Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Dog and Cat Water Fountain 3 Sizes,Black

I previously had a Drinkwell, which was pure junk, and decided to replace it with something that wasn't loud, and didn't scare the cat. My cat never took to the Drinkwell, and after reading up on it I found several claims, supposedly by vets, that stated if you have a long hair cat or one that has a major aversion to getting wet, the Drinkwells, and any other fountain that can splash or flick water in their face, they will probably not use it. So I looked at this one because it is supposed to be completely splash-proof. And it is!The two things I like about the Petmate is that a) its motor is completely encased inside the machine, and b) the water runs down a little slide. The motor being inside the fountain, rather than on the bottom like the Drinkwells, means it is much more muffled. Late at night I can hear it pumping when all the TVs and radios are off and everyone is in bed. It is quieter than most aquarium pumps already, but being inside the fountain, then covered up by the addition of water, it is literally whisper quiet. You don't even hear water splashing much since it is actually being funneled down a little ramp, rather than just pumped out into the air to fall inside the bowl like most fountains. I can actually hear my cat drinking over the sound of this machine, which is nice because you are always wondering if your cat is using it enough.We were weening our cat of a bathtub faucet dependency. Though she is still angry about no more bathwater, she seems to really have taken to the Petmate fountain. It's kind of funny to watch because she seems to want to try and sample water from every square inch of the bowl, starting on the left side and working her way counterclockwise around the bowl. She'll even sniff at the little ramp, though she never drinks directly from that part. I think she's more interested in the bubbles.The reservoir is the genius part. Instead of wasting a ton of space, they made half the fountain a detachable reservoir that can be filled. I personally clean this fountain once a week, every Sunday, and so far I have not even had to scrub muck out of any corners or crevices. Why? Because there doesn't seem to be many corners or crevices on this machine. Very rounded at every angle. I would have no fear about letting this fountain run for a few weeks without a cleaning if I had to be out of town or soemthing.The only con I have found so far is that occasionally a gnat or other small bug will land in the water and get stuck on the side without the pump. The water circulates pretty well, but some things like bugs or food crumbs will often end up getting trapped on the side of the ramp where it can't be sucked into the pump. Personally, I think this is a good thing, but it does mean that particles like this may not get caught in the filter. Sure, you want crumbs to get trapped by the filter, but do you really want a rotting bug carcass in there too?The filters are basic charcoal filters, and personally I don't really think they do much but keep out food crumbs that do get sucked into the pump. We have run it without them, and did so for a little while just to make sure the bathtub water we filled it up with still smelled and tasted like the bathtub faucet. This is how we have been weening the cat off the tub water. Out of nowhere she just really got obsessed with the bathroom faucet after fifteen years.IF you are looking for a good, affordable pet fountain, then this is probably one of the best bets for cats. It doesn't splash their face, it is really quiet, it has a reservoir, it is very easy to clean, and maintenance and assembly are so basic and simple. It also has replacement parts, unlike most fountains, so if the pump craps out, which eventually all pumps do, you can just replace that rather than buying a whole new fountain. So far, ours has been going strong for a bout a month now and after the first few weeks, and some really bad experiences with our previous Drinkwell, the cat has really taken to this. I highly recommend this over any of the fountains I have seen offered here.

I have been searching for this water fountain for months and finally found it. It's an older style pet water fountain, of yesteryear, and I used to have this fountain several years ago, and I remember how quickly my cat took to this water fountain.Reasons why I love this pet water fountain:1) It's a simple design that makes sense and is practical, it's so easy to take apart and clean and reassemble.2) The water flow is smooth, consistent, and reminds me of a quiet stream. You don't hear a thing.3) My cat loves it, and I guess that's probably the most important reason.4) A lot of the pet water fountains today have shallow trays that only hold a small portion of the water, while the rest of the water is hidden beneath that top tray that the pet can't access. Those water fountains are made more like a water holder, of sorts. What I love about this pet water fountain from Petmate is that my cat has full access to all the water. There is no water that's covered and hidden.5) My cat does not like the water fountains where the water spout is such that the water splashes a bit when it hits the water. This water fountain's water flow is more like a quiet stream of water running gently down a slope, and she likes it. I like it because it's quiet and you don't hear the water.I've ordered and had this pet water fountain from Petmate before, years ago, and even ordered it a few times, and I've never been disappointed with it. And it's still very affordable compared to many of the newer designed pet water fountains out there these days.

I have 2 dogs and a cat. I specifically was looking for this because of my cat. He would never drink out of a bowl unless he was desperate. His preference was the bathroom sink. So, if you were headed in there, he would cut you off at the pass and jump on the sink and protest loudly until you turned on the water for him to drink- all the while getting fur and paw prints everywhere.I read most of the reviews and decided to go ahead with the purchase. I have had it about 6 months and here's my take:It does what it's supposed to do. It holds water and a pump causes it to flow in the bowl. I knew the dogs would drink out of it, but the true test was the cat and even the he will drink out of it. I guess cats are smart enough to know that if the water is flowing it's much more likely to be clean. Nice... no more kitty paw prints and fur all over the bathroom.It's quiet - which is great. It makes a little "hum" noise. You can barely hear it when you turn it on. My furnace is much louder. It also holds quite a bit of water which is a must if you have more than 1 pet.My two complaints (which...one is really a lack of foresight on my part) are these:1. It can be messy. One of my dogs is a super sloppy drinker and she gets water everywhere so I just purchased a water absorbent mat for underneath and I wash the mat once a week.2. They all drink MUCH more than I though they would so I really should have purchased a fountain with a higher water capacity since I fill it at least twice a day. (I have 2- 55 lb dogs and a 12 lb cat. I was shocked as to how much they drank. It's also kind of relative as to how active they are since they all play together.)Now- I would like to address the complaints from other reviews.I've had it for a long enough time to eventually experience some of the problems that others were facing. One was when the water ran low (and it will). The pump will sound louder because it's working harder. It will make slurping noises and the "hum" it makes will be much louder and you'll be able to hear it in another room. That's supposed to clue you in to fill the reservoir tank on the side. If you don't the pump will burn out and break. I came close to having that happen one day. I keep the unit plugged in 24 hrs a day. It's always running whether I am home or not. On this particular day I came home from work and found that since it was running without water for God knows how long- almost the entire unit was warm. I unplugged it, poured fresh water in it (I refrigerate a gallon of water for the pets so I use that each time I fill- which helped cool it down) and waited for a couple of hours before I plugged it back in. It started up fine without a problem. So, all you have to do is pay attention and make sure there's plenty of water in the tank before you go anywhere for an extended period of time.The next was when it started to make this ridiculous screeching noise that could quite possibly wake up the dead. It turns out that the pump was clogged. So, what I did was take it apart and gave it a good cleaning. When you receive the fountain it will need to be assembled. Pay attention when you do it because you will have to take it apart at one point as I did. There is a grate that is supposed to help with keeping any kind of fur from getting to the pump. Well, it does- sort of- but not really. It's inevitable that fur will get sucked in and you will need to clean the pump. Once you take apart the fountain and pull out the pump you'll see on the front intake there's a slotted piece that you can actually take off. That's where most of the hair will be stuck. Pop it off and make sure all the fur is cleaned off of the slotted piece and that the pump didn't actually suck in any fur.I also noticed that when I was taking everything apart that the fountain and the pump were kind of slimy. (Uh... that cannot be good) So, that meant it had been a while since I cleaned it (Yeah-like....NEVER). So, I got a clue and decided to take the unit apart and clean the entire thing once a week. I use a bit of dish washing liquid and my dish wand for the outside and clean the pump with some warm running water and soft toothbrush. I haven't had a problem since.It's a good product. It's worth the purchase. It keeps my cat from making a mess in the bathroom. All my pets drink more water now. It takes a bit of maintenance, but I'd buy it again...just with a higher water capacity!