The Drinkwell Pet Fountain

Cats are sensitive creatures who are susceptible to kidney and urinary problems. Helping them to stay properly hydrated with good, clean water is an important part of assuring that they stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible. For that reason, we use the Drinkwell Pet Fountain to supply water to our kitties — and they love it!

We bought ours at Amazon, and if you already know you want one, click here to go straight to the Amazon page where you can buy one for yourself.

So, why do we think the Drinkwell Pet Fountain is the cat’s meow (Sorry! Couldn’t help myself ;-)? Well…

We bought our first Drinkwell Pet Fountain in 2002 when a veterinarian suggested it for our girl who suffered from chronic urinary tract infections. We wanted to help ensure that she was drinking enough water to prevent dehydration and improve her overall bladder and kidney health. She loved it immediately, as did our other three cats! They definitely drank more, and it helped not only with the UTI, but also with the chronic kidney disease two of the kitties developed with age.

The amount of water our kitties drank plus evaporation (especially in our drier climate) meant that we were refilling it quite often. If the water level gets below the intake, air gets into the system and it makes a loud, annoying rattling sound. So it’s important to keep it full. A reservoir helps; we have the 50 ounce (click here to see it on Amazon).

Our first Drinkwell lasted eight years, even when we left the U.S. and ran the it through a voltage converter so it would work at 220v (though it was slightly noisier). Our second fountain was bought for our new family of cats, and it has been running great for three years so far. They love it too and stubbornly refuse to drink from other standing bowls of water! This is in part because the water tastes better and stays fresh longer in the Drinkwell. The motorized system recirculates water through a carbon filter, removing fur, dust, and proteins from saliva while aerating with oxygen in the process.

The filters do need to be changed every few weeks, and the whole system taken apart and cleaned on a regular basis for it to work. The pieces can be run through the dishwasher, even the bowl if you remember to remove the motor. However, there are a number of nooks and crannies, so it’s better to clean the Drinkwell by hand. It is still difficult to get to all the tight spaces without a bottle brush, and if your tap water is hard and contains a lot of minerals, there can be quite a lot of crusty buildup. For this reason we soak occasionally in vinegar and typically fill with pre-filtered water.

All in all, the pros definitely outweigh the cons, and we will never be without a Drinkwell Pet Fountain in this household! Our cats won’t let us 😉 If you are thinking about getting one of these, all we can say is go for it! You won’t be sorry, and your kitties will thank you for it.

Thanks for stopping by the Siamese Cat Spot! We’re glad you’re here 😉

Please leave us a comment below and let us know what you think!