cats. It was out of this sort of frustration that the Drinkwell Pet Fountain was born. The first prototype was designed by a veterinarian, Dr. M. Burns, to accomodate her cat, Munchkin's quest for running water.
Today's Drinkwell Pet Fountain has undergone some changes since then, including an increased base capacity, a flow adjustment lever, and an optional supplementary reservoir which doubles the capacity, providing enough water for several days (about 100 oz.).
The test product we received was the "deluxe" version, including the extra reservoir. Setting up the fountain seemed to be intuitive, until I found the flow adjustment lever kept falling off.
However, after reading the
instructions again (mea culpa), I found the "trick," and the fountain was set up and ready for action in short order. Although the Drinkwell Pet Fountain has a charcoal filter, because of a "suspect" water supply in our area, I prefer to use bottled drinking water in our cats' pet fountains (we now have two).
I had heard comments from users of an older Drinkwell model, that the "noise" of the splashing water frightened some cats. I found no particular noise, and our test cats, Jaspurr, Joey, and Bubba, were attracted, if anything, by the soft splashing sound. As soon as I turned the fountain on, Joey ran up to investigate, followed quickly by Jaspurr. For "scairdy cats," the flow adjustment lever can be set for a very low flow of water, which allows the water to splash higher on the ramp and not directly into the water below, thus softening any splashing noise.
The Drinkwell Pet Fountain, like any other appliance, is not intended for "set-up-and-forget" use. A certain amount of maintenance is necessary, such as cleaning and refilling
before empty. My husband learned that lesson while I was out of town for a couple of days.
He was awakened by a "terrible noise," and upon investigation, found that it was coming from the Drinkwell, so he unplugged it. A cleaning and refilling took care of the problem, and now all of the humans in the house are aware of the necessary basic maintenance.For doing exactly what it is advertised to do, I would give the Drinkwell Pet Fountain a 5-star rating. It provides an excellent source of fresh, pure water for my water-loving kitties, and when I float a few small pieces of ice in the bowl, it becomes simply irrestible.
Having said that, because of personal experience with the difficulty in cleaning both the bowl and the pump unit, along with numerous complains from my readers about defective pumps in newer models, I must downgrade my rating to 3.5 stars.
Will I continue to buy and use the Drinkwell Fountain? Probably, until a better one comes along.
It should also be noted that later models of Drinkwell come with larger reservoirs, in "designer colors," and one model holds an insert for growing "cat grass" in the edge of the drinking bowl. I've tried that one, and the cats love it.
