If you had of asked me this time last year if I had any interest in buying an indoor water fountain for my cat, I would have said 'NO' quickly and without any hesitation.
This would have been because my cat (Arnold) always drank lots of water from his simple plastic water bowl, and so why bother paying through the nose for an expensive gimmick that he would probably never use anyway, and when he was perfectly happy with what he already had. However this all changed when we moved house last spring, and now if asked the same question I would answer with a resounding 'YES'!!

Arnold has always been a fussy eater, and since we first had him at 8 weeks old has only ever eaten dry food (in the form of Go Cat dry munchies). As he has a dry food diet, he has always drank a lot of water, and would often need his water bowl re-filling at least once each day.

For a reason that is still a total mystery to me, within a few few days of moving to our new house back in March this year, Arnold refused to drink out of his bowl anymore - well any bowl, saucer or plate for that matter, unless he was really desperate! Instead he would jump up onto the kitchen counter and lick at the tap, in an (often successful) attempt to get a few drops to drip out of it and into his mouth. He then started to repeat this in the bathroom sinks! At first I used to shout at him to 'get down', but other than that I didn't think too much about this, but as a week or so passed by, and he continued with this habit, (often in front of visitors!) I knew I had to do something.

Having been reading and rating reviews for a good number of years now, I had stumbled across water fountains for cats, and had read some good reports about them, and so I started to do even more reading to try and find out which would be my best bet to get Arnold drinking lots of water again - but not from licking all of our taps!!

There were (and still are) a good few different models out there to choose from, but the main things I was looking for was a fountain that wasn't too expensive, because I thought there was a realistic chance that he wouldn't be interested in it, and something that was not noisy, as Arnold can be quite a timid cat.

So it was, last April, after reading lots and lots of reviews that I opted for the 'Cat Mate Pet Fountain' which I got from Amazon for £20.



***** My opinion on the Cat Mate Pet Fountain *****


My parcel arrived safely packaged as promised, and within a few days of ordering it.
Inside the box there was a bright white plastic bowl, a bright white plastic fountain arrangement, a pump, a transformer plug socket and a filter cartridge.
Assembly was very simple and takes a maximum of 2 minutes to simply insert the filter cartridge, connect the pump to the transformer, slot the plastic bowl into the fountain arrangement, fill up with water, and plug in.

For the first 5-10 seconds of the motor and pump firing up there was just a little noise as the water gradually finds its way around the pump mechanisms, after which the noise instantly dies away, and there is only a very soft and calming sound of running water. I was pleasantly surprised by this, as I had expected it to be noisier!

Basically the pump is situated at the base of the bowl, under the fountain arrangement and sucks in water which it pumps up to the top of the fountain arrangement. From there the water collects in a small pool, before flowing to the middle pool, collecting in another small pool, and then flowing back to the bottom, where it passes through a filter and then repeats the procedure.


Next Step - Introduce Arnold!!


As I let Arnold into the room, he instantly recognised that something was different as his ears pricked up and he stopped in his step. Once he realised what it was he couched down low, and made his way towards it slowly. As he reached the fountain he started to tap his paw against the water flowing from the middle section down into the lower bowl, and then realising it was water he began to drink from it, whilst occasionally looking back at me to check he was not in trouble for doing so.
Arnold must then have spent the next 20 minutes or so drinking from various places from the fountain, before I decided to remove him from the room, as I had read that some cats like these things so much that they over drink at first and end up being sick.

Almost six months on from then Arnold has continually drank from the fountain, his old water bowl is still there on the floor for him, but I have never seen him go near it, and he stopped drinking from the taps the day that the fountain arrived! I had my doubts that he would continue to use it, as everyone who has owned a cat knows that they tend to have their fads with things like this, and soon get bored, but he still loves it.
I have to say that I have been absolutely thrilled by the results from this Pet Mate Fountain, and it is without a doubt the best thing that I have ever brought for Arnold.


***** A bit more detail *****

This fabulous water fountain is designed to be used by both cats and small dogs and holds a maximum capacity of 2 litres of water. The bowl at the bottom has 2 very clear markings etched into it stating 'minimum' and 'maximum' which indicate the levels at which the bowl should be filled to in order to operate well. If the water level is over the maximum, then there is a danger of water spilling out of the bowl and onto the floor, and if the level falls below minimum then this can damage the pump motor. I must admit that our bowl has accidentally fallen below minimum several times, but no obvious damage has occurred to date.

The design is superb, as it sits very steadily on the floor, supported by numerous plastic supports underneath, and the water movement and flow offers Arnold over 6 different drinking locations depending upon how he feels, all of which he regularly uses. It would certainly be perfectly adequate for 2 or maybe even 3 cats to comfortably drink from at the same time if required in my opinion.

Over the period of a few days the bright white plastic bowl at the bottom will begin to turn a pale green colour in a few places (especially in the hot summer months), and small pieces of food, dust, hair etc can begin to collect in the water.
Cleaning is simple enough though, just a case of dismantling it by reversing the procedure I mentioned earlier in the review, washing out the two large plastic sections, and the filter cartridge, before putting it back together, and re-filling with clean water. I tend to do this about once or twice a week, and it literally takes about 1 minute to do. The plastic sections are dishwasher proof too although I prefer to wash them by hand.

The filter cartridges can be replaced as and when needed (although I still have the original one in at the moment, but it is starting to show signs that it may need replacing soon), and these can be purchased from Amazon for £5 for 2 cartridges.

Depending on your cat's (or dog's) preference there is also a setting on the pump that is a simple dial that can be altered to increase or decrease the flow of the water from the fountain. I have always had mine set at the mid point and Arnold has always been more than happy with this, but there is quite a range of different flow speeds that can be achieved by altering the dial, although as you might expect the higher the speed the slightly louder the pump sounds.



***** In Conclusion *****


As I'm sure you have concluded from my review by now, I am very impressed with this Cat Mate Pet Fountain.
It may sound like a lot of money for what is effectively a water bowl, but for me it is worth every penny and more! Anything that helps a cat or dog drink more water can only be a good thing, and this little fountain helps to attract the little guys and gals to the thing they are most fascinated and intrigued in regarding water - running / moving water!!
The pump and filter also have a cooling effect on the water, which is great in the summer, and also the pump helps to naturally oxygenate the water.

Due to fact that my wife is a bit paranoid about leaving things switched on in the house when we are not there, I only ever turn the fountain on when we are at home. This has never stopped Arnold from drinking out of the lower bowl though, which then acts as a basic (but large) still water bowl, however he clearly prefers it when it is switched on.

A final thing worth mentioning is that the Cat Mate fountain comes with a 3 year guarantee for piece of mind. The small print of this guarantee states that the motor has just a 1 year guarantee, and as is usual these guarantees are at the manufacturers discretion, and exclude misuse and general wear and tear.


Thanks for reading.


Copyright © L500589 2012