Drinkwell platinum cat fountain

Hi everyone,

Me again.. man do I have a lot of items I can review for your guys, so here it goes
I once had a female cat, unfortunatly she passed away a year ago, that drank to little. I than stumbled upon the phenomenon of a cat fountain. These water fountains come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and they filter and flow the water which is more attractive to a cat. They are said to drink a lot more if they have fresh, flowing water instead of water in a bowl. Therefor it's beneficial to their health.

I bought the Drinkwell platinum cat fountain because it has a free-falling stream of water, and I know Karma loves to play with dripping faucets; so she might like this stream of water as well. I also like the looks of the fountain, the great capacity and easy cleaning. Ever since I've owned it my cats are drinking more than ever. Karma hasn't played with it; I guess the stream of water is too predictable to be fun to play with ;-)

Downside: it breaks easily. I have no experience with it, but I've heard many people say so before. So if you are buying one, treat it with care!


Karma with the Drinkwell Platinum Fountain (yes, she had just played with the foam it came in.. lol)

http://www.vetventures.com/products-fountains-Platinum.asp

 

These are great I think. Moving water in the wild is safer than stagnant water, and cats instinctively know this (as well as savvy survival-minded humans). Cats also like their meat fresh, probably for similar reasons, but it's a great way to encourage your cat to drink.

A raw diet is also the best way to get more water into your cat to avoid Urinary Tract Infections (UTI), urinary blockages, etc. since cats evolved to get most of their liquid from fresh meat (which is about 80% water, believe it or not). I have a DrinkWell Lotus fountain and I removed the top piece coz my cat didn't like it, but it's great. It keeps the water moving and fresh (but we still change it often).

 

I agree that you should still change it often, at least once a a day like you do with your regular drinking bowl as well. You are right that most fluids come from wet food, and I have read the benefits of raw food in many of your posts. I am surely going to try it for my kitties. Do you have any tips starting out with raw food?

 

Start small, maybe with boneless meat (chicken, beef, etc.). Then try something more challenging, like meat with small bones (chicken or quail wing tips are good to start). Try a sardine with water perhaps. Also, organ meat such as kidneys or heart from your local shop works well too, but not too much organ meat (too much Vitamin A can be a bad thing). Maybe a few organs during the week. Try some tho to see how he/she reacts and chews it. Cut it in small chunks but not too small (you want the kitty to practice chewing off bits).

I thought I had replied to this post already, but weirdly there was no post here.

 

I know there had been a reply already, but perhaps to a similar post? However, thank you for your trouble to post the advice again.
My cats hate sardines, lol.. I tried that once before. But those where canned and that could make a big difference.
I agree boneless would be a good start because I find the bone-part a bit scary myself as well *blush* (not because of the bones themselves, but the idea it might penetrate through their stomache. I know this doesn't happen and that they can digest it, but it scares me)

 

My cat knew instinctively to chew his bones up. They're used to it, but watch them just to be sure the kitty is doing everything right. Then later on you know he/she can handle it. Just be sure they don't drag any raw food around the house hehe (well unless you don't mind it).

 

Green Seven, my gray tom, is still young. So I have to cut up the food in small pieces before giving it to him. Water isn't a problem with Green Seven. He will drink anything that's available. Of course, I always make sure there is dish of clean water for him.

 

This is amazing! I want one! My cat loves to hop on the bathroom sink and wants me to turn on the water so we can drink from the tap, but he ends up getting his whole face wet. I think this would solve the problem of leaving the sink running. I'll have to buy one online soon!

 

I thought that would help with my kitty, Karma, as well Steph. She played with the fountain for a short time but eventually she likes the tap water better still. I guess because it's unpredictable. The stream of water from the fountain is constant and it doesn't drip which seems to be less exciting. Still, my cats love to drink from the fountain so it isn't a waste of money

 

Thanks for sharing your review. I'm tempted to buy one of my own. I'm always worried that my cat doesn't drink enough water. I'm probably just paranoid, but if this product encourages her to drink a little more water I'd be impressed. The only downside seems to be that it's not sturdy and is prone to breaking down.

 

I really like the idea of constant flowing water. It concerns me that other reviews say it breaks easily, though. I wonder if that's because they aren't treating well, or if it's the inside parts that break regularly.

 

I don't know yet how it works that it has all the time fresh water but I'll figure it out later. I just wanted to say that it's a brilliant idea! As Mitra LOVES water, running water, and she screams on us to open a tap in a bath everytime we go to the bathroom (even if I go there only to wash my hands, she's always there BEFORE me). That would be a great solution for her. I've got to look for it in Polish shops.

 

I like the look of this. My cats are really picky when it comes to water and they don't want to drink it at all if it's not fresh, so that's something I have to stay on top of. This fountain looks like an excellent solution, although I would be concerned about it breaking often. I hate spending money on things that don't last.

 

I've seen several different types of the water fountains for pets. Was this the one you found would be the best for your cat? Are there others you considered when making this decision? Perhaps there are other kinds that would be more durable over time. I know there was one with ceramics that is supposed to be far better for the health of pets. (Something about it not retaining bacteria and other harmful things as often over time.) I would look out for that too! So as previously posted changing the water and cleaning at least once per day is probably very, very important.

 

We have this exact fountain, Drinkwell Platinum and have not had any problems with it at all. We got it at least 2 years ago, probably more like 3. We take it apart at least once a week to clean the slimy crud out that always builds on the inside of things like this. Even doing that has never resulted in it breaking.

That cat loves it and she gets a lot more water this way than if we'd have to rely on a water bowl alone. It was a great investment in our case.

 

I'm curious about how it breaks and if it might be a consumer's issue.
However, I love this idea. Pepsi loves running water and i think she'd reallylike it.

 

I'd like to hear the problems others have had with this fountain, too. We've had it for a few years without any issues. If you decide to get a fountain, there are cheaper ones on the market, but we specifically chose a more expensive one so we wouldn't have to be replacing it often.

As with other things, I think the best thing to do is to look for reviews online before buying... that has saved me from making some purchases I definitely would have regretted.