10 Best Cat Water Fountains in 2017

It’s quite easy to understand why the Drinkwell Original Pet Fountain is well-loved by so many animal lovers, dog owners, and especially cat persons. With its renowned technology ensuring fresh and clean drinking H2O for our lovable pets, it’s clearly one of the best cat drinking fountain devices you can ever get for your feline friend. The design is like the kitchen or bathroom faucet that our feline pals simply adore. The aquatic flow bursts into smaller droplets as it hits the receiving ramp to create that ripple effect that cats love. The ripple effects are surely going to entice your pet to drink more of it. Additionally, the continuous free-falling stream stirs the liquid pool down below, creating bubbles that are filled with oxygen, and getting dissolved into the aquatic solution. This helps improve the freshness and overall quality of their drink. The constantly circulating fluids also help prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms further increasing the safety of the drink.

Also integrated into the Drinkwell Original is a carbon filter which effectively removes bad odors and tastes to make the drink more palatable and help encourage your pet to drink even more. This can help improve their kidney function, greatly diminishing the risk of developing calciferous stones. And because the system also has a fully adjustable flow control mechanism, you can effectively create more stunning hydro flows to help stimulate the curiosity of your feline pal, stimulating its instinct to drink from a constantly moving source. Made of BPA-free high quality plastic, the Drinkwell Original is one of the safest systems you can every buy for your pet.

What We Like about It – Hydration for felines has never been made this ridiculously spectacular. The Drinkwell Original is nothing less than a marvel of feline product engineering particularly for its free-falling stream technology.

While this cat water dispenser may not be as sophisticated as the Drinkwell Original, the Cat Mate Pet Fountain is nevertheless, well-received by many. Instead of sourcing the liquid from a single port, the Cat Mate provide three different levels of pools that serve to simulate a cascading waterfall. From the topmost level down to the middle and ultimately at the bottom drinking station, this device is sure to provide your pet with plenty of drinking options. Each level generates a rippled effect which helps to stimulate your pet’s curiosity and make it want to drink from any of the different heights of drinking stations. Each section comes with a ramp that helps to facilitate the easier transition of water from one height to the next. Additionally, this reduces splashing sounds which can be quite a nuisance sometimes. Also included is a filtration and purification system that is made of high grade polymer carbon. The whole system helps ensure the cleaner and safer drink for your feline pet. And if you think the motor of the Cat Mate is going to disturb your sleep, you can bet that it’s like your kitty purring gently with its engineered isolated pump system, marvelously ensuring super quiet operation.

What We Like about It – Ani Mate’s multi-height drinking stations are something that is unique for this kind of pet water dispenser. This simply means that your feline pet will have plenty of opportunities or options to stay hydrated. And since the system allows for continuous circulation, you can be sure their drink is safe. 

One of the most unusual yet truly appealing water fountain for cats in our list is the Flower Fountain. From the name itself, you already have an idea of what it’s going to be like. Just imagine a simple flowering pot with a lovely 6-petalled flower in the middle with the spaces in between these petals providing the passageway for H2O to drop on the drinking station below. This is the Flower Fountain. It has a truly ingenious design that can also double in usefulness because of the aesthetic qualities that it brings. The good thing about the Flower Fountain is that the hydro flow can actually be controlled up to three different settings so you’ll have different options to help entice your pet feline to drink and to help address choosy drinkers. The Catit product comes with a filtration system that has been designed to soften hard H2O, removing minerals that can make the drink a little more unpleasant. At least, you can be sure that your feline friend will have a really tasty, refreshing, and super clean drink. The Flower Fountain also features a small yet super-efficient pump to help keep the liquid circulating, continuously replenishing its life-giving oxygen content while also inhibiting the growth of microorganisms that can wreak havoc to your pet. With a very flowery design, your guests won’t even think that this is the favorite drinking station of your pet feline.

What We Like about It – If any, it’s the Flower Fountain’s beautiful design that we really love about it. Its softening features also help ensure a more palatable drink for our pets.

If you think the Drinkwell Original is awesome but may be quite limited for its capacity, then you will love the Drinkwell Platinum. This fantastic cat fountain is now able to hold 168 ounces of clean and fresh drinking H2O for your pets, unlike the measly 50-oz capacity of the Drinkwell Original. While some pet experts don’t usually agree with putting too much fluids in pet drinking systems because of the risk for turning stale, this can be effectively negated by the built-in carbon filtration system of the Drinkwell Platinum. The feature helps prevent the development of strong or offensive odors and tastes making the whole pet drinking experience totally invigorating, to say the least. In addition to the filtration system, the ultra-quiet motor helps cycle the fluid through the system enabling the introduction of oxygen into the liquid and helping prevent the abnormal proliferation of harmful microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. The addition of oxygen is made possible by its patented free-falling stream that mimics that of a waterfall stirring the bottom with its weight. Splashing sound is muffled or minimized by its receiving ramp which gently channels the cascade to the waiting basin where it creates ripples or little waves that are sure to captivate your pet’s interest. This helps entice it to drink more and help prevent the development or occurrence of kidney problems such as renal stones and other issues with urination. The Drinkwell Platinum cat drinking fountain is also made of the safest BPA-free materials to help ensure no harmful chemicals leach into your pet feline’s drink.

What We Like about It – Much like the Drinkwell Original, the Platinum’s unique free-falling stream helps initiate the series of processes that guarantees superb benefits for our pets. The large capacity reservoir is a welcome addition, although some might not really think of it as a very significant improvement over the Original. It is, nonetheless, an excellent buy as evidenced by thousands of very happy customers.

From a distance, you may not think of the Design Senses Fountain as a cat water dispenser. Only when you see a pet feline approaching it and sticking its tongue out before hearing splashing sound created by the slurping of its tongue will you realize that this is a very unique water fountain for cats. Unlike other systems in our list, though, the Design Senses is actually not a fountain in the strictest sense of the word. It’s more like a beautiful man-made spring that continuously replenishes the surface H2O with one that has been cooled and refreshed from the ground. Well, that’s the whole idea about the Design Senses. Feline experts believe that the key to enticing felines to drink from a bowl of fluid is to make sure that it is fresh, tastes clean, and, most importantly, is cool. This is what the Design Senses have in mind. It recirculates the fluid that has been springing outward into its drinking station and back to the main storage compartment where the fluid is cooled, aerated, and removed of harmful particles as well as potentially kidney-damaging minerals from hard H2O. This guarantees your pet cat gets only the freshest, cleanest, and coolest drink every single time. The Design Senses features a unique filtration and aeration system to provide all of these amazing benefits. The system also contains a water-softening cartridge that removes calcium and magnesium deposits from the fluid making it soft and gentle for your pet’s kidneys.

What We Like about It – The Design Senses’ unique styling and superb engineering are things to admire about it. While it’s not a cat fountain, it does provide cool, fresh, and clean drink for our pets.

The Drinkwell Original and Platinum are excellent pet water dispenser units that can really provide fresh, safe, and clean drinking water for our beloved pets. Unfortunately, if you have several cats at home, you may need a much bigger drinking station. Because the Original and the Platinum have the filtration, aeration, and circulation system housed in one area of the Drinkwell, pets cannot access this portion. To address this, PetSafe placed the entire mechanism at the base of the cat drinking fountain and added the free-falling stream mechanism right at the center of the circular cat water dispenser. The result: the Drinkwell 360. Technically, it’s almost the same as the Drinkwell Original and Platinum. The only difference is that there are now 5 free-falling streams enabling your pets to simultaneously drink. The drinking station is built in a 360-degree fashion and is made of the highest quality of stainless steel. Like all Drinkwell products, the 360 comes with its superb carbon filtration system, foam filter, and a super-quiet motor.

What We Like about It – The 360-degree arrangement of 5 free-falling streams simply means every pet in your house can have its own drinking spot. Truly innovative, if you ask us.

For a really hygienic and elegantly-looking water fountain for cats, we recommend the Raindrop Stainless Steel Pet Drinking Fountain. The Raindrop has a very sleek and elegant design. Viewed from the top, the design does mimic that of a raindrop. It comes complete with an ultra-quiet motor that your cat can actually sleep adjacent to the Raindrop and won’t be disturbed by the noise. The filtration system allows for the more efficient management of the different impurities that may be present in fluid The efficient circulation of fluids allow for the mixing of highly beneficial oxygen while also facilitating the continuous movement of the liquid. This helps entice your pet feline to enhance its drinking behavior. The Raindrop is made of only the finest grade of stainless steel such that, if you already have stainless steel kitchen appliances, this should be a wonderful addition.

What We Like about It – The design of the Raindrop is simply spectacular. At first, we really didn’t believe that a cat fountain can be this elegant and stylish. The features don’t disappoint either.

If you’re familiar with how a water slide works, then you’d know how the Deluxe Fresh Flow operates. The Fresh Flow is designed more like a miniature hydro slide that we often see in adventure parks. The only difference, of course, is that this one’s intended primarily for your pet. The gently sloping ramp or slide is continuous with the port that lets out liquid continuously providing your pet with fresh, fully aerated, and clean drink. Housed within the high quality and safe plastic body are the quiet motor and filtration system that makes use of carbon to effectively remove impurities in this pet water dispenser while also improving the overall taste. The Fresh Flow also features a removable reservoir for easy cleaning as well as instant refills.

What We Like about It – The Fresh Flow has a very simple design. From afar, it does look like a toddler’s potty trainer although the continuously flowing water will tell you this isn’t a potty trainer at all.

If you love the idea of providing your pet with a continuous supply of fresh and clean fluids but without having to plug the cat water dispenser in an electrical outlet to have it running, then maybe you’d be interested in the Healthy Pet Water Station from PetSafe. This PetSafe product has two major components: a reservoir and a drinking station. Fluid flows into the stainless steel bowl through a flow-control valve that helps prevent overflowing and spilling of the fluid in the bowl. The Healthy Pet has a very uniquely elegant design which is quite remarkable considering its overly simplistic pet drinking feature. This should make it a very interesting piece to have in your home as it can add a certain element of aesthetics to any room. The stainless steel bowl is very elegant and is easy to clean, too. However, to really help provide for a healthier drink for your pet, you’d have to buy the PetSafe filter.

What We Like about It – The Healthy Pet doesn’t have any complicated mechanisms to make it work. It relies on gravity to perform its job. However, we do wish that a purifying filter be already included in the package.

Want a simple yet very effective water fountain for cats? Then you’ve got to give the CleanFlow Cat a try as this one’s got a 90-oz clear blue reservoir and an 80-oz circular bowl with a front agitator that serves to create a whirlpool effect. This stirs the H2O creating a fantastic ripple effect that can help stimulate your pet’s curiosity and entice it to drink. Moreover, the agitation helps direct the flow of fluid towards the filtration system where impurities are removed making sure your pet only gets the best, freshest, cleanest, and most refreshing drink it deserves. The bottom of the CleanFlow has an elevated center so that debris and larger particles will be moved towards the deeper perimeter and not on the center itself. One particularly good thing about the CleanFlow is that, since the ports are completely submerged, there are no annoying splashing sounds as well as spills on the floor.

What We Like about It – The CleanFlow’s unique combination of excellent aeration, filtration, and circulation of fluid makes it truly one of the best cat water dispenser products we have seen. It also has a very simple design. The agitator is something quite unusual. But it does work like a charm.

How We Chose the Top Kitty Water Fountains in Our List

Picking the best kitty drinking stations was challenging yet straightforwardly simple. First we knew we had to screen those with the greatest potential to be in our list from those that are clearly mediocre ones. To accomplish this, we had to take a look at existing rating systems for all of these products. The more positive reviews we had for a particular item, the better its chances of landing in our preliminary pool. Call it weeding if you may. But the logic is quite simple. If the product is able to generate enough happy and satisfied customers, then there must be something in it that’s clearly working.

Next, the overall design of the drinking station for felines had to be scrutinized. Unfortunately, we cannot really physically inspect all of these products as it would virtually be impossible. So we had to rely on product reviews including the description of users’ experiences about the product. Since we’re talking about a fountain which essentially has electrical components to circulate the fluid through the system, it was essential that we look for signs of electrical integrity as water and electricity are hardly the best of friends. We know that electrical safety is a very important consideration. We simply don’t want your pet to be electrocuted or, worse, any member of your family because of some faulty electrical mechanism.

Just as we are concerned about the safety of our drink, we also had to look after the welfare of our pet cats. This is especially true in the materials used in the construction of the pet water dispenser. As much as possible, we included only those products that have clearly passed rigorous testing about the safety of their materials. It should not contain any chemical that can leach into the fluid and harm our beloved pets. That would simply be irresponsible of us.

For every built-in feature of the product, we examined it and tried to determine how this can be beneficial to the cat and to its human master. If there are features whose benefits are quite unrecognizable, then we knew we had to scrap it off our list. We want those features and benefits to be readily discernible.

While we can be a bit biased sometimes, it is usually for a good reason. The last parameter we had to consider was the credibility of the company that made the cat fountain. We know choosing brands that have been in existence for many years is being biased. But, it’s the only way we can establish a company’s credibility and reputation as brand image develops over time. You cannot simply trust a newcomer to give you superb products even though those products are really excellent. While we’re not really generalizing, at the very least, the company should have been in existence for several years so we’ll have something to base our judgment when it comes to its trustworthiness.

And, that’s how we ended up with the top ten water fountains for cats. We sure do hope we enlightened you with our list and how we were able to pick those in our shortlist.

Cats, Water, and Drinking Fountains

Every living organism depend on water for survival. Even the ancestors of our pet cats depended on water for survival. And no, cats are not afraid of liquids nor do they not need it. While it is true that wild cats are seldom seen in the wild drinking, if we are going to examine closely what they are hunting to eat, it’s full of moisture. Have you seen cats devour vegetables and fruits with abandon? Felines, especially those in the wild, are obligate carnivores. The meat that they feed on are naturally filled with moisture and this is where they get their water to survive.

Now, let’s take a look at what we’re feeding our pet cats. More often than not, we give them dry cat food which is devoid of moisture. This can lead to dehydration and overheating if our pets don’t get the water that they need. Sure, we can moisten their dry food with liquids to add moisture and meet their hydration requirements. But doing so inadvertently changes the palatability of their food. Sometimes they simply won’t eat it and now we’re faced with two problems. For those who give their pets wet or canned food, hydration is assured since these types of pet food have already moisture in them. Unfortunately, these types of products are quite expensive so they’re not really ideal for families whose budgets are primarily geared for the human members of the household, not the pets.

This leads us to the question, how do cats drink?

In the wild, biologists and wildlife conservation experts have observed that cats are naturally attracted to running fluids. It’s in their instinct. It’s embedded in their predatory genes. This is the same gene that leads them to climb up a tree or even scale up a fence so they’ll have a bird’s eye view of the prey that may be roaming around on the ground below. As predators, they are naturally attracted to movement. For them, this is an opportunity. Food. Survival.

It is perhaps this movement-associated predatory nature that makes cats naturally drawn to running water. You can try to experiment if you wish. Leave your faucet running when your cat is around. More often than not, it will first try to gaze directly at the running water before sticking its tongue out to have a taste. Sooner or later, you’ll be seeing your cat standing by this faucet waiting for you to turn it on.

Some say that cats look at running H2O as very safe to drink while fluid that has been left in a bowl is considered as unsafe. There is some truth to this. Water that has been left standing for quite some time tend to grow stale while running H2O helps ensure that the supply is fresh all the time. Additionally, running H2O is cooler and more refreshing than that in a bowl. Some cats have also been observed to dip their paws into the bowl of H2O just to simulate the ripples of freshly flowing water.

Unfortunately, even animal behaviorists are baffled as to the exact reason why felines prefer moving or running water. Nevertheless, it is our responsibility as pet owners to give them fresh and clean water as part of their growth and development. Whether you are using a cat water dispenser or a water bowl, it is imperative to keep our pets stay hydrated.

Tips to Make Your Cat Drink its Water

Here are a few tips you can try to help your cat drink its water and keep it hydrated.

• If you’re using water bowls, make sure to keep the water fresh and cool by placing ice cubes in it. Additionally, make sure to change the water frequently to prevent it from getting stale.
• Make sure to place as many bowls of clean and refreshing water in places around your house that are easily accessible to your pet. For instance, if you noticed that your cat loves staying on a particular part of your fence, you can place a water bowl directly underneath it.
• Never buy dual-function bowls, those that have a feeding compartment and a water bowl compartment in one package. Many cats don’t like to smell their food while drinking. As such, it’s always a safe bet to place your water bowls or even drinking stations for felines in other areas of your house away from their feeding area.
• If your cat simply don’t want to drink from the device that it’s using yet drinks elsewhere, try replacing it with a water dish, bowl, or dispenser that is made of a different material such as metal or ceramic.
• Buy your cat a water fountain. You’ll simply be amazed at the results. Alternatively, you can let your faucet run all day. But be prepared to pay a hefty water bill by the next month.
• You can try getting a can of tuna fish and add a few drops of its water into your pet’s bowl of water. This should entice it to drink. Some have also tried using bottled water, instead. Again, this might be quite costly.

However you intend to accomplish it, it is very important to get your cat to drink water. If you cannot survive without water, neither can your pet.

The Bottom Line

Every living creature needs water, even our pet cats. And if you are really having a difficult time getting your cat to drink, maybe it’s about time to get one of our top 10 cat water fountains this 2016.

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