Upon first hearing that the cat water fountain was a popular home and garden item, I started to question what our world was coming to. We’re people really getting huge water fountains with cats in the middle shooting out water?? As it turns out, a cat water fountain has nothing to do with the type of fountains we see in our gardens.
As you can see, I am not a cat owner (I’m allergic, and prefer dogs). However, upon learning about these machines I’ve realized they are pretty high-tech, and serve a good purpose. In short, pet fountains continuously dispense and filter water. However, to sum these fountains up in one sentence would be an injustice. These are actually high-tech water dispensing machines.
If you’ve spent anytime searching for a cat water fountain before, you know there are only a handful of brands to choose from. Drinkwell seems to be the winner in this category, although Pioneer, Cat Mate, Pet Mate and Pet Safe all have products to challenge the Drinkwell line. Before we get into individual models though, let’s look at the basics.
Cat Water Fountain Basics
Pet water fountains work by continuously recycling water through a charcoal filter to remove bad tastes, odors and chemicals. Given this, you need to keep in mind this is not a one-time purchase; pet fountain filters do need to be replaced. The second thing you need to consider is the reservoir size.
Most models hold anywhere from 100 to 128 ounces (one gallon = 128 ounces). This is something to consider as large pets consume more water. Meaning, if you have a large cart and get a fountain with a small reservoir, you will need to fill it relatively often. This is one area where the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain pulls ahead: it holds 168 ounce, which is about 1.3 gallons. In general, it’s recommended that cats get 1.074 ounces of water per pound of weight, while dogs should get .307-1.074 ounces per pound of weight.
Another thing to consider when shopping for a cat water fountain is the design. While the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain doesn’t look bad, the Pioneer Stainless Steel Raindrop Design is much sleeker, and looks somewhat like a piece of modern art. Same goes for the black ceramic Pioneer Raindrop Design fountain. With that said, both Pioneer models hold a mere 60 ounces; a mere 36% of what the Drinkwell Platinum model holds.
The last thing to consider is the cost of replacement filters. Replacement filters for the Drinkwell Platinum models are $6.99 on Amazon; replacements for the Pioneer models are $7.99; PetSafe filters are $8; and Cat Mate filters are $5.95.
Cat Water Fountain Models & Reviews
As far as consumer reviews, Cat Mate wins the race with an average 4.4 (out of 5) rating. With that said, the Cat Mate pet fountain is not very attractive, and holds a mere 70 ounces.
One step behind we have the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain, with a 4.2 rating, 168 ounces of storage and added features such as: a hair trap, a 5″ water spout to encourage your pets drinking, a patented water distribution hose to reduce noise, a submersible pump to reduce noise, and more!
The trendiest pet fountain is definitely the Pioneer Rain Drop. These stainless steel and ceramic models sport a 3.8 rating and hold 60 ounces. It should be noted that all of the above models allow for dishwasher cleansing and feature removable charcoal filters.
That’s it for today folks. We hope you’ve enjoyed our cat water fountain breakdown. If you found this article helpful, make sure to ‘Like’ or ‘+1′ us below! You can also read our next post about how to select a stand alone air conditioner.