Now, comes into play what is the right pet fountain to use. Well, to be honest I have probably tried them all. I just donated six to Goodwill last week in fact. Throughout these past ten years I have tried 12 different ones. They varied in sound, size, shape, spout, water flow, etc...
What brought me to this pet fountain was the fact that I had one pet water fountain that kept leaking. You walked by and for no reason whatsoever the carpet is wet. It happened so often it eventually stained the carpet, etc. Not to mention I hate being woken up in the middle of the night because you can hear the motor overworking when the water level is low...so, I became determined to find a replacement.
What I like about this pet fountain is it is ceramic and not plastic. So, that part was a no brainer. My cats only eat from stainless steel bowls as well. However, I did wonder if the cats would drink out of it as they tend to drink from where the water flows out of fountain spout than the actual basin and this pet fountain is structured completely different.
The second selling point for me was the ease of cleaning. I clean the pet water fountains once a week, that is 104 cleanings a year times 10 years...Every single pet fountain I have used in the past is a pain to clean...there are so many crevices that you simply cannot reach to clean and if you put plastic in the dishwasher you are technically poisoning your pets, so hand washing is the only option. It is a chore until TODAY! Wow, this is so easy to clean, no crevices I mean it is really easy to clean. I actually don't dread cleaning the pet fountain anymore. I wish I would have tried this a lot sooner. Though it gets better. With five cats you can imagine that cat hair that will get caught in the motor and yes it does. I have long hair cats. With all previous pet fountains you have to do a thorough cleaning weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) because the pet hair gets caught up in the motor and affects the operation of the pet fountain...well, you can imagine my surprise to find out that is really not the case with this pet fountain. Barely any hair gets in, nothing at all like before. The clam shaped housing for the motor for all intent and purposes protects the motor and prevents hair from clogging it. That equates to you don't have to clean it that often. YES! Cleaning is even easier.
I do have to admit I read the reviews beforehand and people had stated to buy the white ceramic drinking fountain model over the other as you have more visibility in monitoring the fountain, etc. Let me tell you, white was the last color I wanted to buy, but it made sense as you can see if the water is dirty, the water level, etc. so I purchased the white model and I do not regret it. It is beyond easy to see the water level and if any dry food crumbs or anything else that should not be in the bowl is there it is 100% visible and you know when to change it out if need be.
Of course, I am more than elated to report the fact that this pet fountain does not leak, in fact it is physically impossible for it to leak which was another no brainer for me.
Now, for sound. Initially I thought it was louder than all the others I have ever had. Normally, you don't really hear the pet fountains and if you do it is a faint drip nothing overbearing, but this one was louder than normal. You knew it was there. However, there is a switch on the motor that you can adjust the flow. Also, I discovered that if you fill the pet fountain up (close to the brim) it is quieter. So, now since doing both those things the pet fountain is quiet like the others I have had. Otherwise, it does have sound... though I have not once heard the motor overwork which is really nice. The water flow will get slightly louder when the water level is lower, but it is not disrupting or annoying like with the other water fountains where you hear the motor being overworked.
As for the cats, thank God they actual use it. I am not the only one that likes it LOL! I do have to admit at first the cats were like, what is this...but then again they do that with anything new. Oddly enough, each cat actually drinks from it differently. I have included a video of the sound with the water level low, the visibility of seeing what is in the pet fountain at all times and its water level, and the lack of sound with the water level high and the flow switch used. Needless to say, I will be replacing my other pet water fountain as well with this same model.
The only downside for me would be the filters. Can I easily get the filters at Pet Smart or Petco??? didn't see them and those stores tend to all push the Drinkwell fountains, etc. however, for what you get which is a healthy, non messy, easy to clean, less hassle pet fountain this is a minor issue for me if I have to buy the filters online from here on out. Plus, you can buy a year worth of filters (10 pack) for $11 which is what I did. Usually, the other filters I had to use were four for $10 so I am saving money in the long run ordering the filters on Amazon for this pet water fountain.
It is tricky to open the clam shape housing but it gets easier each time you do it.
Overall the pet fountain kind of reminds me of a toilet bowl and I refuse to let my cats drink out of the toilet bowl so it is a win win scenario for us both.
Long story short, I LOVE IT.