Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
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Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
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Review of the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain Suggested Uses for the Drinkwell Pet Fountain Drinkwell Pet Fountain Options Drinkwell Pet Fountains and Accessories |
Review of the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
Several years ago, when we had one elderly cat with kidney failure, and two others getting older (one of whom we had begun monitoring for possible kidney failure), our vet recommended not only a specialized diet and weekly saline solution injections for the eldest cat, but that we do whatever we could to encourage all the cats to drink as much water as possible, to not only help keep the cats healthier and more hydrated, but to help flush toxins out of their bodies. I had observed all our cats drinking rain water when they went outside, and our most finicky cat had demonstrated a marked preference for freshly running water in the sink and toilet, and for drinking out of the glasses of the people in the house, particularly iced drinks (we use Arrowhead water for our ice cubes and drinks). I knew that both cats and dogs have a much greater sense of smell than humans, and a little online searching told me that cats can smell (and likely taste) the chemicals in the water, hence their preference for rain water and filtered water. With the volume of water the dog drinks we decided it would be too expensive to give the animals nothing but Arrowhead water, so I decided to do some research into pet fountains with filtration systems.
Based on that research, I purchased one each of the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
Both of the fountains worked well, were pretty quiet, required next to no assembly, were easy enough to fill up with water, and started working as soon as they were plugged in. The way they work is you fill them with the proscribed amount of tap water, plug them in, and the machine pumps the water through a carbon filter, and then the water flows into the bowl. The same water is continuously circulated through the filtration system to keep it clean and aerated. I then placed each of the pet fountains near the existing water and food bowls so the animals would see them, but be able to drink from their regular bowls until they became comfortable with the new machines. The finicky cat and the dog took to fountains essentially right away, the other cats took a little longer. Remember, just because the pet fountain is quiet to us, doesn’t mean it is quiet to a cat or dog, both of which hear so much better than we do. It can be a little disconcerting to them, and it took a couple of days for the second two cats to grow accustomed to their new water source.
Both the fountains continue to work well, the animals seemed to be drinking more water, and we haven’t had any problems with them. There are several sizes of Drinkwell fountains available, and I would recommend the platinum size Drinkwell fountain if you have two or more cats, and I can tell you from personal experience that the manufacturer isn’t kidding when they say that the platinum is for 50 – 60 pound dogs or less. Our chocolate lab, who’s in the neighborhood of 80 – 90 pounds, drank and sloshed out too much of the water, and we had to refill the machine more often than we would have liked to keep water for the cats and to keep the filter motor from burning out. If you have a large dog, or if you have two or more medium size dogs, I recommend that you upgrade to the Drinkwell Big Dog Pet Fountain
If there’s a con to the Drinkwell fountains, I’d say its that if you goof and let it run out of water, you could short out the filter motor, but this is also true of every other type of pet water filtration system I’ve seen, and if the worst happens, you can order a new filter and replace it yourself (you don’t have to buy a whole new machine if the motor shorts out, or when it eventually wears out). How often you’re going to have to add more water will depend partly on evaporation, but mostly on how many, and what type of animals you have and how active they are. My advice for the first couple of days you have the machine to keep close tabs on it, check the water levels frequently, once you are sure that all your animals are using the fountain, you should be able to get an idea of how often you’ll have to add more water.
I do also have a couple of recommendations for getting the best results from your drinking fountain. You are supposed to change the carbon filters every sixty days (very easy to do) so there is a small ongoing expense to keep your machine running properly – if you don’t change the filter, it stops filtering properly. I would suggest buying at least a couple extra filters up front so there is no interruption in the filtering and you get used to changing them every 60 days. If you have a sloppy eater like one of our cats, who is always knocking kibble all over the place, I suggest you keep the Drinkwell machine close by, but perhaps a foot away, to avoid food falling into the bowl. I’ve never had a problem with the machine slopping water on the floor, it doesn’t do it, but every once in a while our dog does. If you’re concerned about that, I recommend placing a small baking sheet or one of the Drinkwell mats under the fountain to keep condensation off wooden floors and contain any water that your animals may knock out of the bowl. You are also supposed to unplug the fountain every time you add water, and if your intended electrical plug is out of the way or hard to reach, I suggest using a short extension cord to make the plug end of the machine more accessible to you.
Benefits of the Drinkwell Pet Fountain
- Provide a Safer Alternative to the Shower, Sink or Toilet. We’ve had plenty of cats who were attracted to the water in the bottom of the shower, the sink, the fish tank or worse, the toilet. Many dogs drink out of the toilet too, given a chance, and some members of the family can’t seem to remember to keep the lid down. There are an endless places in the yard where small amounts of rainwater collect and algae starts growing – and our animals always find them before we do. Cats and dogs are biologically hardwired to be attracted to running, as opposed to stagnant water, because in nature, that’s safer. And animals can be attracted by more “natural” smelling water than tap water, which contains chemicals. Aside from the gross factor, its a potential health hazard if the animal accidentally ingests something they shouldn’t. A few strategically placed Drinkwell fountains should provide your animals with fresh “running” water that will be more accessible and attractive than getting into the toilet.
- Give Your Animals a Continuous Supply of Clean, Running Water. Every dog we’ve ever owned loves to drink water fresh out of the garden hose, and we’ve had several cats who have actively “demanded” cold fresh water straight out of the tap. I’ve even heard of some people who leave the tap running just a little bit for their cats. Just as the people in the house prefer their drinks made with Arrowhead, at least one of our cats prefers it to tap water. If you live in an area like I do where sometimes the water out of the tap isn’t clear and I personally wouldn’t drink it, probably all the more reason why you might want to filter it before your animals drink it. And all of our animals seem to prefer the filtered water from the Drinkwell pet fountain over even freshly run water in either plastic or metal water bowls.
- Help Your Pets Drink More Water. I was hopeful, but a bit skeptical at first that our animals would drink more water because of the pet fountain, but from observing them closely, it does seem to be true. I don’t know if its because the filtered water smells better, tastes better, seems fresher to them, they like that the water is running or the aeration, or whether the faint sound of moving water is a reminder to them that , but they seem to drinking more water out of the Drinkwell fountain. Whatever the reason, can’t argue with the results, and its particularly beneficial to get animals who are older, have been ill, or are recovering from surgery to drink as much as possible (assuming your vet hasn’t said otherwise). Our eldest cat had problems with her teeth and gums earlier this year, which caused a strain on her kidneys, which meant she needed to drink more water – any little thing that encouraged her to drink more often or drink more per sitting was better for her health then and now.
Drinkwell Pet Fountain Options
The Drinkwell fountain comes in several sizes: the Drinkwell Original 50 oz. Pet Fountain
(intended for a single cat or one small dog), Drinkwell 360 (128 Oz.) Pet Fountain
(its a completely different design, so I can’t speak to how it works, but animals can drink from it on any side, so if you have a lot of cats, or just a couple that don’t get along very well, everyone can drink at the same time and not have to be so close to one another), Drinkwell Platinum (168 oz.) Pet Fountain (for multiple cats and small dogs), and the Drinkwell Big Dog (288 oz.) Pet Fountain (for one or more big dogs). Several of the models come in more than one color or finish, some kits are offered as well (that include the cleaning kit and extra filters), so I’ve listed the highlight offerings in the section below.
Drinkwell Pet Fountains and Accessories
With the various sizes of the fountain available, it would be easy to accidentally buy the wrong size or the wrong accessory, so to help you, I’m grouping all these fountains and the accessories by size, so hopefully there’s no mistake. I’ve also included links to some “kits” which include not only the machine, but the cleaning kit and extra filters, and if you want to do that, and it fits your budget, that’s one way to save a little money on the additional supplies. But I’ve given you as many options as far as size, color, finish, and the kits as I could find.
Drinkwell Original (50 Ounce) Pet Fountain and Accessories
Drinkwell 360 (128 Ounce) Pet Fountain and Accessories
Drinkwell Platinum (168 Ounce) Pet Fountain / Accessories
Drinkwell Big Dog (288 Ounce) Pet Fountain and Accessories
