As the mom of four cats, one of whom suffers from Chronic Renal Failure (CRF - kidney disease), I'm a bit obsessed with making sure they all drink enough water. Many cat parents don't realize it, but their cats generally don't consume enough water, especially if the cats are on a dry food diet. (Why a dry food diet is bad is a topic for a different post.) For years, I've had two Drinkwell Platinum plastic fountains in my house, supplemented by strategically placed stainless steel bowls. There were two drawbacks to this: the plastic fountains were impossible to get clean, and I wasn't sure that anyone was actually drinking from them.
As you can see, the Drinkwell is made entirely of plastic and has numerous nooks and crannies that need to be cleaned. It also requires a filter that becomes slimy pretty much immediately. To clean it, you need a set of special brushes, and even those don't really do the job. I also tried washing it in the dishwasher, but I felt like that left it even less clean than hand washing. I also worried about the chlorine in the dishwashing detergent pitting the plastic, creating even reservoirs for bacteria.
I started looking for a ceramic fountain. What I found were ones that were made in China or were too small for my needs. Finally, thanks to a post on Moderncat, I discovered the Glacier Point Basic Fountain. Barry Farris, the designer and store owner, has created what seems to be the perfect product: a large lead-free ceramic container that's made in the US, a virtually silent pump, a rechargeable carbon filter, and a stand for glass bottles that will refill the fountain as your cats drink from it. The fountain comes with one 16 oz. glass bottle. (The larger models come with larger bottles.) While Mr. Farris will sell you additional glass bottles, he actually recommends that you buy vinegar in glass bottles - you'll use the vinegar to clean the pump and fountain, anyway - and use those instead. What a refreshing change from the usual vendor! The fountain comes in a choice of red, white, or blue. There is a larger model and also one with a built-in water chiller.
When I got the fountain, as soon as I set it up, my cat Lucky came over to investigate. I knew that he, at least, had been drinking from the Drinkwell, so I hoped he wouldn't be too upset at the change. He began drinking from the Glacier Point immediately! Shortly after that, Squeaker wandered over for a drink. In the days that followed, I realized that they weren't really drinking from their stainless steel bowls at all. (I still keep those filled - with a CRF cat, you want to give as many opportunities for a drink as possible.) That's when I ordered the second one to replace my upstairs Drinkwell.
Mr. Farris is extremely responsive to questions and resolving issues: my first fountain came with a pump that turned out to be defective, though it took me a while and setting up the second fountain with a silent pump (the first one made an odd rattling noise but still pumped the water) to realize it. He sent out a replacement immediately, so I now have two absolutely silent fountains. I could always hear the Drinkwell, both the pump and the water. I could make the Glacier Point noisier if I liked the waterfall sound, which I sort of do, by simply twisting one of the elbows on the carbon filter. That freaked Lucky out, though, so I twisted the elbow back to a shallower angle.
As with the Drinkwells, I keep my Glacier Points on rubber food mats, which catch spills and splashes. I don't have to worry about one of these springing a leak, though, the way I did with the Drinkwells! (One of those did actually suddenly decide to start spewing water all over the floor - the mat wasn't nearly enough to help with that! Another drawback to the Drinkwell.)
I truly can't recommend these fountains highly enough. They are exactly what I've been looking for for years! If you have a plastic fountain or just bowls, I encourage you to give one of these a try. It looks like there's free shipping to US addresses on right now, so why not take advantage of that? Your cats will thank you for it! You might even wind up with lower vet bills, so the fountain could pay for itself in the long run.
