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Drinkwell

PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum Cat & Dog Water Fountain, 168 oz/5L, Gray

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At a glance

Condition
New
Style
Platinum
Model
PWW00-13703
Capacity
4.9 liters
Dimensions
15.75"L x 10.5"W x 10"H
Weight
3.5 lb
Color
Grey
In the box
PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
Warranty
1 Year Limited

Features 7

  • Free-Falling Stream Encourages Drinking: The moving water of this cat and dog water fountain gives your pet a fresh alternative to a still bowl, and a reason to drink from it.
  • 168Oz (5L) Capacity, Fewer Refills: The built-in reservoir keeps an automatic supply of water ready for cats, small dogs or multi-pet homes, so you refill less often.
  • Filtered Water: A replaceable activated carbon filter helps remove bad tastes and odors, while the pre-filter catches hair and debris before they reach the pump.
  • Adjustable Flow, Less Splash: Set the stream to what suits your pet. A receiving ramp reduces splashing, and rubber feet keep the fountain from sliding on the floor.

Description

The PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain is an electric, filtered water fountain for cats and small dogs. It holds 168 oz (5 L, about 1.3 gallons) of water and circulates it in a free-falling stream, giving pets who are used to a standard bowl, a gravity waterer or a basic plastic fountain a fresher, moving source of water. How it works: a low-voltage 12V pump circulates water from the built-in reservoir. A pre-filter catches hair and debris, and a replaceable activated carbon filter helps remove bad tastes and odors. Flow is adjustable, and a receiving ramp reduces splash. The reservoir's large capacity means fewer refills, which suits multi-pet homes. Size and specs: 10.5" wide x 15.75" long x 10" high. The fountain is made of BPA-free plastic and the power cord measures 5'6". Rubber feet help prevent sliding. For indoor use only. The box includes the fountain, pump, pre-filter and carbon filter. Cleaning: fountain parts are top-rack dishwasher safe (excluding the pump). PetSafe has served pet parents for nearly 30 years, and our U.S.-based customer care team is available by phone, email or chat.

Specs 28

Color Grey
Material Plastic
Brand Drinkwell
Item Weight 3.5 pounds
Product Dimensions 15.75"L x 10.5"W x 10"H
Item model number PWW00-13703
Department Pet Supplies
Manufacturer Radio Systems Corporation

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Top Amazon Reviews

My cat adores this
I bought this because my cat's water bowl was small and constantly sloshing water on the floor because my cat is on the hyper side and would get SO EXCITED about drinking her water she would run up to it and end up knocking the bowl. I also don't have air conditioning and it's consistently in the 90s and low hundreds where I live, so I wanted to make sure that she would always have water available, even if I wasn't home. After reading reviews for several different fountains, I decided on this one. I have not regretted it once. Some notes I have for people who may be having trouble with this fountain: 1. I once had the problem of the front reservoir overflowing. I thought I had somehow broken the fountain. After pulling it apart and examining it, I discovered the problem. There is a "vent" between the front and back reservoirs that allows them to maintain the balance of water and tells the fountain when more water is needed. This had become clogged with cat hair, so no water could get through, making it so the front reservoir kept filling up from the running water and the back had not enough water so it kept pulling more water in to try to fill itself back up. This is a super simple problem to fix. Slide the vent up and it comes out easily and you and rinse off the cat hair, and voila! fixed. 2a. I have seen some complain about the fountain being noisy or making gurgling sounds. I find mine only does this when I accidentally let the water container on the back empty itself completely and then the fountain is still trying (unsuccessfully) to draw water from it. This (according to the manual) can damage the motor, so I try not to let that happen. If you have let it get to this point, it can sometimes take 20 to 30 minutes for it to sort itself out and stop making strange noises and for the flow to start back up again. 2b. There are two different flow settings on the fountain. The lower one, to my surprise, is absolutely silent. The design of the fountain was made so as to reduce the sound of the water as it enters the reservoir. When I put the flow on the higher setting, I can definitely hear the trickle of water. I absolutely expected to be able to hear the sound of water before I bought it, so I wasn't surprised to be able hear it. Honestly, who is surprised to be able to hear the sound of running water when they buy a fountain? 3. The fountain should be cleaned about once a week. The way I do this is to intentionally let the water get low (but not out completely) because I find it easier that way. I usually take off the water tank, then disassemble it where it is. This is just my personal preference. I find that I slosh less water getting it to the bathroom if I take it apart before I move it. Once it's in the bathroom, it's pretty easy to clean everything out and reassemble it. I also take the opportunity to rinse out the filter while I'm at it. I usually reassemble it without putting any water in it and put it back in its place, then refill it. This is just what works best for me. 4. When you first buy it, you will probably see charcoal in the water from the filter. This went away for me after about a week and a half. It's completely harmless and won't injure or hurt your pet in any way. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. My cat loves this fountain. She enjoys sitting by it and watching the stream of water, and she also like to bat at it. She drinks lots of water, which is great, and the continuous stream keeps the water from becoming stale. If you have any questions about the fountain, just let me know in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2014 by Levi Jupiter
The good outweighs the bad. Just buy it. Your pet will thank you.
UPDATE: Feb 2021 and it's still going strong. Animals still love it. Motor still runs despite allowing it to run dry occasionally. Cleaning is still a bit tedious but I have absolutely zero regrets on this purchase and will replace when it finally croaks. UPDATE: It's been a full year since my last review. We added 2 more cats to our family in February of 2018 so we now have 2 dogs and 3 cats and just the 2 fountains. Both are still running fine. Our german shepherd is nearly 2 so he drinks alot. We fill both fountains now twice a day. Clean them thoroughly once a week. I did find that purchasing the filters in bulk is much cheaper than buying 1-3 at a time. Still love these fountains and will definitely replace with the same when they die. As a side note, our big boy is a sloppy drinker and the floor often gets very wet. I worried the fountain was leaking early on until I put a drying mat under it and the only wet part was right in front of the fountain. I now use a bath mat under each fountain for this and just throw it in the wash when it needs a good cleaning. We purchased the original PetSafe Drinkwell with 50 oz reservoir over a year ago and have loved it. We did find that it went dry very quickly as we have two dogs and a cat (and 2 lazy kids and 2 tired parents) . One is a growing German Shepherd so... there's that. For reference the other is a Bichon and then your average house cat. We recently ordered the Platinum mostly for the volume because the German shepherd drinks a ton of water. It has been fantastic. We've only had it for about a month. There are unsurprising inconveniences such as the cleaning and maintaining of the filters but our pets love it and it has decreased our need to refill the water bowl down to once a day (that is using both the original with the extra 50 oz reservoir and this one). For those inexperienced with these types of fountains, they must be taken apart and cleaned 1-2 x week depending on your pets. There are several areas that are difficult to clean. The motor will likely have hair or debris on it that will need to be removed. We spray our plastic components with bleach and then run them through the dishwasher when it seems particularly dirty. (Side note: you CANNOT put the extra reservoir that comes with the original in the dishwasher...it will melt. They sell replacements though. ) This works great to give it a good sterilization! The filter gets pretty nasty. I think the recommended 2 weeks would probably be ideal for filter changes but I'm not willing to pay that so we stretch ours by rinsing them well with hot water. Quite obviously though its a fantastic product. I mean, after owning the original for a year, I went looking for a larger version (and found it- thank you Petsafe!) All 3 of our pets like the stream of running water. The minor inconveniences are a small price to pay to ensure all 3 of our babies have fresh water readily available all day long. Would definitely purchase again. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2018 by S. Whitmire
Mea culpa
I want to apologize to the manufacturer and to anyone who used my advice and experience to decide not to buy the Drinkwell Platinum fountain. Drinkwell/Petsafe responded quickly and kindly to my message (below) and sent a new fountain to me to replace the older one with which I was struggling to connect the upper to the lower housing. They also sent a postage paid return label so I could return the "defective" fountain at no cost. I received the new fountain in a short time, obviously expedited. I set the new fountain up easily and it is running beautifully. When I went to put the old fountain in the new box to send it back to Petsafe, the housings clicked together easily with no sign of the difficulties I had had with it. I tried several times with the same result - there was no problem with the fit. I have no idea why it seemed so difficult and then impossible to fit these pieces together, but somehow either it fixed itself, or I fixed myself. I am so very embarrassed, but I want to correct the record and part of that is copping to my wrongness. Drinkwell/Petsafe handled this situation beautifully with quick, polite, and informative responses, and rapid shipping of the new fountain. I will be blushing for weeks for what is clearly my error, even though I don't understand how it happened. I will of course purchase the new fountain and keep the old one for a spare or maybe a different room. My own handling of the situation was rude and impatient and this is especially egregious in view of the fact that the problem was user error. I have fervently apologized to the individual at Petsafe who handled the problem The Drinkwell is a high quality product with a larger capacity than other fountains in the same price and size range, which means less frequent filling. The motor is nearly inaudible. It is easy to use and clean and my cats love it. One of my cats used to sleep next to it and another, when he was a kitten, would hold his paw under the water flow and just watch it, transfixed. During the past several days when we didn't have the fountain running they looked kind of lost, staring at the fountain hoping to see water emerge as per usual. I am not proud of my rudeness in the communication below that I sent to Drinkwell. To be fair, it is not usually my approach to get so feisty so early in the process but I let my frustration get the better of me. As a wise person once told me, start out nicely because otherwise you have nowhere to go. Another life lesson relearned. My original review, which is obviously no longer relevant, was as follows: "This is a message I wrote to Drinkwell. I bought yet another Drinkwell Platinum fountain from Amazon.com on February 15 2015. This year. 8 months ago. I am used to these things lasting maybe 1.5 - 2 years, but this one has been a wreck from the start. Getting the top and bottom pieces to align has been a wrestling match that inevitably ends with water all over my kitchen floor and me badly needing a glass of wine to keep myself from breaking it into little pieces with the biggest hammer I can find. Maybe I should have tried the wine first. Now the top has warped to the point where I can't get it to go together at all, even with a hammer, PLUS the motor died. I would be willing to try once more if you do the right thing and send a new one to me. If you send a postage paid label I will be happy to send this one back to you so you can witness the problem in person. Please advise me of your decision as soon as possible so I can order a different fountain if needed." ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2015 by Jocasta
A Good Value For Those Who Want to Spoil Their Pet A Bit
My wife and I have 4 cats, all of which are over the age of 10 and spoiled rotten. We have owned around 5 of these pet fountains during that time. We have tried others over the years, but always wound up coming back to this one because it is affordable, easy to work with, mostly durable and the cats enjoy it. In our experience, we seem to be able to get about 3 to 4 years of use of of these. The pumps can fail and when that happens, we have found that it makes more sense to just replace the entire thing rather than waste time trying to hunt down another pump. The pumps by themselves are around $15-20 *if* you can find the correct one and the plastic components tend to get encrusted with mineral deposits over time, so it's best to just start fresh with a new one whenever the pump fails. We run two of these at a time with one upstairs in our loft area and one downstairs in the kitchen. So between 4 cats, they can usually work out who gets to have a drink without a fight erupting (and they will fight over almost anything). They all LOVE this thing as long as it is kept clean. However, it does require some occasional maintenance. This is definitely not a set-it-down-and-forget-it device. Food will find its way into the reservoir, hair will collect in the grate and various other "gook" will gradually build up and it will need a good scrub where it will need to be dismantled and thoroughly cleaned. The pump can be partially disassembled and it is a good idea to take it apart and make sure it is clear of debris and build-up. I do a complete scrub about every 4-6 weeks. It can probably go longer, but the build up will get harder to remove and, if you have hard water, it can get pretty bad if the cleaning interval is too infrequent. It makes very little noise, when it is running and as long as the pump is clean and clear of any blockage and there is enough water in the fountain and reservoir, all that can be heard is the trickle of water. It can get noisy when things start to gunk up or if the pump starts to falter. We haven't had any issues with spillage or leaking. However, one of our cats really, really, really wants to get after where the water comes out and she will use her paw to knock off the top lid so she can peer down into the filter channel where the water pumps up. That aside, there really isn't much to complain about. The cats love it, it's cheap and better than just providing them with still water. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2015 by Rob S.
The 3 Amigos Love this Fountain!
I originally purchased this in September of 2012. I was extremely excited to get the unit as I had read all the reviews and I wanted to see how my 3 amigos would react. The unit was simple to set up and I had the unit running in no time. Oh, I highly recommend the Drinkwell Platinum fountain mat Drinkwell Platinum Fountain Mat, MAT-D2 for this unit. I did purchase the mat the day I purchased the unit and I can tell you it is a lifesaver. My kittehs took to playing in the water and some did spill out. The mat caught all the water and kept my laminate flooring from being damaged in any way at all. The mat also fits the unit perfectly and looks like it belongs with the unit. Ok, back to the 3 amigos. They simply love this fountain. At first they were typical kittehs. They walked around for a bit and would stare, and then act as if it were not there. Finally they would get close, and then jump back when one of my kids made a loud noise. Once they got over the newness they tried it. They have not looked back since. They all love it. I have one kitteh who thinks he is a raccoon and brings his food over to the fountain to be cleaned. Ok, ok, it is to play with the food in the water, but cleaning it sounds better. I have another little dude who uses his paws to draw the water from the waterfall to his mouth, and this is how he drinks. My other kitteh just likes to lap the water out of the bowl area. So I do have a little bit of experience with 3 different types of drinkers. Here is a rundown of things that may be of concern for those who are considering purchasing this fountain. Will the cats use it? I was concerned about 1 of my kittehs. He is kind of looney and I was worried this may be something he would have nothing to do with. My concerns were without merit as he was the first to try it out. All my kittehs love this fountain. Now, when I clean it, they follow me around and meow until I put it back on the floor for them to use. They have claimed their fountain and do not like me taking it away. They won't bother with a simple bowl anymore. How long do the filters last? I have 3 kittehs with the habits I listed above. My filter changes run around 4-6 weeks. I tried cleaning the filter, but it did not work. I watch amazon's prices and purchase filters when they are on sale at a decent price. You can either purchase them in packets of 3 Drinkwell Fountain Premium Replacement Filter 3 pack or in bulk where you get 4 packets of 3 Drinkwell Platinum Premium Filters, 12-Pack . Prices vary so you have to watch. One day it is cheaper to purchase just one pack of 3 and on others it is cheaper to purchase 4 packs of 3. Keep your eyes open. As far as the filters go, if you don't change them then the water simply runs over the top of the filter and into the basin. You can still use the unit; it just won't filter the water. What are the filters made of? The filters are a formed trapezoid of fibrous material which is likely what is used for fish tank filtration. The filters will only take out foreign material such as hair or dirt so it will not circulate into the water fountain continuously. The filters will not take out any heavy metals or minerals. It is a basic sediment filter only with a light carbon backing and some carbon granules between both the front and back to remove odor. How much odor is removed, I cannot attest to, as I have a filter on my sink and do not use straight tap water for the fountain. However, from my experience in fish tank filtration I would say it is adequate. Ease of use? I have had absolutely no problems with the unit. It is very easy to put together. Once you understand how to change the reservoir it is a snap. Just remember that the reservoir cap has the plunger on it so you do not spill any water when you put the full reservoir back on the unit. You must hold the plunger out as you are tipping the reservoir over so it does not spill. Once you have it over and you are lowering the reservoir onto the fountain the plunger will be pushed up as it is lowered and then the water will be able to flow from the reservoir into the fountain basin. Cleaning? I have not had any of the problems cleaning that others have mentioned. I went to Wal-mart and purchased a dish cleaning brush that was to be dedicated to cleaning this unit. I have not had any problems reaching every area except one. The one area I need a long small cylindrical brush for is the tube from the pump to the top of the filtration basin. However, you can clean that area with a paper towel and a thin Phillips screwdriver if you had to. So cleaning really was a breeze. I would recommend that you are careful when cleaning the reservoir. Do not drop it or it may crack. By drop, I mean do not drop it from a standing position onto a hard floor. Dropping it in the sink won't crack it. The plastic is thick and seems to very durable. Water Noise? Noise has never been an issue. We keep the unit in our kitchen, which is near our living room. We have never had any annoying noise from the unit that disturbs us in any way. If you are a person who has to have utter silence at all times, then you would not like this anymore than another item that has running water. You can turn the unit up to the highest setting and you may think the unit sounds like a small running brook. If that is annoying to you then do not purchase this unit as it is a fountain with running water. Not sure what you would expect from such a unit? Motor Noise? I have never heard the motor at all, except on one occasion. The reviews mentioning the motor noise are either running the unit dry or have a bad motor. You should not hear a motor like this running. If you do then you have something wrong. Also, check your plastic pre-filter. I did hear an odd noise from my motor one time 6 days after I had put the unit down. The problem was that my longhaired kitteh, who loves to put his paws in the water, had clogged the pre-filter with his hair. It was causing the motor to have to strain, thus the noise. I simply cleaned the pre-filter and all was well. Leaking? This unit is molded as a single reservoir that sits upon a molded basin. Unless you have a crack in your unit, it should not leak. The first time I Put the reservoir down I was not careful and I allowed water to run into the unit before I put the reservoir all the way down. As I already had the basin full, this caused the basin to overflow and to stay high until the reservoir emptied. My mistake and I never made it again. Thus, I never had water over the sides again, unless my kittehs are playing in the water, which is kind of the point of having this. That brings up another point. How many of the people complaining about leaking have simply not realized their kittehs are now playing in the water which in turn has the water coming over the sides looking as if the basin is leaking? The whole point in purchasing this type of fountain is to encourage your kittehs to drink more water. I also purchased this unit as a way to allow the kittehs to play in the water more. Many cats in the wild prefer to drink from running water. There are different theories as to why, but the fact remains that they do. It is part of our kittehs past to seek out running water. Only when we domesticated them did they have to settle for sedentary water dishes. By giving our little friends these fountains we give them one more natural way for them to act. Once they get used to it, they will enjoy it more and more, and likely make more of a mess. If your unit does leak, and you know for sure your kittehs are not enjoying the fountain in a playful way, you likely have a crack. I highly recommend this pet fountain to anybody who has small to medium sized pets. I purchased a second unit from Amazon.com's Warehouse Deals when I saw the price of a used-like new unit drop to 33.00. Enjoy! And as my 3 amigos say, "Meow, meooooooow meow, and mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreow!" ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2013 by Duncan Idaho
Big improvement over the original!
I have 2 cats, one being a kitten who LOVES water. I had the old Drinkwell for many years (the pale powder blue version) and loved it. I had tried many different kinds of fountains before but they'd always grow mold, burn out, or get clogged. The Drinkwell never did! I eventually got rid of it due to years of hard water stains - the water where I live is infamous for being super hard, and no matter how hard I scrubbed I was never able to prevent it building up in the spout and drinking bowl. I just bought the new unit and it is such a big improvement over the old version. It's quieter (not that the noise ever bothered me, it's nice hearing the soft sound of water falling!), and the capacity is awesome. I had the add-on resevoir for my old fountain but seemed to be filling it every few days. Now, with the increased capacity on the new Drinkwell I only have to fill it every other week. The best part is I can fill it while the unit is still running! I clear the small 'hair trap' every few days because I've read that if it gets clogged the unit can overflow. It takes literally 2 seconds to wipe any fur off the trap, so very minimal maintenance. With the old fountain I'd have to claw hair right out of the little motor directly, which was gross: I much prefer cleaning the trap to digging hair out of a small motor propeller. After a month of use this unit *seems* to stay way cleaner than the old unit did. I've taken it apart once and it was very easy to clean, especially since the cord comes apart and you can remove the motor to clean underneath it (unlike the old model). This means I'm more likely to pick it up and take it to the sink to scrub! I also love that it all comes apart and there are no weird little corners to scrub. The old unit was pretty much one big piece, meaning I never felt like I was able to get into the nooks and crannies to thorougly scrub. Those areas are where the hard water crusts built up the most, too. It'll take a couple years before I start to see whether the new unit remains hard water stain free, but so far so good! I would recommend you buy a good rubber mat with a high lip around the edge to put underneath this fountain. My cats love pawing at the water as it's falling, which leads to lots of splashes and puddles on the ground. The mat stops this water from ruining my wood floors. It's also handy when learning the best angle to tip the water resevoir when you take it off to refill. It takes a few tries to get the hang of, so you will end up spilling a little water your first few refills. I hold the water tank over the water bowl to catch any drippings but after a couple refills I feel like a pro and don't spill any water anymore. My one very minor complaint is the shape of that water tank. I, like others, don't like that it doesn't have a flattened bottom. When I refill it with fresh water I'm stuck holding the tank, I can't just put it down in a sink and let the water fill it. But honestly this isn't a big deal at all, I just have to hold it as it fills up. I can deal with that! When I had the old unit, I didn't bother buying the customized Drinkwell scrub brushes. I'm sorry that I didn't because I believe this is why I wasn't able to prevent the buildup of hard water, because I didn't have anything that could get into all the nooks and crannies. So when I bought this new unit I did buy the brushes and now regret it! The new unit comes apart completely, meaning that I don't really need specialized scrubbers to properly clean it. I think you could use any sized scrubber and you'll be able to get this fountain spotless. So if you don't have the extra cash for brushes, don't worry, hit up a Dollar Store and get some cheapie scrubbers instead! If you can't decide whether to get the old Drinkwell or this version, GET THIS VERSION for sure! The improvements aren't major but they did address all the small 'this thing is great but I wish that they'd done this small thing better' concerns I had with the old fountain. I would also STRONGLY recommend you buy a Drinkwell over other brands of fountains, even though it's more expensive. The cheaper fountains only last a couple months before they clog, break down or get so icky dirty that you can't bear to watch your pet drink out of them. I've tried almost every brand on the market and the Drinkwell is by far the best designed, most durable and easiest to maintain. It is absolutely worth the extra money. One last note for fellow Canadian customers: Amazon.ca doesn't stock the same products as Amazon.com does, it focuses pretty much only on books and movies. I often shop in the US store instead because their product selection is so much better, however a lot of the time they're unable to ship certain products to Canada. I was amazed they were able to ship me this fountain which is a rather large item! Even better, it literally arrived within 2 days even though I didn't pay extra for fast shipping. I didn't get slammed with extra duty or border fees. This fountain was over $30 cheaper from Amazon.com than any pet store within Canada so I saved HUGE money! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2011 by Jennifer
VERY LOUD AND MESSY FOUNTAIN
I decided to purchase a cat fountain because (i) I changed my cats water bowl twice a day and wanted something that would be a bit easier, (ii) my cat loves drinking water every day out of my hand from the bathroom sink and (iii), quite frankly, I love spoiling her and thought this would be a loving gift to her. Originally, I conducted research on the Drinkwell and Petmate fountains and decided to purchase the Drinkwell, particularly after reading about the review's on the Petmate's filters being recently changed into a cheaper version. Before the initial assembly, I cleaned all of the parts. When I started this thing, it sounded like a a pool filtration system was in my kitchen! I mean, this thing was LOUD! So, I contacted Drinkwell: they said to disassemble the motor, clean it and add some olive oil to the spining little metal rod in the motor...did that. When I started it back up, it was quieter for about five minutes...then I was back to the pool filtration system sound. So, I contacted Drinkwell again. They said to allow 24 hours for the motor to "prime itself." Did that, too...no change. I tried changing the speeds to the lowest it can go, to the highest it could go, to everything in the middle...still no change. This thing was so loud, that my cat wouldn't even go near it unless it was turned off! There's more... Changing the water reservoir is a NIGHTMARE! I don't care how careful you are...you're going to get water all over the place. Let me try to explain: if you have used a humidifier before, you know that the water reservoirs on those things have a "stopper" so you can turn the reservoir right-side up or upside-down and no water should seep out; the same holds true for those water containers you see at the work-place. This is so you remove and replace the reservoir without water spilling. There is no such stopper here!! Get this...you have to flip the reservoir a certain way OVER the Drinkwell foutain--as the DIRECTIONS say--to "MINIMIZE" (not "prevent") the spilling of the water!!! In other words, no matter how you do it, water WILL spill out! I mean...really?! This means, if it's near a wall, which I put mine and where I think most people would put it, you'll have to move the foutain away from the wall, where it will spill when removing the reservoir if there is any water in it, and then it will spill again (no doubt) when you put the reservoir back on it, and then you'll need to do some clean-up! When the reservoir is on its side, it GUSHES out! When the reservoir is the direction such that the stopper (and I use the term "stopper" very lightly) is on the bottom (how it goes into the fountain), it drips heavily...more likely streams of water coming out. So, you'll need to clean the water spills EVERY time you deal with the reservoir. I would not change this thing over any rug...that's for sure. The directions recommend weekly cleanings. In order to stay within the warranty, Drinkwell informed me that it must be cleaned at least once every two weeks. Speaking of warranty...it's only ONE YEAR!! Horrible! The first two issues (i.e., the loud pump and the reservoir spilling) were easily enough for me to want to return this product. However, there was a third...and I do feel that this is a cat-particular issue...meaning, one cat may find this to be an issue (like mine), and another may not: It is the free-falling water. My cat didn't like it. In fact, when my cat puts her head in the fountain pool (when it's turned off), her head would probably hit the running water...and I have a five-month old small female kitten! The Petmate (and Catmate) fountains still give the benefits of running water (i.e., the attractive sound for the cat, keeping the water cool, oxidation, etc.), but without the obtrusiveness of free-falling water. As I write this, the Drinkwell is on its way back to Amazon. In doing more research, I narrowed my alternate choices down to the Petmate Deluxe (medium size since I only have one cat) and the Catemate fountains. I ultimately chose the Petmate fountain since it has a reservoir, and the Catmate fountain does not. I wanted the ability to not have to add water all the time, which the Petmate will allow. The Catmate needs to have water added directly to the fountain and I read one review that said this person added water daily. I also feel my cat will prefer streaming water down a slide over the free-falling water. An incidental benefit to the Petmate fountain is that the Petsmart medium fountain is HALF the price of the Drinkwell ($27 versus $44). Let's now talk filters: Yes, I'm reading about complaints of the Petmate filters and how they are supposed have undergone a loss of quality with a recent "update" to them. For me, given the above, I'm more than willing to have this as a trade-off, IF they are in fact "poorer" quality than the Drinkwell filters. Of course, I won't be able to gauge this until I actually receive and set up the Petmate fountain. However, know this: in the Drinkwell directions, it states that the filters aren't even necessary for normal operation! Additionally, the Drinkwell filters are supposed to be changed (again, according to the directions), every "4 to 6 weeks." On the other hand, the Petmate filters are recommended to be changed (ready for this) every 60 to 90 DAYS!! So, if all is, in fact, equal, regarding the filter quality, then the Petmates last up to THREE TIMES longer than the Drinkwell filters. I currently have the Petmate fountain ordered and I really hope I don't have the same issues I did with the Drinkwell. I can then provide feedback on that foutain. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2010 by Just Someone
Recommended for increased water intake!
I have bought these for the past 10 years and have 2 of these running at all times. My cats all love them. One of my cat likes to sleep next to it like it’s her own personal beach. It is great to get them to increase their water intake (which can be deadly, especially in older cats). I throw most of the parts in the dishwasher. If you dry with too much heat, the plastic can warp making it difficult to put back together. There are some sharp angles that can be difficult to clean. I have very hard water and it gets a buildup easily. After a couple years, I buy a new one and change out the basin part. The pump lasts a long time, but will also get calcium buildup on it. I try to use filtered water which helps a lot. I leave the top off because one of my cats likes to drink from the top reservoir more than the falling water. The filters come in value packs on Amazon. I would also recommend a pet feeding pad to go under it to catch any water. (My cat likes to put her hand in and bat the falling water.) These are worth every penny. I have a different metal one that stops working even when half full. This one with its reservoir lasts wayyyy longer. It will not tell you when it’s low, but you will hear the pump making more noise. Sometimes if it’s off balance, it makes a little bit of extra noise and you’ll have to push down on the top to balance it again. Also, after cleaning, sometimes it doesn’t start up correctly even though you hear the motor running and you have to take it apart and try it again. Even with these small inconveniences, I’d recommend these fountains if you want your cat to drink more water at a reasonable price point ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2025 by Lisa
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