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Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Jumbo, Bleached Linen
By: Petmate       Average Rating: 3.5     Total Reviews: 560
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returned item as it was too small, no complaints about actual item     On: 2010-07-30

I love these fountains, this particular one was small and I returned it and ordered the large.
New Pump too powerful for product     On: 2010-07-26

We bought this new Petmate Fresh Flow to replace an existing unit that had served us well for several years but which was becoming difficult to clean. Unfortunately the pump on the new product for some reason no longer has adjustable flow although the flow control lever is still there but intentionally frozen in the maximum position. This results in a very noisy product with water overflowing the internal filter reservoir continually. We installed the pump for our old unit and all is well but this new product appears to have a significant flaw.
Cats love it!     On: 2010-07-24

After trying two other fountains that both leaked like crazy, I was very skeptical to try another. This product did not disappoint. I have a Bengal cat that will only drink moving water and I was tired of her drinking out of the faucet. She loves this fountain and drinks so much more water now. Best money spent for quite sometime. Highly recommend the Petmate Fresh Flow.
Life Saver     On: 2010-07-20

I would just like to say that i have a 20 year old siamese cat and he was bleeding alot from his UTI. I was getting worried because of his age and did not want ot put him through any surgery. I saw this in the pet store and they wanted 52.00 for this and that was a little too much. I did purchase it on Amazon and i not only purchased one but all my friends wanted one too. I think i have bought 5 all together. my cat stated to drink more water than he ever has and no mor uti. I am very pleased with this product thank you Pet Mate. I would reccomend this to any one.
Good cat fountain, maybe not so great for dogs     On: 2010-07-16

I have owned a few fountains for my cat and this is the best one that Ive tried. It does have some flaws as noted by the other reviewers - sometimes gets loud and cleaning can be kind of a pain (but not nearly as bad as some others Ive had). I can imagine that cleaning it would be more of a problem with dogs who tend to get food in their water, but I just take it apart every couple of weeks when I swap out the water and wipe everything down with a sponge and that seems to do the trick. As for the pump noises, it does get noisy when the water level gets low, but as long as you keep it fairly full, it seems to be fine. Again, this would probably be more of a problem with dogs that drink more water. My cat was originally a little hesitant to drink out of it, but now she will only drink this fountain, although I keep other bowls of water around the house. For the price, I am very satisfied.
Perfect fountain     On: 2010-07-13

Ive had this fountain for almost two years and have nothing but great things to say. Simple maintenance will keep it running strong and your kitty well hydrated. The motor gets clogged with food and hair but just disassemble the fountain by wedging a butter knife in between the base and top and just pop it off. Clean the motor off with a wet paper towel and snap the fountain back together. Simple! For a more through cleaning, pull the fountain apart, take out the electrical components and stick everything in the top shelf of the dish washer (heated dry off). The reservoir is small but pouring some clean water in the base works also helps keep water levels high. Keeping the water at the correct level in the fountain keeps it virtually silent so you dont even know its there. My cat enjoys drinking the fresh running water out of the fountain more than jumping up on the counters and drinking out of the kitchen sink - no training required! Well worth the money and the occasional purchase of filters!
VERY sorry!     On: 2010-07-12

Before purchasing this Freshflow Fountain I watered my dogs via a stainless-steel bowl in a raised feeeding-station. Having bought the LARGEST one which is quite expensive, I now truly wish Id stayed with that arrangement. When Im out of filters (bought three packages w/fountain) I shall go BACK to previous arrangement!
This thing is AWFUL to clean; there are numerous crevices & corners that my long/narrow brush cannot reach & believe me, it needs cleaning at least twice weekly. I have two Yorkies & a Golden, so it gets well-used but even so, its extremely labor-intensive. The fountain is just TOO much work to give them a clean, sanitary container from which to drink. It is is VERY heavy when the water-level is as it needs to be; lifting it to the sink is very hard on ones back, especially for those of us who are seniors, as am I.

The ads for this are VERY misleading, easy to clean? Not hardly, this thing is a nightmare!

Sincerely, V. Le Gare
It works great if your cat likes it, inspect before assembling...     On: 2010-07-03

I bought one of these several months ago for my moms cat, who has congenital kidney problems. Her cat liked it so much I got a second one for my cat. (Amazon sealed the deal when they offered it to me in my lightning picks.)

The second one arrived, I washed it out, assembled it, and it worked fine. Until I noticed it leaked. I had the unit in a shallow pan, and if I didnt, it would have done a number on the rug the Petmate was on, and probably the wall-to-wall carpet under that. In effect, the fountain seemed to leak at random. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didnt. At first I thought the water came from me spilling it, but on third day the entire reservoir leaked out, which caused air to get into the pump, essentially ruining the pump.

I took the unit apart, and there was a small hole, about 1/8", *right* at the water line. If you looked close, it was a manufacturing defect where the plastic didnt fill the mold completely. (I have a picture, but there isnt a way to post it.)

Amazon, of course, was stellar in the replacement, overnighting a new unit to me, and paying the return postage for the defective unit.

So I put the new unit together, and its working fine. My cat still prefers to drink from the bathtub drain (if theres water there) or his old dish. Cats are evil... (He *might* be drinking from it, he just wont do it in front of me.)

On a different note, my moms unit started making noise, so I took it apart, and found cat hair plugging the intake of the pump. (She has a DMH.) After removing the hair, the pump is quiet again, but it makes me think that the unit was designed wrong. The filter should be on the intake side of the pump, not the output side. I can understand why they did it that way (a larger area will allow higher flow), but then they should have made the pump more accessible to clean the intake.

Other comments:

My mom has to fill her reservoir every day. Im still running mine, and I think it would last 3 or 4 days, but I still fill it every day. I think how often you have to fill the reservoir depends on the relative humidity of the house, maybe the number of cats you have.

The unit itself is very quiet. Not intrusive at all.

You still have to clean the fountain about once a week. Maybe two. Stuff gets in it. Sometimes litter, sometimes food, depends on how messy your cat is. :-)

So if your cat likes it, this is a great product. Id give it 5 stars, except for the problems Ive had. If your cat doesnt like it, you have another doorstop on your hands. Im one for two.

Oh, and five stars for Amazons response to my problem. Thats why I buy here.


xx No good xx     On: 2010-07-02

The motor was way too loud & the water barely flowed out. I quit using this one and ordered a better quality fountain from a different brand. You get what you pay for...
I do NOT recommend this product.
Cats love it!     On: 2010-06-30

I have no had any problems with this product. My cats love it! One actually annoys the other with how much she HAS to be by the fountain and drink out of it all the time, she even drinks out of it when its dirty and almost empty, and even when its not on! A great way to get your cats to drink more water that they need. I did follow the instructions to let your cats adjust to it and drink from it before you turn it on for the first time and it worked great, they were still happy drinking from it once they got used to the noise.
Good buy     On: 2010-06-29

This is my second Petmate fountain. The first one started leaking after 2 years and had to be replaced. Product pros: The water is fresher for your pet and encourages them to drink (very important for my cat with renal stones), its fairly quiet and inconspicuous, easy to clean, has a tank for extra storage in case you head out for a few days, and replacement filters are pretty cheap. The cons: Must be placed near an outlet (though the cord is pretty long), The water reserve tank can get a little mildewy if you use it inconsistently (This time Im not using it at all), and the water gets warm pretty fast, so if you have an animal that is picky about cold water you may want to throw ice in there to replace the water.
want to love it     On: 2010-06-27

I bought this product a few months back because my cat was constantly jumping up on the sinks and in the tub to get water instead of drinking out of his bowl. It took him about a week to get the courage up to try it but once he did he never jumped up on the sink again. He loves it! Now heres the reason for the low low rating and that is the fact that the stupid thing leaks all the time. I cant even really figure out what makes it leak, there are no apparent cracks. When enough water leaks out then it makes this awful sucking noise which I have woken up to on more than one occasion. I cant even leave it on for my cat when I leave for the weekend because I am afraid the pump will fry. The final thing is that the water in the basin doesnt say any cleaner than a bowl. It accumulates food and hair and needs to be cleaned at least once a week. I certainly wont go back to a bowl but Im now on the hunt for a new fountain.
OK, but has problems     On: 2010-06-26

This is a really cool item, but there are a few things I didnt like about it.
* You have to fill it up way too much - part of the reason we wanted this was to have clean water constantly but were filling 2-3 times a day for our dog. It would probably be ok for a small pet.
* Another problem we had is that the flow would clog because of pet hair and it would have to be disassembled and cleaned quite a bit.
We ended up going back to teh regular bowl. I would recomment for cats or a small pet, but definitely not for a large one.
Pretty Good.     On: 2010-06-16

I like this water fountain. It only gets loud when the water level gets low, so you fill it up and its quiet again. Its nice because it reminds you to fill it up. My cats love it and it has stayed clean. Its pretty easy to put together too. I would buy this again.
Could not find replacement pump     On: 2010-06-11

I purchased this product (medium size) from another website eight years ago. The product worked well and my six cats used it without any problems. The pump worked fine as long as it was regularly cleaned. The major drawback was that the bowl and its various parts were difficult to clean and even more so for me since I have well water and the mineral build up was particularly hard to remove. Then last week the electrical cord actually separated from the pump at the point of entry into the pump itself. I have several small and large water fountains which use pumps and have never had this happen before. But the pump did have some age on it so I began to search for a replacement. The original pump was a Jebao model PP-333-LV. However, the same model is now a different size and lacks the flow control valve. I checked the Jebao website, the Petmate website and many, many other websites in an attempt to find a compatible pump. I was successful only in wasting my time and elevating my blood pressure. The construction of the compartment for the pump is such that you must have the exact same size or it just wont work. It has to fit perfectly. I noticed that others who had commented on the same problem cobbled together parts from their old pump along with a new one with satisfactory results. I decided against this route and began to research other pet water fountains. After reading the comments accompanying each it became apparent that each had its own problems.So I decided to make my own. All you need is an aquarium circulating filter (I used the Tetra Whisper PF10, about $14), a large glass, stainless steel or ceramic bowl and some glass pebbles (optional). I had a beautiful antique crockery bowl lined in blue ceramic that was just collecting dust (5" deep by 9 1/4" diameter)which was perfect for the project because it has a 3" wide straight band around the top, like a clay flower pot, which holds the clip-on aquarium filter straight up without any shimming. A large straight sided glass salad bowl would also work beautifully. I added some polished glass beads in the bottom to catch the usual debris and it works like a charm - so easy to clean. Google "make your own pet fountain" for detailed instructions. And the best part, my cats love it. I gave this product one star because its hard to clean, I could not find a replacement pump which fit and Petmate does not have online customer service to answer questions. My Petmate bowl is now in the plastic recycling bin.
Great product for the money.     On: 2010-06-10

Ive owned this fountain for over a month now and love it. It is easy to clean and is small enough to "hide" in my living room and not be in the way. My cat is drinking much more water than before and seems to enjoy playing with the little water fall. You do need to refill the water often (the pump will make an audible noise when the water is low) but the fountain is great overall.
Not so much...     On: 2010-06-09

This product looks nice and streamlined, but doesnt work as well as the DrinkWell. I will be returning this fountain and buying another Drinkwell. The water in this product is constantly touching the product. My cats prefer the water to be airborne when they drink. Also, had to fill this product up 4 times in one day to avoid that annoying sound. And the interesting part is, no cats even drank from the fountain during that time. Not sure how it is losing water. No comparison with the Drinkwell, I will be exchanging.
Good product that cats will love....but you need to know about this maintenance to save you headaches in the future     On: 2010-06-07

I have three cats and they love this water dish. There are often two cats drinking from the running water at any given time. Generally, the dish is easy to use, disassemble, and clean as often as you want to clean (my husband cleans it daily but it really isnt necessary (he just likes to do that for the cats)...my brother and sister in law have one that they claim they dont clean and it works fine)

We have had three of these water dishes over the last 2 years. All of them failed due to pump problems. Finally I found out they sell pumps and went ahead and just bought a new pump. In the pump instructions they provided cleaning instructions for the pump (how to dissemble and clean w/ vinegar and water....this was not in our original instructions at the time). I managed to get all of our previous pumps working! So now I have a huge excess of pumps in case one ever goes out for any other reason.

Some other tips: start w/ filtered water to prevent hard water build up (main contributer to my pumps failing). Anyone having problems w/ slime or hard water can just use 2 parts vinegar and water and let the water dish soak for a few hours (bleach isnt good for plastic and this works perfectly).

Overall there isnt much maintenance to worry about, but if you dont want to have your pump go out in a few months make sure you clean it out every now and then.
Great watering device     On: 2010-06-05

This is the second pet fountain that I have purchased, the first one lasted more than 10 years. Good performance. Good cost per year for a device that delivers filtered water to my cats.
Retrofit ------- read if your curious     On: 2010-06-02

OK I researched a bunch of these,I had a mature dog with poor
kidneys,so I purchased the LARGE one,and the pump broke.

SUCCESS,yesterday the dog was at that bowl 3 times
the bowl filled,its obvious she enjoys,and now
is getting proper clean amounts to clean her body
and keep her hydrated..I am thrilled...

The pricey item is very sturdy,and very modern item
a bit smaller then I imagined,the acual bowl size
and the resoviour for a pug breed,doubt a BIG dog
would use this small bowl.

I am a fishkeeper also. I hooked up a SMALL quiet air pump
( 12 volt/5 gallon) and hooked up simple tubing with little
flowcontroller ( it all comes together) $14.00
ITS SILENT,and the air moves just like my fish tank,keeping
oxygen in the water,and using the charcoal filter.

Pretty nice,and solves the YUCKY stale water...she is small
but can drink BUCKETS of water.

The quality has gone to the litter box - the newer model is junk.     On: 2010-05-30

This is my fourth pet mate water fountain. And I do love how they keep the water circulating and the kitties drinking. But the first one I had lasted two years before the motor wore out and possibly part of the housing broke. Fair enough - its not that big a price to pay for the cats health. The second lasted about a year and 2 months, the third, one year. At this point I thought about jumping ship to the other brand, but decided to give this one last go. The current one makes a racket. Despite careful dismantling and cleaning, it is destined for the trash pile. After two months. I ordered this one on 3/28/10. And after the repeated taking apart for cleaning, theres no way that the plastic housing will endure much longer even if the motor wasnt faulty, its far more brittle than the original model. Utter doodoo. Skip it and go with the alternative.



My Cats Love This!     On: 2010-05-27

Very quiet, easy to clean and maintain. My cats love having fresh filtered running water to drink!
My cats love it!     On: 2010-05-26

All three of my cats love this fountain. They are all drinking much more than before. It is easy to assemble, easy to refill, and easy to clean (when needed). Im using distilled water because of all the minerals in our local water...better for the cats and probably better for the little machine.
Good idea, bad design     On: 2010-05-26

I was really excited about this product before I actually got it. Cats naturally prefer moving water (like drinking from the faucet) over still water (like their pristine water bowl you just filled). However, the design is seriously flawed. The water and filter chambers have little niches and indentations which are virtually impossible to clean without running the unit through the dishwasher (and who wants to do that daily?). A layer of slime builds up on the inside within a few days, reminiscent of algae in a pond (yum!) The filter compartment traps food and fur so its not in the bowl, but all the remaining water gets pushed through the collected gunk, which means all the water tastes bad. Definitely not useful for leaving the cat by himself over the weekend, because he wont drink water that tastes bad, even if he is the one who got the food and fur in it.
Helpful     On: 2010-05-24

We have used this product before. This is the second one purchased . It works well,but does develop a small humming noise after a short time......Otherwise,,,helpful for kitty.
Great, cheap and fast shipping     On: 2010-05-24

Spend a little now and save later on vet bills. 6 cats have used this fountain and all love it. Keep them drinking and keep them healthy.
Cats love this product     On: 2010-05-24

I purchased this product for my cats. They love it. It keeps the water clean and fresh. I dont have to dump and refill daily.
Fantastic!     On: 2010-05-22

I have had this fountain for almost 2 years now. I have never had problems with the pump being noisy unless the water level gets low or it needs to be taken apart and cleaned. I only really figured out how to clean the pump after my husband tried to clean the bowl without taking it apart and suddenly the pump wouldnt pump. After a few tries I figured out how to get the cover off and after brushing out all of the slime and junk the pump was as good as new. I now regularly clean the pump when I clean the rest of the fountain which is about every week to two weeks depending on how dirty it gets. We bought this because we had a hand me down cat that was always getting into the toilet and drinking water out of the sink and after we showered but wouldnt touch his water bowl. I had a Drinkwell for my cats in the states but could not find one in Korea where I now live. I was so thrilled when we found the Petmate fountain and even more thrilled that it came with two power plugs one for Korea and one for the US/Japan so we can use it anywhere we go. Even better our crazy hand me down cat no longer gets into the toilet and drinks a lot more water than before. He follows me and waits by the sink when I clean it and makes sure that I do a proper job on it. Just make sure you have some assorted brushes to get the hard to reach areas really clean. I would highly recommend this product to any pet owner.
Great concept; poor implementation     On: 2010-05-21

Great concept in a pet water fountain... poor implementation, sadly.

The pump is in front of the filter (meaning all the gunk and dirt deposited into the water bowl [I have one dog... he digs and eats grass and sheds - the normal stuff] gets pulled through/clogs the pump before ever getting filtered out)... so the slow buildup of deposits on the pump slows the pump action. But, my main complaint is the fact that there is no motive force to compel the water to pass through the filter. The filter is the last obstacle before the water flows down the ramp into the bowl, but it is placed in a small reservoir that is being filled from the bottom from the pump spout. The only way water flows down the ramp is if it has simply "soaked" through the filter and is of sufficient height that gravity takes over. This reservoir (intelligently) has an overflow relief opening, so if the water gets too high, it just pours back into the bottom bowl near the pump. But what this means is that as soon as the filter actually performs its job and collects the gunk, it is harder and harder for water to soak through it. The "easiest" solution for the water is to just fill up past the overflow relief and pour back into the bottom bowl, rather than trying to get through the gunky filter and down the ramp - and the filter starts getting filled up within days, even with regular washing.

This product would have been much better if the filter was placed *before* the pump - then the pump is shielded from the inevitable stuff that ends up in the bowl, AND the pump is actively pulling water through the filter (rather than very weakly trying to push the water, which has an easier way out), keeping a stronger water flow. Couple this design with an easily-removable filter for cleaning (when it gets gunked up) would make this a much more functional product.

Ive given up trying to alter this one to make it perform adequately - now I just use it like a plain old water dish, albeit a $45 one.
Some Great Help for Fresh Flow Problems     On: 2010-05-17

Ive had two of these fountains, and several family members also have them. Yes, weird things happen, and at least one was returned to company with pump problems. For whatever reason, they do not include the following information routinely in their packaging. For a pdf that illustrates routine cleaning, and some FAQs, go to: [...] You need to take the pump apart and despite the instructions in pdf, use the pointed type q-tips, a wire cake tester, in-between-teeth cleaner brush(really), you get the idea, to clean it inside and out! My cats love this fountain, but we joke that one of them has a "drinking problem," because she likes to belly-up at front of fountain and drink from waterfall, resulting in a drenched bib. The pdf should address many of the common complaints about this product. Good luck!
No better than a water dish     On: 2010-05-15

As the review title says, this product is literally no better than having a water dish. The reservoir is too small to last even one day in a multiple-cat household. Worse, it quickly stopped working properly, leaving the pump sucking air while the reservoir was still full. Even right out of the box, the fountain merely provided a trickle of water down the center slide, with no waterfall effect, which means the cats drink straight from the bowl, just as if youd never spent extra for a motorized fountain in the first place.

Stick with the DrinkWell. Or a water dish.
The perfect water fountain for cats and dogs!     On: 2010-05-07

I bought one of the Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountains because I was tired of having a faucet dripping all the time and a cat that refused to drink water in a bowl. I have 3 cats and 1 Chihuahua but only 1 cat refused to drink water from a bowl. As soon as the water fountain arrived she was the first one that came to inspect it and started drinking immediately. Funny, actually, she first plays with the water streaming out of the tank and likes to drink the water streaming down the little bridge but the other cats and the Chihuahua dont mind they just love the fresh oxygenated water. The best on the market to invite your animals to drink more water. (After my apartment burnt down and I lost the water fountain, it was one of the first items that I bought to replace!!)Quiet functioning, easy to clean and fill-up!
Too loud     On: 2010-05-05

This fountain is "ok". It is louder than I was expecting based on other reviews. Its like listening to a refridgerator running ALL THE TIME. I bought the jumbo size but cant really tell if my cats drink from it more than just a regular bowl.
I agree with the most critical review!     On: 2010-04-28

This is my third Petmate Fountain over the last couple of years. The first two both had motors that died within a week. Since I have yet to find any fountain worth a dime, I decided to try this one again. So far, the motor hasnt died. That is the only positive, but Ive only had it a few days. However, the fountains water level gets insanely low and the water does not flow out of the reservoir unless I pick it up manually and let it drip out by holding it about an inch higher than its normal position. Worse, nothing gets filtered by the filter because it doesnt have enough oomph in the flow to push debris back up to the filter. So the debris sits in the bottom of the bowl, deteriorating and making the water scummy. The little gate is incredibly useless. Yes, it keeps the motor cleaner. However, the whole point to having a filtered water fountain is to give your cats cleaner WATER, not a cleaner motor. What this little gate does is hold all the debris in the bowl so the cat is forced to drink debris filled water. Or actually, scummy water 1/2 inch from the bottom of the bowl, since the water level gets so low in a day or two. So, while I continue to search the world over for a decent fountain, I have resorted back to manually filling a regular bowl several times a day for my cats. At least, then, I know they actually have water available and are drinking clean water and are not forced to lick the scummy stuff from the bottom of a scummy bowl.
Great idea, but my cat won't touch it.     On: 2010-04-28

The fountain works fine and seems to be well designed and constructed. My cat drank out of it once when I first got it, but hasnt touched it since. Ive tried fresh water, filtered water, with the filter installed and without; but he wont drink out of it. If I can ever get my new cat to stop hiding under the bed, then maybe he will use it. Until then, it is just a decorative fountain.
Cats love it.     On: 2010-04-27

Overall, very happy with the product. It is really quiet...not at first, but give it a few minutes. The water disappears quickly and Im not sure if its because the air is so dry or the cats are drinking a lot of water, probably a combination of both. You still have to refill the water every day, but other than that, I would definitely suggest getting one of these if you have a cat.
Extremely Disappointed!     On: 2010-04-22

My cats and I loved this product when we first started using it. But now, 6 months later, its functioning very poorly. It makes a lot of NOISE--it hisses and spits and gurgles constantly and I am unable to get it to stop. Ive changed the filter a couple of times, but I only use already-filtered water in it, so there is no way that it can be clogged. Because I am unable to figure out what the problem is, I will most likely have to get rid of it because the noise is intolerable. Also, the little plastic knob that you turn to regulate the force of the waterflow is cheap and broke. The unit is a good idea and would be great if it worked, but this thing is not worth the money. DONT BUY THIS CHEAPLY MADE PRODUCT.
2nd and last Petmate Fresh Flow     On: 2010-04-19

I was very pleased with my previous Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow, but purchased a new one when a price on Amazon made it almost as economical to replace the whole unit vs. a worn out pump. The body has been redesigned - the pieces are shaped and fit together differently. Im not sure whether this design contributes to the problem, which is that this second Petmate fountain is very loud, and regardless of whether the reservoir is full, the water level in the bowl is not maintained at a level to keep the pump from "sputtering." The previous fountain was virtually silent; this one can be heard from several rooms away. I have had the manufacturer replace the pump, with no improvement. We will not be purchasing another fountain from Petmate.
Great price, good product     On: 2010-04-18

I had been thinking about getting this type of fountain for a while. Had to go for it with the great price.
Cats love it (and dog too). I havent found it to be messy, but I keep the flow on the lowest setting. Unit is quiet if the water level isnt too low. I think they drink more water too, since I fill the tank daily.
It should be noted that my cats have always loved drinking out of a faucet, so that is why I feel they enjoy this.
I would buy this product and recommend it too.
wing in your pet     On: 2010-04-16

while it is quiet for me, my cat still isnt thrilled with the motor. i recommend winging your cat into it. dont start the motor for a couple days or sooner if your pet starts drinking from it with no problem. poor bear just wasnt quite sure what to do with it since it isnt his usual water bowl. but now that he is figuring out that it is all his, he is drinking more water. :)
kitty loves it!     On: 2010-04-11

I also have a drinkwell fountain that my cats are used to, so I needed something similar to set up a second location. the cats love it! it was easy to set up and its very quiet.
Petmate Delux Fountain     On: 2010-04-05

We have had the Petmate Delux Fountain for almost 2 years and it is great. Both of our cats love it. They did not like to drink water from a bowl so I had to run water in the sink and let them drink from the faucet. Now they drink from the fountain and its better on them and me. They started drinking water from the fountain as soon as I filled it and turned it on.
Easy to maintain and cats are happy!     On: 2010-04-05

I had researched a number of the pet fountains and read most of the reviews here on Amazon for them. The reviews from a lot of shoppers left me a little leary of any fountain at all for my cats actually. I worried about hair, noise, clogging, and leakage. Finally,I spotted the Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Fountain in the linen color as a Lightning deal and I decided to take the plunge. It wasnt the color I was originally considering but it actually blends in nicely in my kitchen.

A couple of my cats respond better to running water and actually lack the depth perception that is required to make drinking from a bowl easy. They were always getting water up their noses when they tried to drink. And I really wanted to make sure all 4 were getting proper hydration. My cats took to it right away, but I was able to sit it in the same place I had kept their water bowl. I have been told that if you have to move it from where you did keep their water dish because of the need for an electrical outlet, your cat might take a couple of days to figure it all out.

It is quiet and I never hear it running as long as I have enough water in it. If you begin to hear the pump running check your water level. At first it seemed like I was filling it up a lot, but with 4 cats I think they are just really drinking more because it is easier for them now. If you put the water tank back in and it makes a "glugging" sound like you get when you turn over a full bottle of liquid to pour out you will probably have to take it off and fill it again because your water was very low.

It is not maintenance free. I take it all apart weekly for a cleaning and rinse out the filter. I have not had to take this particular pump apart for cleaning yet, but it does come with clear directions and it doesnt look any different from cleaning our fish tank pumps. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to break it down, wash it, dry it and get it all back together and filled.

After all the research and straddling the fence, not sure which fountaint to buy, if any, I am very pleased with this fountain and I would definitely recommend it.
Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain-Medium     On: 2010-04-02

Awsome product. Easy to clean. Received an extra four pet filters which is an exceptional savings. My three cats love it.
ponytalecc     On: 2010-03-31

I purchased this Jumbo drinking fountain to make sure my cats would drink more water. More water they drink the less I have to worry about with urinary infections. All my cats love this fountain. Some drink at the bottom tray and others will drink from the top where the water is just coming out.

It keeps the water cool all the time. My only problem is when my 2 Labs come into the house and when they drink they will devour the whole thing and I have to watch to make sure that the water does not get below motor.

So far I have had this fountain for about 6 months and it is very quiet, easy to install and easy to clean.

Julie
Pet water fountain     On: 2010-02-28

Great product for your cat or dog & its silent too. Leaves the water fresh and clean wich does make your pet drink more, ask the litter box, theyll tell you. Definitely worth the money if you love your pet.
Get out of the sink     On: 2010-02-27

I bought this because one of my 3 cats (Theo) does not like to drink out of the water bowl. He jumps on the kitchen counter and howls for me to turn on the water. I have had the Petmate for a week. Although Theo is still trying to get me to turn on the faucet, he has begun to drink from the Petmate as have my other 2. When I opened the box it looked like assembly would be complex, but it only took a couple of minutes.
Petmate Pet Fountain     On: 2010-02-26

I purchased the Petmate Deluxe Fountain for my 2 year old cat who wasnt drinking much water. Knowing that cats need plenty of water for good kidney health, I thought this would encourage her to drink more. I received the fountain and quickly put it together with ease. Before I could even finish filling it with water, she jumped up on the counter to investigate. Within minutes, she was licking the flowing water! So happy I purchased this and my cat has increased her fluid intake significantly. The fountain does get a little noisy when the water level is low but is a good reminder to add water to the reservoir. Cleaning the fountain is easy. I certainly recommend this product to any cat owner. It truly encourages the cat to enjoy water more!!
Worth every penny     On: 2010-02-24

Ive wanted to buy one of these fountains for my kitties for years.
Last week it was one of the Deals on Amazon, so I splurged and bought a $25 gift for my kitties!

They love it. I like having it there, it makes barely any noise, just a light trickle. The kitties love it, drink from it and play with the water stream.

Its got a nice long cord, though I need an extension to put it where I want it. I like the on/off switch on the cord, and the water filter. It came with extra filters, at least a years supply. Great value.
Good for your cats' health     On: 2010-02-23

My 4 cats really love this product. I had purchased a different one several years ago. It was noisy and the cats would not use it. I received my Petmate as a gift and my cats took to it right away. Two of them have urinary issues and drinking water is important for them and this product really helps. I bought this one as a gift for a friend.
Didn't work long     On: 2010-02-16

I had trouble getting the pump to work, but after messing with the cord some it worked. The fountain only worked for about 3 months and then quit. I wouldnt recommend buying it.
Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow     On: 2010-02-15

I had one for about 18 years, until the motor finally went, so I ordered the same model. My cats love it & while I was waiting for this one to be shipped, I had to give them water in a regular bowl & couldnt figure out why they were getting it all over the floor. Finally, I caught them in action - they wanted the water to be moving, so they were trying to do it with their paws! Thankfully, the new one came quickly.
OKAY fountain     On: 2010-02-15

I love it & hate it. It is very loud even on the low setting. I have to turn it off at night because it keeps me awake from 3 rooms over. Its nice because it keeps it cold and does nice at filtering it but its just not what i was looking for. my cats love drinking from the sink because it falls down freely and this fountain doesnt do that. it just slides down the little ramp so they arent interested in drinking from the falling water but just from the bowl itself. I am going to return it and get something that i can feel happy about.
Junk     On: 2010-02-15

Pure junk. The replacement I received didnt last two weeks(although longer than the first). It woke me up at 3am making a very bad grinding noise. Then guess what, it stopped working and it was a very expensive plastic bowl. Its impossible to clean thoroughly and is a poor design.
I've had it for years!     On: 2010-02-15

Ive had one of these fountains for my cats for years - it works well and is quiet. When cleaning, you need to take a bottle brush and brush all parts - ESPECIALLY the intake of the pump. It tends to build up what I assume is algae.

I keep this watering hole working 24 hours a day and have had it for about 6 years. Ive never had to replace the pump (though my husband had to go online and get information on how to clean it thoroughly, at one point). My cats love it. The only reason I didnt give it 5 stars is because its somewhat hard to disassemble and clean - but even that isnt a huge problem.
Dead in 50 days.     On: 2010-01-25

I really like the fountain but the pump died in under 50 days since purchased. it never ran low on water and it was clean inside and out, I am trying to get a replacement pump from petmate, but I will try a Drinkwell brand next time.
too dirty     On: 2010-01-23

The cats certainly liked it (we have 4!) but its a pain to clean and it needs it often. Plus its difficult to get align it back together with the pump. Always a challenge.
In theory, it's good. But...     On: 2010-01-23

I love the idea of having fresh water for my cats. And moving water keeps it cooler, not stagnant, and is more oxygenated - all good things. I had this when I only had one cat (now there are two, plus a dog). The water flows down the ramp, collects in the reservoir at the bottom, and then gets cycled back through only one side. Herein lies the first problem. The other side of water does not get cycled, so thats where all the gunk (hair, food particles from kittys mouth, etc.) would collect and stay. Yuck. Second problem and sort of a major one. I dont know if my cat wasnt crazy about the motor noise or what. The motor is really very quiet, so I cant imagine thats it, and I think hes just curious (arent they all!). Anyway, he would somehow pry the lid off, pull the filter out and drag it around... not so much a clean filter anymore. I resorted to taping the lid down, but after refilling the water a few times, the tape would lose its stickiness. I got tired of it and went back to a regular bowl and just rinse it and refill the water when I feed the cats. I think this product would be much improved if somehow both sides could be filtered through, and there could be some kind of snap or clip to make it harder to get the lid off. What happened to the lack of opposable thumbs actually preventing things like this from happening? So overall, like I said, good concept but needs some tweaking.
They Leak. Not Worth It!     On: 2010-01-17

Ive had 2 of these devices in the past 2 years. They are a nightmare to clean and they need cleaning often. With both devices, I came home to a kitchen floor with a water puddle and no water in the bowl, but no signs of leakage before the flood. Husband bought a different kind this time and hope it works better. I dont recommend this product.
Excellent Kitty Fountain     On: 2010-01-14

This is really a great fountain....have had no problems so far...took my cat about a day to get use to drinking from it...excellent price..mine was purchased as a discontinued color (l9.99)...I use bottled water in it so my filters have not needed changing yet..have had this for about 3 to 4 months.
So glad I bought this product...     On: 2010-01-11

This is the best investment that I have made for my dogs. Before I bought this my dogs didnt seem to be drinking alot of water. Since buying this product they want to drink water all the time! I fill up the water chamber every day (and this is the largest one they make! I have two medium sized dogs (cocker spaniels). They love the cool water also.
Great Product With Proper Maintenance     On: 2010-01-05

My cat loves this, as she is very fussy when it comes to her water. About a year ago, she had several crystals removed and the vet advised us to do whatever we could to make sure she was getting enough water, so I bought the Fresh Flow, which has been wonderful for her. She loves it so much that when it is time for routine cleaning of it, she meows at me the entire time I am working on it until she has her FreshFlow back. I do not use this as a water filter though, as I have filtered water from my tap.

Keep in mind that routine cleaning is necessary to keep the FreshFlow working. Fur from the cat will clog the pump/motor, which will eventually burn out if not attended to. I clean this out once per week to ensure it works properly. I believe parts of this product is dishwasher safe, but unfortunately, I do not have a dishwasher, so I am forced to wash the entire unit by hand, which takes me 15-20 minutes. When cleaning, it is important to clean the pump and ensure it is free from pet hair. I even take a cotton swab to get into deep areas that are impossible otherwise to clean.

This is a 5-star product for those who are good with keeping up on regular maintenance. For those who are not good about maintenance, I would pass on this for daily use, but still look into it as something to use when leaving your pet alone for a few days. I own the jumbo size and that can store water for up to 2 weeks for my single cat.
cat loves it     On: 2010-01-05

My cat thinks this fountain is fantastic, which is what really matters. Im sure shed give it five stars, but shes not the one who has to clean it. There are a few areas that are hard to reach with a sponge, so I bought a baby bottle cleaner which does help in reaching some of the places I just cant fit my hand. The mineral deposits get pretty gross on the ramp the water flows down, so you do need to scrub the fountain fairly frequently. Overall, its a good product thats designed so the cat cant tip it over. I do wish Id bought a larger size (I have the medium) because I have to refill it often. As it starts to need water, it makes a loud swishing noise that turns into a horrific sucking sound when it gets really low.
I'm sorry I waited to long to return my Fresh-Flow!     On: 2010-01-01

Cats will be cats and us owners, well lets say we can be as finicky as our cats, can make or break a product! I read reviews till they put me and my two cats to sleep!

[...]. A pretty good deal by anyones standard. Im just saying...

Here we go, reviews stated: to noisy or I could hardly hear it hum, hard to clean, doesnt hold enough water, scares my cats or they love it, filter this filter that, instructions this or that!

Right out of the box I take one star away for to many parts. One engineer per part! Oh by the way, the strainer engineer needs a new life as it (the strainer) serves little purpose! I also have no use for the filter as its only a gimmick for a monthly purchase! My cats are quite happy with the tap water I drink thank you very much! The "instructions" are bad but I wont take away a star for that, I need that one for later! For assembly and disassembly I take away another star! The "filter reservoir" is difficult to take off and even harder to put on as it must line up perfect with the motor. I had my wife give it a go but with her arthritis she could not even take if off! I want take away a star for my wifes arthritis but you get the picture! As for the water reservoir, its to small and would be difficult to clean. A smoother design and larger filler cap is needed for cleaning. However as I rinse out each day all my cats water bowls its not as big a problem.

OK, this puppy is set up, water reservoir topped of and all! I know, I have cats not puppys! When I plug this thing in I dont care what you people say about it only hums, no matter what I do it more than hums!! I had to put the thing down stairs and before you ask, yes its topped off with water! Maybe Im being picky but the thing is noisy! Again, Im just saying...

Finally did the cats like it...Like most cats they love water from the sinks and even better from the tub when it drips. So yes they liked the Fresh-Flow for the running water however the noise made them somewhat nervous and they mostly drank from their regular plain old water bowls.

So I or my cats cannot recommend this product without improving the design, fewer parts better and quieter pump and improved ease of assembly and cleaning...

I hope you have enjoyed my review and it will help you with your next purchase. Over and above buying this item for my cats I was hoping to lower my water bill as my wife usually forgets to turn the water off in our sinks and tub!
Petmate Deluxe Flow Pet Fountain is good     On: 2009-12-27

My brother-in-law bought this for me for my birthday. It ws pretty easy to set up. It works as advertised. Now I just have to convince my cat to drink from it. But thats the cats problem.
Pet fountain - love it     On: 2009-12-24

My pet had some health issues, and was told to drink more water. Well now he cant stop.. this worked perfectly.
It gets louder when the water goes down. But just keep adding to it and clean it out once a week..
Well worth it..

Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Medium, Bleached Linen
I am a sucker!     On: 2009-12-24

I previously owned one for a year that was starting to have issues, so after pitching it, I purchased a new one from Amazon. I have had the Petmate Fountain for 8 days. A couple of times I noticed a lot of water on the floor and thought it was my cat having fun. I found later that the bowl overflowed onto the floor. When I got home today I immediatly noticed the Petmate not running, my husband took it apart and deemed the motor has burned out. EIGHT DAYS!!!! I will be contacting them for a refund and buy something else.
Seems okay, but loud     On: 2009-12-19

Ive had the Fresh Flow Deluxe for about a week now, and so far, it works fine. A few observations:

Pro:
- good filtration, water flows constantly and evenly
- inline switch on the power cord
- runs silently (at first)
- cat really seems to like it, drinks out of the spout
- at this price, you can afford to replace it after a while

Cons:
- reservoir is kinda small
- its gotten progressively louder all this week, I hope it isnt dying

Im hoping I dont have to test Amazons return policies, but the noise is getting a little annoying. It sounds like its turned up to max when it its on minimum flow.
Our Cat Loves This     On: 2009-12-13

Our Cat LOVES, "The Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Fountain". In fact this is our 2nd one. We originally bought this 7 years ago, We had 2 cats then. From the first time they drank out of this fountain they were hooked, wouldnt drink out of anything else. The only reason we had to get a new one was after 7 years of use we found a hairline crack in the base.

This seller had the best price and our cat is once again a happy camper, quick delivery too. I would recommend this to any pet owner. You have to play with the water flow adjuster to get the volume just right for your pet. The original start-up noise will stop as soon as you get the flow adjusted.
cheaply made     On: 2009-12-08

This is the second pet fountain I have purchased, and my experience is that they were both very cheaply made. If the water is not at the very top, the pump makes noise from sucking in air. They could have designed it with the inlet lower in the bowl. The extra water container that is supposed to add more water when the level gets low does not work. It just stays full of water. I think next time I will just buy a garden fountain. The cats wont know the difference and it will be something we can all enjoy!
Petmate Pet Fountain     On: 2009-12-07

Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Medium, Bleached Linen

The Petmate Fountain sounded like a good idea. I bought it for my two cats who drink anything unless they are sure its fresh water. The switch that adjusts how much water comes out of the fountain was had to adjust and actually broke off. The fountain makes a sucking noise constantly even though the water level is high. The bowl constantly is filling with cat furr or dirt. Its at the point now, I cant even turn the fountain on.

The truly sad part? The fountain is only 3 months old.
Pet Water Fountain     On: 2009-12-02

We purchased this item as a replacment for a 6 year old version of the same model. Replacement pumps are available on Amazon, but are priced at more than half the cost of a whole new fountain. The new one was a little noisier than the old, but after the third time cleaning the pump, the impeller fell out in the sink and one of the little plastic blades was gone when I picked it up. I believe it was cracked from the factory, since the pump works much more quietly now. Directions with the new model are clearer about cleaning the pump. The cat loves the fountain, so I will probably keep buying replacements. Next time, I will just buy two pumps at a time to get to the free shipping with $25.00 purchase.
Flow no more     On: 2009-12-01

We purchase this item for our two cats, trying to break one of them from sitting in the shower. Initially we were please and the cats loved it...but after a few months this item just didnt hold up. Cleaning it every other day was miserable too. There has to be something better out there. The pump in this one just ISNT STRONG ENOUGH and maintainence is MISERABLE!
My Cats Love it     On: 2009-11-27

My cats love drinking from this. I bought one of these 2 years ago and the pump just finally gave out. Not bad for being on 24/7 for 2 years. Im giving this 4 stars instead of 5 stars because this new one is more noisy compared to the old one. (the old one was very quiet) Still more quiet than the Drinkwell Pet Fountain, which my cats would not even go near.
Great product     On: 2009-11-27

I had my first fresh flow fountain for over 6 years and recently upgraded to the jumbo version... Overall I am very happy with this fountain. The flow is perfect, and the capacity is excellent. Plus, with Amazons pricing I actually paid less for this than I did for the medium size fountain I had previously purchased at a local pet store. You cant beat the value. The only thing to keep in mind is that with the size of the fountain, you really do need to change the filter out every month to make sure the water stays fresh.
Cats LOVE this!     On: 2009-11-24

We have two kittens who had a bad habit of jumping on the countertops. We thought they might be looking for running water from the sink so our thought was that we should be them a water fountain. I did a little research and found this one. It has worked like a charm! They no longer get on the counters and they also no longer put their paws in their water bowls. (something we think they might have been doing to get the water moving...?) Cleaner water, less of a mess, completely quiet. Its so quiet I sometimes have to make sure its running. No complaints!
My cat loves this fountain     On: 2009-11-22

My cat loves this fountain. We got it because he refused to drink water out of bowl, preferring to sip from the toilet (gross.) The vet recommended that we get a fountain to get him to drink water from a normal place. It worked! He drinks soooooo much water now and doesnt sip out of the toilet anymore!
water fountain for my cat     On: 2009-11-19

My cats love this bowl. It has a bit of noise but putting it on a carpet helped. I would like a larger resevoir of water since I need to refill it more than I would like.
fresh and happy     On: 2009-11-19

This is a good product. The water doesnt overflow, it isnt too noisy, and its easy to take care of.
Great Deal!     On: 2009-11-15

I bought this as a replacement. It was a great deal on a product i already knew was good.
Best price anywhere     On: 2009-11-11

I have had one of these for years, but it developed a leak in the bottom. I looked at Petsmart etc and the prices there were considerably higher than this one. With the addition of three filters, I got free shipping!

The cats like having fresh water and this keeps them from licking the faucet.
Poor mechanical design     On: 2009-11-10

The first one I bought did not work when I brought it home from the store. As much as I was concerned about potential quality control, I gave it another shot.

My cats absolutely loved this when it worked. However, that was for under two months.

Now, if you dont treat this well, it makes sense it might wear out. If the water runs low, the motor can easily burn out, as it is meant to be submerged at all times when operating.

However, ours was always kept full, since we change the water each day. We did unplug it frequently, since the plug was used my another appliance at times, but I was very disappointed at how quickly it died considering the price I paid for it.
Nice pet dish     On: 2009-11-10

Our pets have taken to the new water dish very well and seem to be drinking more water which was the intention of buying it. Works well and is not too difficult to keep clean and fresh.
My cats love it     On: 2009-11-09

I got the fountain because one of my cats kept tipping over his water bowls. He cant tip this fountain over, and he loves drinking from it.

The first time my fountains pump died, I went to the companys Web site to order a new one. I was impressed that the site offered easy-to-find, clear instructions for cleaning out the old pump so that I didnt have to buy a new one. Cleaning it worked great -- Ive been using this fountain for 5 or 6 years now and havent had to replace any parts.

There are two reasons Im not giving the fountain 5 stars. First, since its made of molded plastic, I dont understand why they chose to build in so many crevices that are hard to clean. Taking the pump apart is kind of fun, but trying to clean tiny crevices? Not fun. (If they made a new version that was easier to clean, Id buy it.) Second, the reservoir just seems pointless; I dont even bother using it.

As for the noise the fountain makes when its low on water or in need of cleaning, well, I personally like appliances that let me know when they need attention. Usually I just need to top off the water.
Love it....even the cats love it!!!     On: 2009-11-06

Nice product, would buy again. No problems what-so-ever. The cats love it. What else can I say!
Great product for continuous clean water     On: 2009-11-06

Great product for continuous clean water and convenient for multiple pets. The water has multiple (3) settings for water circulation. The product allows your pets access to clean, cold water at their convenience. The product has functioned for five (5) months without problem. Also easy to clean and easy to use. (Some pets play with the water or drop particles in the water.) Small particles clean with the water circulation.
My cat doesn't like this...     On: 2009-11-05

I bought this about a year ago and our cat was never fond of it. If the water level goes down too much the motor gets loud which also scares the cat. I think its because the water slides down the plastic slide, it doesnt pour like a true fountain. I find myself putting water bowls out around the house because our cat wont drink out of this water fountain. Anyway, for what its worth, were switching to the Drinkwell...
petmate drink fountain - love it!     On: 2009-11-02

I have 2 cats at home and have had a Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow in the past, after problems with the pump i switched to the Drinkwell fountain. I did not like it as much - if you have it in a living area (mine was in the kitchen) it is very loud. Also the parts do not go back on as easy after you clean it. Recently, I switched back to the Petmate and am glad I did and think my cat is too! I do not think he was drinking as much from the Drinkwell due to how loud it was. On the Petmate, it seems like they have a new manufacturer for the pump since I owned it last - it is not noisy at all, and so far is easy to clean. I bought the medium size, which is smaller than i owed last time, but only one of my cats uses it, so it seems to be fine.
Best kitty fountain we've had     On: 2009-10-31

Weve had one of these fountains since 2006. That THREE years. I dont know if I just do more maintenance than other people, but ours is still happily chugging along and our pump is still perfectly quiet.

I completely take the fountain apart and clean the whole thing with hot soapy water at least every other week, or whenever I notice algea type growth or other nastiness in the water. The entire thing - apart from the part where the water comes up from the pump and the filter fits is a breeze to clean. They do make a specific cleaning brush kit just for this fountain, but any thin brush would work well.

The fountain starts to make a loud noise when the water level gets low, which is how I remember to refill the resevoir. With 3 cats using the fountain I refill the reservoir every 4 to 5 days.

The water stream seems to slow down on occasion to a sparse trickle which is how I know its time to clean wads of kitty hair off the grid to the pump.

I bought my inlaws this same fountain (but the one with the chrome bits) from a discount store and they love it too for their cats.

I could not recommend this fountain more highly.
Petmate water-dispenser     On: 2009-10-06

LOVE it!!! my second of these( i messed up on the first by not cleaning it ,ever!) and would recommend them to anyone with pets!
inferior products     On: 2009-10-03

i bought 2 of the petmate deluxe water fountains in the past year.the pumps(which were kept clean by washing in water and vinegar)both expired after a few weeks and a replacement pump also failed.pumps were made by jebao(chinese).what is so bad about this is the fact that i contacted the petmate offices in texas with a handwritten letter and they dont even have the courtesy to send a reply.you cant seem to find any info on the web as to contacting corporate offices,and i see why.
so if you want a product that is dependable, and someone who stands by their products,dont pick petmate.i have learned my lesson.
Petmate Deluxe Fress Flow Fountain     On: 2009-10-02

It is wonderfully quiet and my cat loves drinking from the fountain. It is easy to set up and maintain. A great product!
Awesome Fountain     On: 2009-10-01

I had the medium sized fountain and upgraded to this jumbo one. I have 2 small dogs and 1 cat, this fountain only has to be refilled twice a week. With the medium sized fountain, I was filling multiple times. Great investment. Super fast shipping.
Didnt work long     On: 2009-09-30

The cats loved this but after only about a month the pump went out and it was no good any more. My mother had also bought one for her cat and hers only lasted two weeks.
nice product     On: 2009-09-29

our cat loves running water so this works well for him...filter seems a little thick,,,but after some adjustments, it works fine....very close to 5 stars! dandyd.
Human bought and Kitty approved     On: 2009-09-21

Nice product and well worth the price. The cats are happier and it is easily taken care of.
Best Little Cat Fountain in J'Ville     On: 2009-09-20

I purchased this product in March of 2006 especially for my kitty Josef. He had been diagnosed with renal disease at the early age of four years. He absolutely loved this fountain and the trickling stream of water. He used it constantly till he made his trip to the Bridge last Sept 2008. This product continued to perform smoothly for my other four kitties until just recently. Three years past the sell date there was still no problem with the product. I severed the cord by accident while cleaning it one morning. Keeping it clean did not seem to be a problem for me. With Josef plus four other cats and one pug I found twice a week to be sufficient. I did refill the reservoir daily and on occasion twice a day if the water level was low. One of the best products Ive found for my little fur family. Best little fountain in JVille! Will definitely give this a five star review!
Amazing product and even better customer service     On: 2009-09-18

Lets clear up some misconceptions others have listed. This product is not at all complicated to assemble and it is 3/4 put together already when you get it. Second: It is so quiet I had to get down on the floor and lean into it just to make sure it was actually running! (It takes a minute or so before the water starts down the ramp) I got the large for my diabetic cat because it holds 12 cups so I dont have to worry about it running low.

As for Revival Animal Health: they have amazing customer service. When emailed they got back to me multiple times throughout the day. I was not noticing a flow control on the large model. They contacted the company and immediately shipped me out a new one because it shouldve had a flow lever. They are not requiring me to send the other one back so I dont have to make an extra trip to UPS and I recieved the new one in 2 days Thanks to ED!!
My cats are not drinking more     On: 2009-09-14

One of my two cats has constipation problem. That is why I got this product. Unfortunately, she has not been drinking more water. Another cat has not been drinking more, either. The cleaning of this product is not difficult, but if this product gets broken, I will not buy another fountain. Cleaning a bowl is much easier, and I give filtered water to my cats any way.
So disappointed and angry     On: 2009-09-13

I bought this product thinking it would provide clean, cool water for my cat day and night. After the first 12 hours, it started to make loud gurgling noises. Id fill up the reservoir which was suddenly empty, and just put it down to hot weather evaporating it, and my cat drinking more than I thought. I couldnt sleep at night from the noise which would start again minutes after Id refilled it.

I eventually noticed that the unit was leaking...everywhere. It wouldnt keep any water inside - and I still didnt know where it was leaking from. I unplugged it, and now its just a bowl.

I just noticed now that the reason I didnt notice the leaked water is because it was going into my floorboards, and now my hardwood floors are all warped. Im furious and wished Id have listened to all the bad reviews on Amazon before giving it the benefit of the doubt and buying it anyway.

DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT until the design has been completely changed.

Im taking it back and getting a refund. I dont even want a replacement.
Not designed properly     On: 2009-09-12

We had one of these for almost three years, and with two cats (one of whom sheds quite a bit), we had to clean it every few days. This unit comes with a filter, but the filter is pointless, because it comes after the pump in the order of flow. Meaning that any debris, cat hair, dust, etc get jammed in the pump long before they could ever make it to the filter. Once the filter gets clogged (in 2-3 days for us), the flow comes to almost a complete stop, and the cats stop drinking.

Stick to the CatIt or Drinkwell products. The CatIt has the filter before the pump, not after, and has been working flawlessly since we bought it.
Pet Mate Fountain     On: 2009-08-19

I have the medium and the large pet fountains. All of the cats like them. They are much easier to put together than the dome-type of fountains. I have 2 dome fountains that already have broken pieces but the Pet Mate fountain is still in very good working condition and I bought them at the same time. I would recommend this product.
My cats won't drink out of a bowl anymore!     On: 2009-08-15

I live with 2 other girls, and we each have a cat. My cat, being a spoiled rotten princess, REFUSED to drink out of a bowl because when I lived alone, I would allow her to drink out of the bathroom faucets. As my flatmates didnt want to have the water running 24/7, we tried to make her use the bowl like any of the other cats. This didnt work. She would wake us up at all hours yowling her head off in the bathroom for someone to turn the water on for her. What cat wants to go back to bowl water when she was able to have fresh, running water for the past year? As of late, she started crapping in the bathtub as punishment towards us.

So, I bought this fountain in the cappuchino/brown color (so it matches my decor, I didnt want some bright white plastic thing throwing everything off), and the yowling and crapping has ceased!!! All the cats love this fountain and the water dish goes relatively unused. They even play in it once in a while, so if you buy this (and I suggest you do), its helpful to put a cloth mat under it. My cat doesnt even go near the bathroom anymore. It hardly makes any noise, and weve noted that when we do start noticing a slight hum, its time to put fresh water in it. The filters last a good long time as well. Im so glad I bought this for my cats!!
Worked okay     On: 2009-08-14

Kind of noisy, doesnt hold a lot of water, and stained pretty easily from the water..
So glad this was recommended to me     On: 2009-08-09

I got this when a friend recommended a pet fountain for my maine coon shiloh who would harass me everytime I went into the bathroom for fresh water. I am 27 weeks pregnant, and I go to the bathroom ALOT, so it was getting a little old! Well I got this, 6 days earlier than they estimated I would get it! I set it up. The set up was relatively easy for me, I just got confused when it mentioned the grommet, I expected that to be a little piece somewhere in the packaging but it was already in the unit.
Anyways, I followed all the steps to set it up, plugged it in, let it run for a minute. I noticed that when I followed the directions for how much to fill it, the resevoir was empty already, so I had to refill that a second time, but that was not a big deal to me. I set it down, called my cat over to it, he seemed a little cautious of it at first, as did my girl cat. But I just turned it on and left it there all day today and have seen him drinking from it a few times and he has not bothered me in the bathroom near as much for fresh water. We are down from at least 10 times a day to only 2 times today.

The only reason this product does not recieve that 5th star from me is because when you set it up, it says to set the lever on "low". Well I turned it up for my cat, because he responds to the sound of the water running and knows thats what he drinks, and when it is turned up, the unit will make the occasional gurgling noise. It makes the same noise when first setting it up and the pump is used for the first time. It just continues when on a higher setting. When it makes the sound and the cats are near, they get a little bit scared of it. Granted, I have only had it one day so far, so that could go away. We will see.
If I had a time machine, I would stop myself from buying this     On: 2009-08-09

I have a dog and 2 cats.

This product seemed like a great idea: fresh flowing water, filtered and clean. I thought it would make my life a little easier, but it just annoyed me instead.

My main problems with the fountain are the noises it makes when the water get a little low, and the gunk that builds up inside the bowl. The noise is so irritating that I ended up packing the fountain away and going back to regular water in a bowl.

If I upgrade from the regular bowl again I would just get one of those "water cooler" style water bowls with a reservoir of water and no moving parts.
Excelente product!     On: 2009-08-09

This fountain is great! It works nicely, and makes no sound. My cats love it! One of my cats drinks water from it all the time, the other one only if the fountain is turned off, but he still likes it! The water is always fresh and its very easy to use and clean it. I recommend this product!
Not a bad product, but takes quite a bit of maintenance.     On: 2009-08-04

I owned one of these litter fountains for over a year. I bought it for the same reason as many people do, I wanted to help keep my cats water clean without having to change it constantly, so a filtering water fountain seemed perfect. It did encourage my cats to drink more water, which is good. My only complaints were that it was cumbersome to clean - it didnt fit easily in my sink, there were big parts to disassemble, and lots of little nooks for gunk to build up in. The pump could be taken apart to clean, but took quite a bit of elbow grease to separate. The gunk that accumulated was pretty gross - with two small cats, I had to clean the entire device at least once every two to three weeks. I also found that even before the filters were supposed to be changed, the metal insides would rust through, requiring replacement much more often. I found the whole process to consume too much time and money on my part. Instead I bought a PUR water filter attachment for my sink. Now I just swish out their water bowl every morning and refill with water from the sink. Now my whole family enjoys filtered water, not just my pets.
Do not buy if you have a medium sized dog.     On: 2009-08-03

I have a english bulldog and I thought it would be nice to have because he drinks so much water throughout the day. The amount of water that is in it is just fine. But it gets dirty so fast! Its like having a regular bowl but its electrionic with three pieces and its a real trouble to take apart just to clean two times a day! Please do not buy it if you have a medium sized dog. It will be disgusting within hours. So much for having "filtered" water.
As advertised, and after a "break in" period, very quiet     On: 2009-07-29

Just received this and cant tell if the cats have taken to it. If you have the same problem I had, which is that the fountain was noisy, try turning it off and then turning it on again. It went from humming and buzzing along making almost as much noise as my refrigerator, to being almost completely silent. Not sure Ive seen the cats drink from it yet, but otherwise exactly as advertised. (review upgraded from 3 to 5 stars once it got quiet)
As advertised but far from silent     On: 2009-07-29

Just received this and cant tell if the cats have taken to it. But for those of us who dont like noise, you should know that this thing is far from silent. Its little pump hums and buzzes along. Its about as loud as my refrigerator, and the cats (indoor/outdoor mousers) seem put off by the noise. Its on a hardwood floor, which may account for some of the noise, but the outlook is not promising...
Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain     On: 2009-07-24

Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Large, Bleached Linen This product really surprised me; it works the cats love it they are more Playful. There is huge difference in the litter box, before they were not urinating. I highly recommend using it.
Water will not stay in the unit.     On: 2009-07-19

No matter what I do the water drips out the back of the thing. With in an hour there is a big puddle under it. It wics out the back seams where the filter goes. Buy a Drinkwell.
Great buy!     On: 2009-07-14

My bunnies love this fountain!

I bought this because one of my bunnies got ahold of the wire and chewed it off. I reconnected the wires (the first time it worked) the second time and I did it half-butt (coz I was sleepy) and I mustve crossed the wires so the pump short circuited. XP

I bought a replacement pump at first; I took off a part from the pump that arrived so I could fit it in my petmate freshflow (the non-deluxe one had this little plastic screen filter thingy where the pump-control switch is on the deluxe one). I thought it was creating a leak since the pump was a little too strong. But when this arrived, it was using the same pump as Ive bought as replacement.

So it dawned to me that I have to put back that one piece I took off before so it wouldnt leak. It worked!

Needless to say, I have this one as spare.

Luckily, my uncles family bought a dog not so long ago, so I gave this one to them. Their dog LOVES it! They have a shih-tzu/maltese mix. Tiny dog. I think they mentioned its 4 pounds as of now.
Cats Love It!     On: 2009-07-10

My three cats love this water fountain. This is the 2nd Petmate Fresh Flow Fountain Ive bought for them, finally had to replace the 1st after it started to leak after many years of use. Two of my cats love to drink the water from the waterfall, one laps from the pool. Customer service has been great in the past. When I accidentally dropped the water reservoir full of water and it cracked, they replaced it for me free of charge.
It took a few days but.....     On: 2009-06-08

It took a few days for the cats to get used to it, I think it was mainly reminding them of where it was and that it was for them, but now, they love it! They drink more and its fun and entertaining to them. One cat will put her foot in the hole where the water comes out, another likes watching the water ripple. Im glad I got it!
I'm not sure how the water tastes but my dog likes it     On: 2009-06-06

I have a black lab and so far he has no complaints from it. Prior to this I owned one of the big 3 gallon self watering bowls. Every time that thing bubbled my dog would freak out, it got to the point where he would drink from it while watching it trying to time when it bubbled so he could run away. I bought this thing and have been pleased, its quite, and it holds a decent amount of water. Oh yeah, replacement filters are available at my pet smart, which is a bonus for me.
Good quiet fountain     On: 2009-06-02

I bought a bubbler water thing for my cats for the bedroom, but the bubbler was way too noisy so I long ago ditched the bubbling parts. Ive been wanting to get a fountain in there, but wanted something quiet. I thought this Petmate fountain would be quiet since the water doesnt drop far from the spout and I was right. The only sound I hear on the level its on now is a low hum from the motor that is no bother at all. The cats are used to the Drinkwell fountain in the livingroom. It took them just a few minutes to check out the Petmate and now they seem to drink out of it more than the silent bubbler thing. My only wish is that Id have bought the large or jumbo size for a bigger dish and reservoir. With 5 cats I have to fill the little reservoir bottle up every night.
A great product at a great price!     On: 2009-06-02

I recently purchased this fountain for my two male cats and they love it! Its very quiet and my cats drink the water right as it comes down the ramp. I know some people were annoyed about the difficulties they had cleaning the unit...I found a simple solution. A baby bottle cleaning brush! Most of them have a nipple cleaner built into the handle and its just the right size to fit it the small spaces of the fountain. I tend to clean mine at least twice a week, and I change the water everyday. This is probably not necessary for everyone, but I like to make sure my cats are getting the cleanest water possible.
Petmate Flow Dish     On: 2009-05-28

Really like product and so do my pets. No issues to report. I have had my petmate water flow dish for 3 months.
It works!     On: 2009-05-25

I was worried my two cats werent drinking enough water, so I thought Id try this fountain. One of the cats is scared of just about everything, but she drinks from this fountain several times a day. I got her to use it by placing treats on the rim - after eating them from the rim a couple of times I think she realized it was harmless. I never have a problem with it being noisy or dirty (I always keep it filled and wipe it clean once every couple of weeks wih a paper towel).
Runs Silently     On: 2009-05-15

We initially bought a Drinkwell Big-Dog Pet Fountain, figuring it would encourage our puppy to drink more water, but returned it immediately because the water reservoir was flimsy and the motor was way too noisy. We had better luck with the second order, a Petmate Fresh Flow Pet Fountain, Jumbo size, for our large breed puppy. It is working perfectly and silently, too.
Good for nothing!!     On: 2009-05-12

This was great for a month.Then the pump gears started to grind.It continued to work but it was extremly loud.
Best Pet Fountain Ever!     On: 2009-05-10

I bought this because my last Petmate Fountain lasted over 3 years and my cats loved it. My cat used to wake me up to turn on the faucet because he liked drinking dripping water so I bought the Fountain and it was great.
Good water bowl for multiple pets     On: 2009-05-04

This is a good product if you have multiple pets. We had the smaller one (next size down) and it ran out very often with our 2 small-breed dogs and 2 cats. THis bowl only needs to be refilled about every other day, even with all 4 of them drinking from it, so its a much better solution. Now if I could only keep the toddler from trying to use it as a pool...
works great...     On: 2009-04-29

What can I say, my cat loves it. The only problem was the motor for the pump was very loud. I called Petmate and they sent me a new motor (seems like they knew about the problem) and it was quite as a mouse. Since Petmate was quick to fix the problem, Ill be sure to buy from them again.
Love Fresh Flow Fountains But..............     On: 2009-04-28

I have 3 cats who refuse to drink water from a regular bowl. The 1st fountain I purchased for them was a Fresh Flow and they loved it. I wanted a 2nd fountain and since they also like drinking water from a running tap, I thought I would try the Drinkwell, which has a larger water capacity. They definitely prefer the Fresh Flow. When my Fresh Flow began to make noise after 1 1/2 yrs, I purchased this new Fresh Flow Fountain in the larger size. Although it is silent when you 1st turn it on, after a short while, it begins to make a very annoying noise. I think this particular fountain must be defective, because I have since bought another Fresh Flow (but again in the smaller size) and it is totally silent. My cats definitely like the Fresh Flow almost to the exclusion of the Drinkwell, but this large size one is just too noisy to use.
Sometimes what seems like a great idea isn't     On: 2009-04-26

I bought this from a pet store because I thought constant fresh water was a great idea. But it isnt really fresh water its water being recycled through a charcoal filter. Like anything with standing water it must be cleaned. After struggling with this product for a year I finally gave up and went back to putting fresh water in a bowl twice a day for the cat - and that is much easier. Not to mention the cat didnt seem to care one way or the other. Save your money and buy more catnip - something the cat WILL care about!
Fresh Flow Cat Fountain     On: 2009-04-23

This is a great product, received very fast on normal shipping, going to buy another one for my other Cat right now THANKS, Wil
My Cats Love It     On: 2009-04-19

Ive had this fountain for over 2 years now and my cats still love it. So if they were writing this Im sure they would give this 5 Stars, however since Im the one that has to clean it and buy the filters I give it 4.

Cleaning: This thing is a pain to clean. I even put it in a separate room away from their food so they would stop dropping their food in the bowl. But because paws still like to go in the water it still needs cleaned once a week and I dreaded doing it. If purchasing I would invest in some pipe cleaners because there are some hard-to-reach places - including the reservoir.

Filters: For 2 cats a filter would last about a month, if I rinsed it when I cleaned the fountain. And when the filter becomes dirty all the carbon chunks sink to the bottom of the filter impeding on the water flow making it weak. I wasnt impressed with filter ability as I expected it to actually filter. Filters run about $6.99 for a two pack.

This sounds like less than a 4 star review but after 2 years of buying filters and cleaning the fountain every week a lightbulb finally went off in my head.

I ran out of filters and couldnt get to the store for a few days so I just cleaned and refilled the fountain without the filter. Genius! The water flow stayed strong and since the flow was circulating faster and stronger it keeps the fountain cleaner longer. And since I got rid of the filters Ive been having to fill the reservoir more probably because my cats drink from it more due to the stronger current.

So I would recommend this fountain to my friends and tell them to eliminate the filters but still keep an eye on the fountain for cleanliness.
pet water dish     On: 2009-04-14

Great product at half the retail price. Cats love it. Just do not over fill. fill the reservoir only. I topped off the dish by adding water to the outside and overfilled..resulting in a wet floor. Works great if you dont overfill.
Was super noisy, but switched out pump and now I love it     On: 2009-04-11

Update: We switched out the pump that came with the unit, and now it works wonderfully, quiet, and is super awesome. FYI the pumps for the large and small units are the same - lucky for us. I now love not having to fill the resevoir every other day. You only have to fill it like once a week at our house. Keep in mind if you switch the flow to a higher flow, because of evaporation youll have to refill it more often. Id like to change the stars I gave for this product to 4 stars from the 1 I originally left, but for some reason it wont let me. As for cleaning, Ive not found it to be a problem (havent needed to yet) but I am planning on getting a little handled fish net from the pet store to just whisk out the hair etc. that looks like its starting to float around in there.

Heres my original review....

I already own the small version of the Petmate fountain, and its worked great for 5 yrs. We opted for this jumbo version so we wouldnt have to fill the resevoir so often. The small one needed a refill every 1-2 days.
The small fountain never made any noise, except for when the water level got too low, and we were very satisfied with it and so was our cat, who loved it!
But this jumbo fountain is ridiculous! Im very annoyed and Ive owned it about 12 hours. When I first plugged it in, it made its usual startup noise, then got quiet and all was well. But within a few minutes, it started making a VERY LOUD vibrating noise. Its the noise-level equivalent of setting your cell phone on a table when its vibrating, maybe even louder. You can hear it from every room in the house. I followed the setup instructions, and also the troubleshooting instructions. Its definitely the pump making all the racket, because when I reach in and press on the water flow lever (which is attached to the pump) it quiets down a little. So Im hoping my husband will be able to McGuyver it, maybe rig it somehow, but if not, its going to have to go back. Ill update my rating if he is able to shut it up.
So Noisy and Annoying! Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!     On: 2009-04-11

I already own the small version of the Petmate fountain, and its worked great for 5 years. We opted for this jumbo size version so that we wouldnt have to fill up the resevoir so often. The small one needed a refill every 1-2 days.
The small fountain never made any noise, except for when the water level got too low, and we were very satisfied with it and so was our cat, who loved it!
But this jumbo fountain is ridiculous! Im very annoyed and Ive owned it about 12 hours. When I first plugged it in, it made its usual startup noise, then got quiet and all was well. But within a few minutes, it started making a VERY LOUD vibrating noise. Its the noise-level equivalent of setting your cell phone on a table when its vibrating, maybe even louder. You can hear it from every room in the house. I followed the setup instructions to a T, and also followed the troubleshooting instructions, which consisted of making sure the pump was pressed all the way down. Its definitely the pump making all the racket, because when I reach in and press on the water flow lever (which is attached to the pump) it quiets down a little. So Im hoping my husband will be able to McGuyver his way into fixing it, maybe rig it somehow, but if not, its going to have to go back. Ill update my rating if he is able to shut it up.
fabulous product     On: 2009-04-11

I LOVE...LOVE....LOVE this fountain. My only regret is that I didnt get the jumbo size. My dogs love it and drink a lot more water. Very quiet when running. This is a great product. Im thinking of buying the jumbo one and giving this medium one to my mom for her dog.
petmate deluxe fresh flow     On: 2009-04-02

I really like this product. I find that my cat drinks more, which is great.
I am having a problem with the flow lever. It turns so HARD that the tab broke off the first time I used it. Now I can not finger turn it. My daughter has the same unit and her flow lever turns with ease.














My cats use it all the time     On: 2009-04-02

My vet suggested I get one of these fountains after my cat had a urinary blockage. She said it would encourage him to drink more water. My cats love it. I have 6 cats and they all use it. I have now bought 3 of them to put in different places in the house. I have never had a problem with the pump, but I do clean mine out every couple of weeks since I have so many cats.
My caats love it     On: 2009-04-01

My cats love this fountain and are finally drinking enough water. Its very quiet. I cant hear it at all (except for when the water runs low--then its a little louder). It doesnt splash at all. I have two cats, and I probably could have used a slightly larger version--theyre drinking much more water than they used to, so I have to refill it every day or two.

I highly recommend it!!!
Requires daily fiddling, but cats love it!     On: 2009-03-30

I bought a Drinkwell fountain for my 3 cats because they would rather drink from the toilet then a fresh bowl of water. They absolutely love it! Ive never seen my cats drink so much water! Because of the traffic this little machine sees, I have to give it two reservoirs full of replacement water every day, otherwise it makes decently audible sucking noises. Another downside... you DO have to take it apart to clean now and again, not just as a health precaution, but because the fountain gets dirty every couple days with food bits, fur, etc. Even placing it away from the food only buys a couple extra days of clean water.

I dont mind the maintence of the Drinkwell... You have to put it together when you buy it, so you are already familiar with how to take it apart so as to clean it. Replacement filters can be found at your local Petsmart.

I love and recommend this little gizmo for anyone with health concerns, picky drinkers, or animals who suck down water like a sponge!
Does what we need it for but is a pain to clean     On: 2009-03-28

We got this to encourage our 12 year old cat to drink. He no longer was inspired to drink out of a dish and had taken to licking faucets and off the bathtub floor. He became dehydrated so we were instructed by our vet to hydrate the cat intravenous with a saline drip every evening. The cat didnt like this at all and started to hide from us so we purchased this fountain. As soon as it was on he ran over and drank for ten minutes. Problem was solved immediately.

We picked this one because our experience with the cat drinking from the faucet told us that he would spread water all over the place if the water was in a free fall. This fountain has the water run down a ramp. He drinks from the top of the ramp and ignores the water in the tray. Our other cat will not drink from it.

Since it helped our cat avoid a health crisis, we are happy with it but there are a few problems we would like to pass along. First of all it has to cleaned at least twice a week, either from dirt that falls it or the pump gets clogged with cat fur. The design makes cleaning more difficult than it should be as there are lots of nooks inside the fountain that accumulate dirt and slime. The biggest problem for us is that its a roach magnet. The same nooks in the dry part of the fountain (including the underside) are a great place for baby roaches to congregate and hide. This could be designed to eliminate the hiding places.
Cheap pump makes this a bad purchase     On: 2009-03-22

I purchased two of these fountains. One for myself and one as a gift. Out of the two, one of the pumps was dead on arrival. The one that did work began to get very loud over time.

From a general functionality standpoint it worked well. If you have a cat that likes to drink out of a running faucet, bath tub, etc., they may not necessarily like this. As seen in the picture, the water flows down a slide to the bowl. Some cats wont like this as compared to an actual stream of water offered by some other fountains.

For any fountain, I would recommend something like a motion sensor plug to turn the fountain on only when the cat or people are nearby. I havent personally tried this so I cant speak to how well it works, but this is the idea I have in mind:
SENSOR PLUG

Overall I cant say that I recommend this fountain. The construction is very good other than the pump.

(Also note that it was going to cost me more to ship the broken unit back to CA for repair than it was worth so I essentially lost my money on this purchase)
Cats Love It     On: 2009-03-19

My kittens love this product. Although sometimes they use it as a foot bath. They love to put their paws under the flow and I have to clean litter off the bottom of the dish. The pump is very quiet. The only drawback is the filter location. My kittens can get their paws in the hole and have shredded the filter a little bit.
1 kitty likes the other won't go near it!     On: 2009-03-12

I purchased this product for my 17 year old cat, Shadow, whom is experiencing kidney irregularities on the advice of our vet. Shadow will not go near this thing. My guess is that it is too loud for her. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and this machine is too loud for my small place. If I had a larger living area it probably wouldnt bother me. The reason that I rated this product on the high end is that my other cat, Sandy, whom is 11 years old loves it. Sandy no longer plows me down to get in the shower to drink the water when I am done. I have not noticed an increase in my electric bill and I have had it plugged in for about 1 & 1/2 months now. Shipping was fast and the price was great. So, in conclusion.....to each their own.
Great Pet Water System     On: 2009-03-08

Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Medium, Bleached Linen
This is a great watering system for pets. It encourages your pet to drink more water. We replace the water once per week with bought drinking water. Our tap water is extremely hard and would eventually damage the pump, which happened to our first Petmate Fountain. The constant hum of the pump can be a bit bothersome, but once the radio is playing music the hum is less audible. All in all we are very satisfied with the product.
Excellent!     On: 2009-03-07

I got this for our three cats for Christmas, and its one of the best purchases Ive ever made. All three kitties drink a lot more water now, and I dont have to change their water 5 times a day like I did with the plain bowl. (one cat has a habit of dipping his paws in the water and getting hair in it, which now is handled by the filter) I only need to wash the fountain with soap once a week, and its easy to do.
The pump is absolutely silent, even with the flow turned up high, and the cats love to drink from the top right where the water flows out. The gurgling of the reservoir startled them a little at first, but they got over that within a day or two.
My only regret is that I bought the medium size instead of large. I have to fill the reservoir twice a day because having three cats drinking from it drains it fairly quickly. So if you have multiple cats, Id recommend the larger size.
Good fountain, lousy pump     On: 2009-03-06

The fountain is pretty good and the cats love it. It is a bit of a pain to clean, and after a couple of weeks, I had to quit using the filter because it restricted the flow too much. The biggest problem is the pump. If you buy this fountain, plan on buying a couple of extra pumps. I clean the fountain almost every other day, and it never runs dry. However, the pumps quit working after 3-4 months. Ive read dozens of reviews on the Web, and everyone complains about the pump. The pumps simply do not last.
Great Product     On: 2009-03-03

This fountain is a great idea. I have 2 of them. The cats took a little time to get used to them, but now therre is no problem. The fountain will let you know when it needs more water,as it will wheeze and chug very loudly.It also does this when full,but a slap usually stops the noise(this is the only complaint). The cats drink a lot more water with these fountains. Great for multiple pet homes!
Mixed Feelings     On: 2009-03-02

I bought this for my two small min pins. They were totally freaked out by it at first but after an hour of staring at it they loved it. They drank so much more water compared to a simple bowl. However after a while it got so time consuming to clean and the slime build up was gross. It started to grow a variety of colorful slime. I think the pink slime it grow is what really freaked me out...GROSS...There were too many tight spots to get into. I ended up having to clean it everyother day. I had it for about 3-4 months before the motor died. It also didnt hold that much water. Im currently searching for a new one.
not what was pictured!     On: 2009-02-24

when i ordered this product, it was listed as white and was a slightly different model. the product was that was delivered was simply not what was pictured or described. that having been said, the bigger problem was that the thing arrived with broken parts. suffice it to say, not a good purchasing experience!
Highly disappointed with this fountain.     On: 2009-02-23

I wanted a fountain which actually had running water for the cats. This fountain was so bad that I even propped it up at an angle trying to get the flow to be noticeable. My pump died as well within a year.

The stream of water was so slow that mold (that yucky orange stuff) coated the ramp where the water "flowed".

Sadly I will be looking for a new fountain.
Reservoir hold only 50 ounces, not 216 ounces     On: 2009-02-22

I ordered the Jumbo size, which states "capacity of 216 ounce reservoir." I was therefore not happy when I received it to find that the water reservoir actually holds only 50 ounces. Even counting the water in the bowl, it only holds a total of 124 ounces. I have no idea how theyre claiming this holds 216 ounces! The water capacity simply wasnt big enough to keep me from having to check it constantly to avoid the pump running dry.
Almost perfect     On: 2009-02-21

This is the medium sized fountain. Its great for our 3 cats. There is a certain amount of intermittent motor noise, but that would be my only complaint.
Works Well -- Has to be cleaned a lot!     On: 2009-02-20

My mom and I both have one of these and we both agree; they are nice to have and the cats certainly like them, but they are a pain to clean! Mine is 3 years old and the pump has never burnt out, mostly because Im careful about keeping the water level up, but I have also spent some time cleaning out the pump with dish soap and a tooth brush. I actually bought a special brush (like a small bottle cleaner) to clean the rest of the fountain - so its not exactly low maintenance. Also, the filters only last about a month, not 3 months like the package says. Think about getting a bigger fountain if you have more than two cats or a dog, because they could drain the water level rather quickly.
great purchase     On: 2009-02-19

I read all the reviews and was not sure to purchase the petmate deluxe
fresh flow pet fountain size jumbo. It was on sale so I decided to try
it. Easy to put together doesnt make any noise unless the water is low.
Cats like it. I dont have to keep filling a water bowl every day, once
a week I clean it out and put water into it. would recomend it.
Fresh water     On: 2009-02-18

This is a great product for recirculating pets water. It stays fresher for a longer period of time. My cats love it.
leaks     On: 2009-02-17

... unless you keep the resevoir empty, in which case you need to re-fill it daily.
Our Cat Loves ItOur     On: 2009-02-15

Our cat wasnt drinking much water so I tried the product. He was fascinated by it, watches and then drinks. He goes to it in the morning
and waits until I add fresh water in the bowl. It was easy to set up and
we have been very satisfied.
Very pleased     On: 2009-02-14

I purchased this fountain because I was tired of constantly refilling a bowl. With five minutes of cleaning the unit regularly before refilling there have not been any issues. The unit I purchased is now 5 months old. If the water gets way low the fountain makes a gurgling noise. Not a big deal, just add more water. Both of my cats hissed at the moving water at first. I threw in a treat and they havent had a problem since. It works great because I have one kitty who when she drinks gets more water on her face then she actually ingests. Gone are the days of a wet wall behind a regular bowl. I also have my fountain on a small raised wooden platform so my cats do not have to bend down to drink. I just purchased another for the first floor of our home. I do not see it as a problem for a hardwood floor since I have never had any issues with spilling or leaking of the other unit in the master bath.
Kitty Water Fountain     On: 2009-02-12

I bought this because I have 2 cats, one of whom likes to paw at the water in the bowl and leaves debris floating in it. I thought that with fresh, flowing water she would stop doing that and it seems to have worked for the most part. Both of the cats love to drink right from the top of the slope where the water first appears - its pretty cute to watch.
Assembly - wasnt difficult or too complicated. I had it together within minutes. No tools required.
Function - runs quietly, occasional gurgles as the bowl part is refilled from the reservoir.
Pros - fresh, flowing water around clock for the cats. If my one cat cant resist the urge to dip her foot in, the other cat can drink from the top of the slope and not from the area with stuff floating in it.
Cons - I bought the medium size but now wish I had bought the larger one. The reservoir is a little on the small side. It needs to be refilled at least once daily, sometimes twice, especially now during winter with the dry air. I think evaporation helps to drain the reservoir faster. Also, its difficult to clean the bowl. The electic cord detaches from the plug that goes into the wall (not sure of the logic behind that design) but not from the back of the bowl. So when you rinse or wash the bowl, theres this cord dangling over the side of the sink.
Overall Impression - I like this product but when it comes time to replace it Ill get the large rather than the medium. I would recommend this to any cat owner who likes to spoil their pet a little.
great but takes some getting used to     On: 2009-02-10

this product looks nice as well as runs nice and smooth. i wasnt sure which to get but i went for this one due to the price being a bit lower and figured id give it a try. my oldest cat ( 1 year) has an obsession with drinking from sources of running water so i figured this would be great, well needless to say he is still a bit shy of it at the moment but he is coming around. it keeps the water cool. i did have a bit of an issue getting the pump in the right place ( used a pipe cleaner for guidence) and it is a tad loud so if you like silence when you sleep i wouldnt keep it in the same room as your bed...over all great product
The sorriest thing I ever purchased on Amazon     On: 2009-02-06

This is already in the garbage. It is noisy when the water is low-doesnt hold hardly any water-not practical for more than one tiny pet.
2ND FOUNTAIN SHIPPED AND NEITHER PUMP WORKS!~     On: 2009-02-03

This is the second fountain that Amazon has shipped me and neither has a functional water pump. At this point I am very tired of shipping these things back what a piece of junk! ******PURCHASE AT YOUR OWN RISK****
Keeps water clean     On: 2009-01-31

Ive had this product for 2 weeks and no problems so far that are mentioned. The pump is very quiet and keeps a fresh flow of water running. Cleaning is hassle free, which probably should be done twice a week. The only downside is that I have to refill the resevoir every day because my cats love the fountain so much. Maybe Ill upgrade to the bigger size in the near future.
Pet Fountain     On: 2009-01-30

I first heard about this product at my Vets office. It helps with your pets health, the water is circulated and filtered. My cats seem to like the running water. Before I got the fountain they have normally chosen to drink from the bases of our house plants rather than their water dish. There have been no UTI problems with either of our cats since we have switched.
love my petmate water fountain     On: 2009-01-24

I was looking at amazons price on petmate water fountains and decide to read reviews to see what other people thought of the fountain.I have had a petmate water fountain for about 6 years or more. The motor has just quit working after all these years. I have had from 4-6 cats drinking from the fountain. I think it is a very good product. Easy to clean,except for one place, curved tube for return water. But as one reviewer wrote a q-tip or some type of narrow brush will work. Amazon has good price, probable buy new fountain from them.
Very Quiet!     On: 2009-01-23

I purchased this product because Ill be away for periods of time and I was hoping it would provide fresh water for longer than 2 days. After two full days, it needs to be refilled. (I have 2 cats.) When the water gets low, it sounds like someone left a faucet running.

My unit is very quiet - you cannot hear the motor/pump at all. And if you have it on a trickle, you cannot hear water gurgle.

I do wish it produced more bubbles in the water since this seems to attract my cats... perhaps if I turn up the dial.
I've had this for over 6 years!     On: 2009-01-22

Short but sweet...this got loud and then the motor stopped. Guess what? It was my fault. I wasnt cleaning the motor on a regular basis. I went online and found info about cleaning the motor and it worked again. Now I clean it at least once a week and make sure to keep the motor clean. Go to the link below. You can order a replacement pump -OR- you can click on the link below the replacement parts section (it says "clicking here") on that page and download a pdf that tells you how to open the pump and clean it. I did it and my pump works perfectly...and Im a GIRL ;-) Easy directions with pictures.

http://www.petmate.com/Products/Deluxe-Fresh-Flow-Pet-Fountain__24850.aspx

The people who complain about cleaning their cats bowl once a week certainly cant care much about their poor little animal...how would you like to drink out of the same glass for weeks at a time?

Its totally noiseless as long as its got enough water in it. I usually pour my filtered water from my pitcher in the fridge into the bowl about once a day, rather than use the reservoir, the water is fresher that way. I do use the charcoal filter as well, but just for catching impurities, so I dont change it that often and wash it every time I clean the bowl. Once in a while one of my cats is playing with his kibble and some gets in the bowl so I have to dump the water out and start over, but not that often.

My cats like to drink the water coming down the ramp, its really cute.

Oh, and another thing, I do cat rescue and have had at least 14 cats through here and they ALL drank from it, no problem. Im buying another one today for my moms house.
Problems     On: 2009-01-21

The first two days this fountain worked great. Both my cat and I were very happy with it. On day 3 the pump started making strange noises. I checked the toubleshooting and pulled it apart to make sure the pump was not what was rattling. (It wasnt) Also the unit seemed to be leaking water out of the middle where it is attached. Right now... the pump is out and my cat is once again having to deal with standing water only. So much for this solving that problem.
petmate water bowl     On: 2009-01-21

i ordered this fountain because my other one, the 50 ounce one, was to small for my cats and the dog. i was refilling it twice a day. this one goes a lot longer without refilling
I've Tried Both Petmate and Drinkwell fountains     On: 2009-01-20

I am a consumer who has bought both the Drinkwell fountain and the Petmate fresh flow fountain. I just wanted to alleviate any confusion that someone who is researching both and getting tied reviews for both (I was severely confused to which one I should buy after reading several reviews for both, I mean who to believe right?) Anyway after buying the Drinkwell fountain, which is yes very easy to assemble, I almost pulled my hair out because the darn thing was so loud. I gritted my teeth through the night and my cat wouldnt even go near it. The nice little spew of water seemed intriguing to me but my cat still hated it. I tried reassembling it, overfilling it, padding the motor with rubber, and got nowhere. I returned it in a heartbeat.

Apprehensively I bought the Petmate fresh flow a few weeks later (I was traumatized by the Drinkwell) and immediately congratulated myself on a successful buy. It was a smidgen more difficult to put together, but not genius worthy and the noise level of the motor was still smothered by my refrigerators gentle hum. My cat seems to have taken to it and I havent wanted to pull any hair out. This fountain even looks better (I have the blue one) than the Drinkwell which had a gi-nourmous dish that seemed to take a large amount of space in my kitchen. I keep it clean, refill it every so often, and have had no problems with it.

So with that said.

I enjoy having the Petmate and glad that I took a chance so that I can help future buyers with a trustworthy opinion.
Works well if you keep it clean     On: 2009-01-19

The title says it all. If you clean this regularly, it will work just fine for you. I found out the hard way what happens if you go a couple of weeks without cleaning it. Gunk clogged the pump and while it does still work, it doesnt pump nearly as much water as it used to. Oh well, both of my dogs and my cat still love it.
Dangerous?     On: 2009-01-18

My cat loves water from a fountain. However, he tends to drink from the top. With this fountain, he was literally licking the glaze off of the plastic. With the concerns of lead paint lately and even the chemicals that are in plastic, I immediately through this one away and replaced it with the Drinkwell (where water comes out of a spout). I havent had any problems since.
So noisy we found it unbearable...very cheaply made too..     On: 2009-01-17

Great looking and a great price lead me to try this product. The pump on this thing was completely and acceptably noisy. The product was no cheap and the directions so poor that while I was assembling part of product broke off (a small clip). No matter how great it looks, if its really noisy it wont work for me, let alone my felines, who wanted no part of the new loud creature. I quickly returned it and spent the extra dough to get myself the fabulously functioning Drinkwell 360 degree pet fountain. Well worth the extra money and its pump is whisper quiet. Honestly. Just wish the Drinkwell had a mocha or chocolate brown- its one color choice of speckled grey and white looks kind of 80s! (Ill happily forgive that because its easy to fill & so quiet and my 5 babies seem to like it...)Drinkwell 360 Pet Fountain
Great product for cats.     On: 2009-01-13

This is my second fountain and my kitties love it. It keeps them from begging me to turn on a faucet for them. It is fairly easy to clean and maintain. I sold my last fountain when I moved. The pump did go out after about 2 years, which I consider reasonable. I just washed the parts once a week. I find keeping the water level a little higher than one would think cuts down on the pump noise. I hardly notice its there.
Cats love it...     On: 2009-01-07

Our 2 cats were drinking out of the tub... we would let it drip all day for them, which wasted a lot of water and began to stain the tub. Since purchasing this fountain, our cats no longer care about the tub. The cats quickly adjusted to the fountain too. It took the one cat a couple hours and the other, a couple days.
My cats love this!     On: 2008-12-28

This product is great. With still water, sometimes the dishes can get a little film on the bottom. That doesnt happen with the fresh slow fountain. My cats wont drink out of a bowl now.
works great!     On: 2008-12-27

this fountain is awesome! i bought it for my daughters cat who wont drink water unless it comes from the sink. to avoid a constant drizzle in the bathroom sink, i purchased this in hopes she would drink from it. to our pleasure amelia (the cat) took to it immediately and absolutely loves it!
great price, looks nice, easily assembly w/the filter. i recommend it.
Worst motor ever     On: 2008-12-16

This water bowl is soooo noisy. No matter what we do this thing makes a ton of noise. It really must have the cheapest water pump China can make inside it. It was only quiet for about the first two weeks, then I bet the pumps little heart gave out. Filling it rarely helps, kicking it sometimes does. It looks cool... I hope you have better luck. At least our cat likes it, however he usually likes anything that annoys us.
Great for the kitties     On: 2008-12-16

I have two cats, one was a little scared at first, but the other one took right to it and will even lay beside it on occassion when it is hot. Now they both love it, when I first set it up, it did make a sound, but after a week when I went to clean it, I realized that is makes that sound if it is not completely full. Now the loud sound that others complain about is gone, you have to make sure that not just the reserve part of the fountain is full but also the main container level matches water level as well. Cleaning it once a week is best, since fur can get caught as well as food bits in the main fountain. But it is a really good fountain, it was so good that I got one for my moms new kitten!
Works great and our cats LOVE it.     On: 2008-12-08

I purchased this for our two cats January 2008 and it still works in all the important ways almost a year later:

1. Cats love the flowing water.
2. Just need to deal with the water situation once a week, maybe twice.
3. Still running as if brand new a year later with no problems electrically.

That helps keep happy and healthy cats, in my experience.
cats like it better than me     On: 2008-12-01

I thought this would be the perfect solution for my sink drinkers. They do now drink out of this fountain. The best feature of this is the quiet motor, you can hardly hear it when more than a few feet away. the problem is that the motor starts to grind as soon as the water level goes down, which in our house is every day. So i find myself filling it all the time. You also have to have filters on hand. And it gets grimy quickly. I have several animals, so maybe if you have only one or two, it would not be as much of an issue. all in all, not a bad product, but could use a little improvement.
Petmate Fresh Flow fountain - quality control problems     On: 2008-11-30

Ive had three of these, and my mother has had two. Ive found that the older ones are better than the newer ones: pumps last longer, are quieter, and the pieces fit together better. The new ones (Ive bought three in two years, for two households) have come with defective pumps, parts that jam together and are then impossible to separate for cleaning, and with parts missing. I think the company moved their production to a different facility, or in the case of the pumps may have switched suppliers, and they cant maintain quality control.

That said, if you get a good unit, its a very good product: quiet, easy to clean, and my cats and dog all took to it quickly. But it must be cleaned frequently to keep gunk out of the pump - especially if you have a dog that uses it as a post-dinner face wash!
Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain     On: 2008-11-30

I owned this product prior to ordering a new one as the pump shot craps on the old one. The old one I had worked great. The new one that I just got is very noisy. In fact we had to put it in a room downstairs so that it wouldnt keep us up at night. It seems to make a loud buzzing sound that is very irritating and distracting. Taking off the top part of the waterer to clean it is also very difficult with this new one. The old one was a cinch to clean. With this new one I have to pry the parts apart with a knife in order to disassemble it for cleaning. I dont know what happened in the manufacturing process but the new one is certainly not as good as the former product.
Great product for the price!     On: 2008-11-25

Great pet fountain for the price. It was cheaper then Walmart and came with free shipping. Plus it works great so what can I say? Im happy!
Not overly pleased     On: 2008-11-24

Had our Petmate for just over a year. I just tonight threw it in the garbage. When we first got it, it took my 2 cats over a month before they would go near it. They seemed to like it okay after that. About a month ago I found it had been leaking a little. I took it apart, cleaned it and it appeared to be okay. I never did figure out why it was leaking or from where. Tonight after being gone all day, I came home to find a big puddle of water on the floor. Again I cant see why its leaking or where its coming from. I had it setting next to the microwave stand which now has water damage around the bottom. Leason learned. I guess the cats will just have to get used to the old fashoned bowl of water again.
Cat water dish     On: 2008-11-22

The pet smart water dish was noisy when it arrived and the manufacture was prompt in replacing the motor. Works well, Rusty seems to like it. Would purchase it again. Useful as you only need to add water about every other day. After a couple of weeks took it apart, which is easy and ran it through the dish washer. Bill
Try the Drinkwell Platinum instead!     On: 2008-11-21

I have ordered the (blue) Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain 3 times in 4 years, but I have finally decided to stop ordering this one and try a different fountain. The first one lasted quite a while before it started to have problems. It started to leak a lot of water all over the floor. I read in one of the reviews that the cause of the problem was the filters. So, I took the filter out and sure enough, it solved the problem (but after having such a huge leak, Ive always kept the fountain on a cookie tray to keep the water on the tray). But then the pump started to make loud noises (even though I cleaned the fountain weekly and kept it full of water). So, I ordered a second one since they arent that expensive. The 2nd one leaked water right away, so again, I took the filter out, but after a while, it was leaking even with the filter out. So I ordered a 3rd one and this one only lasted 4 months until the pump totally broke somehow (the water would not go down the ramp at all). I also could never use the filter because of the water leaking. So, I finally ordered a more expensive fountain, The Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain, and I LOVE it and my cats love it (my review is on the Drinkwell page). Wish I would have bought this one the first time!
The cats love it!     On: 2008-11-06

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2B8ZXD575MRIP I have two cats & two dogs: Snappea, as seen in the video, used to prefer drinking out from faucet, and Sweetpea, dont drinking enough water and prefer to dip her paw in the doggies water bowl.

We have running it for a month now, cleaned once and so far so good. Snappea has stopped hogging faucets and Sweetpea is slowly getting used to it.
Pet Mate Fresh Flow Fountain ( a must have for my cats)     On: 2008-11-02

My cats love this fountain. They cant wait for the water to flow down. They lick it right as it flows into the bowl. This is the second one for me. Suggestion...take it apart about once a month to make sure the motor is free of any particles or cat fur. It saves on the motor.
kitty fountain     On: 2008-11-01

My cat and kitten love the fountain, and drink more water than they would from their bowls. The water in the reservoir lasts about 3 days. The only issue I have at all is that the fountain is a little noisy. You would not want it in your TV room. I am glad to have this product, and would buy it again.
absolutely silent operation     On: 2008-11-01

I have to be honest here. I just got this water fountain yesterday, but my first impressions are very favorable. It was a breeze to put together. That maybe because I had another pet fountain, and although it was a completely different make and design, it was based on the same idea. The instructions however were quite simple to follow. I do feel I need to point out something that i discovered accidently. After I had put the unit together, as instructed, filled it with water and turned it on. I was initially disappointed because it was making a rather annoying gurgling noise. However, when I disassembled and reassembled the parts around the water pump I discovered that one of the top parts that fits onto the water pumps outlet nozzle just hadnt quite set right, but when it WAS in place correctly the noise disappeared, and I mean DISAPPEARED! This thing is asolutely dead "turnded off" silent when its running. like I said at the beginning of this review, this unit is brand new to me, so only time and proper maintenance will determine it true worth, but for now I think its great.
The Drinkwell Platinum is much better and cleaner product     On: 2008-10-31

We previously we had this model (the Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow) for about 2 years. The motor ran well and it never broke, so I gave it 2 stars. But it is an older outdated model and our pet store stopped carrying the filters. So I decided to upgrade to a newer product, the Drinkwell Platinum fountain.Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain

I would definitely recommend the Drinkwell and NOT this product. The new Drinkwell has been wonderful because Ive definitely seen all three of my cats drinking MUCH more water in the last two weeks than with the Petmate fountain. I can promise you Ive found the proof in the litter boxes.

The Drinkwells water stream is much stronger and circulates the water better than the Petmate. It gives the water the power to move most of the debris toward the little trap. That keeps the water bowl so much cleaner; where as with the Petmate, the debris would circulate until it either sank to the bottom or stuck to the bowl walls. In addition, the Drinkwells filter is designed SO much better (6 divided coal sections). The coal in the Petmates filter would just clump at the bottom (i believe it has 2 divided sections).

The Drinkwell also holds a lot more water. Both products are dishwasher safe, so regular washing is easy for either. However, I can say the old Petmate has many tiny corners which made it a pain when it came to scrubbing off the mineral deposit build up (but my guess is the new one will be too).

I would recommend paying the extra $20 and going for the Drinkwell Platinum and staying away from this old model.
Keeps cats from spilling water     On: 2008-10-31

This item keeps my cats from spilling their water but it is hard to keep clean, runs out of water rather quickly, and tends to be quite noisy when it is low on water and even sometimes when it isnt. It does do what I wanted it to, though, and it was not a bad price with free shipping.
works great     On: 2008-10-26

Works wonderfully! We have two young kittens who are getting used to it, and I was worried that it would rattle like the one I had gotten for our previous cats whod passed away earlier this year, but it is great! The kittens have no fears of it and it is silent and without problems. Easy to assemble and minimal maintenance.
Just what I needed     On: 2008-10-17

The Petmate Deluxe pet fountain is perfect for my 2 aging female cats. They need lots of water for their kidneys and the freshness of the water, along with the movement of it, keeps them drinking it instead of trying to drink from the toilets! I wish I had purchased it long before now.
Cats love its     On: 2008-10-16

Our four cats love this. Fat Sam especially. Very quiet and holds plenty of water for the four cats.
Happy Cats! Happy Mom!     On: 2008-10-15

I read various reviews of the Petmate Fountain before I bought it, but my sister had the smaller version and she was very happy with hers. So I went ahead and bought the jumbo version for my two cats. Weve had it for about 4 weeks now, and its been great! I dont find it hard to clean, or to refill. My one cat loved it immediately, but it took the other a few days to get used to the running water and the noise. Its not noisy by any means, but it sounds like exactly what it is...a fountain! My husband and I travel a lot on the weekends, so its great to not have to worry about them running out of water, or it getting stale. I am happy that I went with the Jumbo size b/c I think I would have been refilling it much too often if I had gotten something smaller...so if you have two adult cats, I definitely recommend the Jumbo.
Don't bother     On: 2008-10-12

Of course your pets enjoy fresh water but this fountain is not the answer. It does not keep the water fresh and becomes dirty rather easily. My dog, who drinks filtered and non-filtered water, did not enjoy the taste of the water after it ran through this fountain. However, the hubby and I decided to keep it hoping hed get more adjusted to it, and he eventually did. But there were other problems: after religiously cleaning the fountain every three days it still grew mildew on the inside within four months. I wrote to Petmate for a solution (figuring this was a defect) and the company never bothered to reply. I wound up with a product I cant use and a bunch of filters for it. So, in short, bad taste for the animals and prone to mold, from a company that doesnt stand up for its products.
Good water bowl bad pump     On: 2008-10-11

These water bowls are awesome and my cats love them but the pump tends to break after 6 months to a year. Its quick and cheap to get a replacement though so its really not that bad.
Superb water fountain for cats     On: 2008-10-06

I purchased this several months ago because my kitties were drinking a lot of water and I felt I was wasting a lot when I cleaned out their water bowl daily.

The fountain is very quiet and requires only a weekly cleaning (my cats dip their paws in the water and put their mouths up to the lip). Its especially important to keep the area near the flow switch clean.

If you use filtered water, the charcoal filters will last longer. I change the filters every 45 days or so, with 3 cats using the fountain.

If you let the water level run too low for too long, or dont keep the fountain clean, the motor may wear out quickly (my first fountain wore out in 6 months) since it uses water for cooling. But my cats love the fountain, so I bought another one.
Works Well, Great Price     On: 2008-10-05

Bought this to encourage my cat to drink more water after his third time in the emergency animal hospital for an urinary tract infection. Assembly was fairly easy and used less than a gallon of distilled water to initially fill. It was noisy at first, but after an adjustment of the flow tab its pretty quiet. My cat loves to drink right off of the ramp that water flows down, so Im glad I didnt purchase an expensive model where the water actually falls and splashes into the water below it. I clean it once every 2 weeks just for upkeep, but it never seems really slimy or dirty so it could probably go longer between cleanings. For the price, this is a great water fountain and Im glad I didnt buy the expensive models available.
The cat and dog love the fresh water     On: 2008-10-04

When i bought this, my wife was saying i was crazy. She swore that they wouldnt care if it was fresh daily, or always fresh. So, we left the bowl that she filled daily with water out as well. It took the pets about a day to get used to the fountain but, once they did they didnt even touch the water from the bowl.
The downside is that it does have a little bit of noise... soft at first but, like a kettles loud whistle to tell you it needs attention. So does this, with an annoying gurgling sound.
We stopped using it!     On: 2008-09-30

This thing is supposed to provide fresh water for your pets, right? Well we stopped using ours and went back to the old water bowl, because dust would build up on the surface of the water. The water flow was slow, not providing good filteration. The dish gets scummy fast, and the filters got nasty in just a couple of days. Before long we found mold in the filer and inside the machine. It is not easy to clean, and requires constant maintainance. We stopped using the filer for a while and it worked a little better, but what is the point of that? I wouldnt reccomend buying one - Id give you ours if I could.
Pet Fountain Disappointment     On: 2008-09-30

Assembled the item as per instructions; the pump rattled loudly enough to annoy me and scare the cats; disassembled and reassembled everything - no luck; opened and cleaned pump (a miniature version of my aquarium pumps) as per instructions - no luck; company quickly sent new pump - success - for about two hours; repeated above steps - success for about two hours; tried a third time - same results; gave up.
love my cats     On: 2008-09-30

My 3 cats love the Pet flow I had the medium but that was always empty so I gave it to my mother in law and bought the Jumbo and that last alot longer the cats and 1 dog drink and drink. I may alittle noise form the water hitting the bottom but that is ok I dont mind it as long as they are all drinking I can deal with it. love it.
Great service.     On: 2008-09-30

The product works just like it is supposed to. The shipping was very quick. I am very happy with the service and the product.
great for pets in a hot weather     On: 2008-09-30

It is great for pets and you dont have to replace the water often, just make sure you add some every 2 or three days. I wish it would have a timer...
Its not the best but may be good enough for your needs...     On: 2008-09-29

In my search for a fresh water fountain I started off with this water fountain from Petmate.
I wasnt very impressed.
True, it will circulate the water. It has a filter & it will work just fine for some people.
The water tank is very small & unless you have just 1 or 2 cats or a Yorkie, youll be refilling constantly. Also, refilling is a bit more difficult than other products.
Im not saying this is not a good product but it wasnt a good product for me.
As one reviewer stated, " you get what you pay for!"
I just think this Petmate is not as good a product as the Drinkwell which I purchased for 2X the price after trying the Petmate.
Ive had the Drinkwell Platinum for well over a year & its never been a problem. Easy to clean, runs quietly & my 2 cats & 4 dogs drink much more water than if it was in a bowl.
In fact, due to adding 2 more dogs to the pack Im on Amazon now to purchase my 2nd Drinkwell fountain.
Again, the Petmate may be just right for you. But the Drinkwell is a far better product.
Cat Water Fountain     On: 2008-09-26

I am somewhat disappointed because I wanted a product where the water came out like a drinking fountain. The water in this product flows down a ramp.
Cheap, noisy pump     On: 2008-09-23

We bought one of these at our local pet store. The first night we used it, the fountain was completely silent. I had to check it a few times to make sure it was still on. The next night, it sounded like a small refrigerator. Something must have gone off-kilter in the pump, causing it to vibrate, but I couldnt find anything stuck or broken. Back to the pet store it went!
Excellent idea, but improvements could be made     On: 2008-09-22

I believe this product is an excellent idea. However there are improvements that could be made.
For one, it is very difficult to clean and stay clean. There are tight crevices and to get every little area, I had to purchase a cleaning kit separately that came with brushes to get those hard to reach areas. The motor also has to be cleaned as well, so you have tiny parts to pull apart and clean as well. The filters need to be replaced often and they arent cheap to replace. In a two cat household, I would need to do these things more often as well.
Another issue with the fountain, is that you need to keep the reservoir full. Otherwise, you will hear a loud motor or water sound.
The good thing to this fountain is that it promotes good pet health. I find that my cats drink more water when using the fountain.
Unfortunately, I do not have time to clean it as well as I would like. I am going to go back the stainless steel bowls and just change the water out twice a day instead of once a day to encourage my cats to drink more water. I will also be using filtered water as well.
If you are thinking about using this fountain, see if you can find one at the pet store and look at all of the parts before making that final purchase and consider the time it will take and whether or not it would be worth it to you.
Solid choice for cat drinking fountain     On: 2008-09-20

Ive found that almost all cats strongly prefer to drink running water as opposed to still water. Cat eyes are attracted to motion. My cats drink much more often from a fountain than a water dish which makes me feel better about their health. Cats love this thing, the only cons are from the human maintenance side of things.

Cons: A water fountain is more work than filling up a dish. You must plug it in, turn it on, clean the pump, replace the filter, and refill the resevoir often. This does get annoying but is not a problem unqiue to this fountain, and to me its definitely worth it for my cats.

The fountain is pleasant looking, a perfect size, and very quiet.
Best water bowl ever     On: 2008-09-19

This the best water bowl for more that one pet ever. With 4 cats and on dog it last 2 days and they love it. It takes a day or two for them to start using it. Would recomend it to anyone with more than 1 cat.
Works Like a Charm!     On: 2008-09-15

I am a new owner of a cat and found that I needed to take a 5 day trip out of town soon after I got her. My daughter was asked to help me find pet waterer that was dependable and easy to use since I have no prior experience with these things. I must say that the Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Large, White turned out to be exactly what I was looking for! It was very easy to assemble and only took about twenty minutes. Two extra water filters were included with the unit as well. The extra reservoir was a nice touch plus the entire unit holds a a full gallon of water! operates very quietly no buzz or hums.
I only have one cat, so if you have more than one you might consider purchasing a larger waterer. I might add that the cat did not hesitate to drink from the unit which had a steady flow of fresh water with no danger of tipping over.
Very pleased with the price, performance, quality and speed of delivery.
I am now looking at purchasing an automatic pet feeder for my feline companion for my next trip away from her.
Seems the kind that just has all that food just laying around was too much temptation for her.LOL!!
Water Them Well     On: 2008-09-15

We have multiple cats in the house and went through the daily routine of rinsing out water bowls and placing fresh water in them all. With the Deluxe Fresh Flow Fountain, we now have much less of a chore. With its footprint, the cats cannot turn it over and spill on the floor the way they could with other bowls. It is quiet if you keep the filter clean (dirty filters = noise).
Cats love this fountain     On: 2008-09-15

I would recommend this to anyone with a cat. This is the second one I have purchased. The first one I had given to a friend after my cat passed away three years ago. When I decided to adopt another cat, I bought one for him, and he loves it as much as my first cat did. It really seems to encourage them to drink more water, and it functions quite well. I would recommend changing the filter at least once every 8 weeks, and cleaning the whole fountain at the same time. The only down side is that I have to fill the reservoir at least every 24-36 hours. If you have more than one cat or are gone for two or more days at a time, you may want to invest in the larger size.
Wonderfully Whisper Quiet!     On: 2008-09-14

This is the third pet water fountain Ive owned, and the best. The first one was the very large size,with large resevoir attachment. I think it was too much water for my two cats - they didnt go through it fast enough so the water seemed to get "stale". I eventually ended up getting rid of it because all of the nooks and crannies inside were too hard to get clean and ended up slimy and gross - I wouldnt want water from it! The second fountain I had was a Medium Petmate - but the "deluxe" model with adjustable fountain speed. This one was very noisy and I always had to fiddle with it to get the water pumping correctly- often in the middle of the night so I could sleep. (Eventually my cat puked in it, jamming the motor. No desire to try to fix it). I had given up on the water fountains - even though my cats LOVE THEM- and then this simple model went on sale. It is perfect. I have to refill it often - may be a downside for some but I figure my cats are getting fresher water this way. It works great and I cant believe how very very quiet it is. Maybe simpler is better!
Petmate Fountain     On: 2008-09-14

The product works just fine, no complaints. The reason I ordered from the Amazon site is because the product was stated as white in color. I received a tan one which I could have ordered from many other places. Here is the description from Amazon.com.. "Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Medium, White"
I love it!!     On: 2008-09-14

I have been using this for a while now, and I have not had any problems!! It keeps the water moving and fresh, and somewhat cooler. I take it apart about once a week and clean it really well, but other that that, I never have to mess with it. I, however, only have one midsize dog..and I think if someone had a couple of dogs, or a large dog, they would have to get a larger water tank.
OK... hard to clean!     On: 2008-09-13

The fountain works fine although the filter does leak a bit into the bowl so that it gets dirty very fast. I would not reccomend this fountain b/c it is very awkward to clean and refill which needs to be done often. Would be good if the company created a way to take out the bowl seperate from the entire fountain.
Horrendously loud, don't buy this!     On: 2008-09-13

When I was in school, my cat used a Drinkwell fountain, which he loved. After I moved across the country to California, I decided to buy him another fountain, this time a Petmate Deluxe. What a terrible mistake. This beast is amazingly loud! The pump makes a very irritating grating sound, a lot like a fan thats misaligned such that the blades grate against the sides. Its an incessant grinding plastic noise that I can hear two rooms away. The Petmate sits in my kitchen and actually rivals the noise of the dishwasher.

Although it wasnt enough to scare my cat, after three days I couldnt take it anymore and unplugged it. Now it sits there like an overpriced plastic water bowl. At least the Petmate was limited to a splashing water noise, which was actually somewhat calming. There is nothing calming about this. Had I not thrown away the box, Id return it today.

Please dont buy this!!!
Poor Quality Fountain     On: 2008-09-12

This is my 2nd Petmate fountain. My first one lasted about 1 year, then stopped working. This one never worked well. I have it on full flow, and water barely comes out. Not worth the cost of electricity to run it. Pay a little more, and get a better quality fountain.
No Lakes on my floor     On: 2008-09-12

My Newfoundland could not have a regular water dish in the house, because he stuck his paw into it, splashed out all the water, and then knocked over the dish, even the tip-proof kind. He was reduced to drinking out of the toilet. His outdoor water dish (really an enormous soup pot) froze in winter and got bugs in it in the summer.
This water dish is GREAT!!!! Maybe its the flowing water, but he drinks instead of playing. There are barely any puddles. There is enough water for him and his buddy, who is also large (half black lab, half St. Bernard) and also a messy drinker.

I am very, very happy that I bought this. I bought a back up! I bought lots of extra filters! The water stays pretty clean, even when they have been digging in the mud and have messy muzzles.

I highly recommend it!
Great Idea with a weak and flawed pump     On: 2008-09-08

Ive now had this fountain for a little over 2 months and the pump is starting to fail.

As is, if I unplug it, to start it again I need to open up the pump and push the impeller to get it spinning. Without the initial push to get it running, it simply doesnt start.

Also, do not think that this fountain will replace your water dish or be less of a hassle. In fact, this will require a tremendous amount of effort to keep running.

Daily Maintenance:
Clean out cat/dog hair from the mesh.
Fill up.

Every Other day:
Clean the inside filter.

Weekly:
Take completely apart, wash out all gunk, hair, dirt etc.
Open the pump, push the impeller to get it started.

Oh and both the cats and dogs seem to prefer the old large water dish as opposed to the fountain, which they also use, but not nearly as much.
Works exactly as described     On: 2008-09-07

Does exactly what its supposed to. Havent had to clean it in weeks. I simply keep pouring more water in when it gets low. Only drawback is my cats dont like it! My fault, they seem to like running water, but only the kind theyre not supposed to have ;-)
Cats Love It     On: 2008-09-07

This is a great water dish. Its easy to refill and the cats love the flowing water. The kitten likes to play with it. The only thing I do not like is that the cat hair that gets in the dish is not as easy to clean since you have to lift the entire thing up and dump the water in the sink (and clean it out) once in a while. Other than that slight inconvenience, its great because the water lasts a long time (large tank) and the cats really love it!
Great for short-term use...     On: 2008-09-03

This product is great for about 1-2 years. Over time, the motor will get bits and pieces of your pets fur and food, which causes the motor to break down, even with regular cleaning. I found no way to purchase a replacement motor, so I was really bummed (as were my cats!).

I ended up purchasing a new fountain, but upgraded to the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain. I highly recommend that fountain because it has a small guard that blocks food, fur, and other particles from getting into the motor and its reservoir.
Kitty loves it!     On: 2008-08-31

We recently adopted an adult male cat from the local SPCA shelter. He was found abandoned, so there was no information on him. He has become a wonderful addition to our home, but he would only drink water out of a running faucet??? This is not convenient or practical. Looking for a solution, I happened to see the Petmate Fresh Flow Fountain. He loves it and is happy to drink from it--I think the movement of the water into the bowl makes it for him.
cat fountain     On: 2008-08-31

I would recommend this fountain to anyone. It is easy to clean and I have not had an issue with the pump or noise or leaking. It was a reasonable price and the cats,Sweetie,April, and Sam all approve. I do think that next time I will get a larger one but in the meantime this one is just great.
Petmate Fountain dish Leaks     On: 2008-08-30

This products sounds better than it is. The noise it makes scared my cats away - they would drink water from any OTHER dish than that one. After about 2 weeks, the dish began to leak, leaving a puddle on the wood floor, warping it before I realized it had a leak.
Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Fountain medium.     On: 2008-08-30

I have two cats that took to it right away. I had seen it at my sisters and since one of my cats liked to drink out of the sink it seemed only natural hed like it, and he did.

The only problem I have is the noise. Air always gets trapped in the chamber before the filter and creates and audible sound. But I have it in my kitchen so I notice it there.

Overall, Id recommend it.
Fresh water for Your Pets     On: 2008-08-30

Our pets love the freshness of flowing water as long as they are happy so are we. Thanks and I recommend this item for all pet lovers.
my cats love it     On: 2008-08-29

It is a pretty decent water fountain, but I shall buy a bigger volume. My two cats can drain the water once a day, so I have to fill the water container everyday. When the water level is low, the pump is kind of noisy coz it sucks the air.
I bypass this pet fountain with a small UPS right next to my computer. This small appliance runs 24/7. I bet it will save some energy.
Loved it, but it stopped working.     On: 2008-08-28

::NOTE:: I originally gave this five stars, and wish now I could change that. I really did love it (see below for original review), but it stopped working properly after 2 months of use. The motor started constantly making the noise that it usually makes when it needs to be refilled and then it started leaking. I was unable to repair it after that. Very disappointed.


My review is similar to many others. I have two cats. One took to it immediately, the other was hesitant at first. After a couple of weeks I took their bowls of water away and now both cats use it frequently. I was worried about how little water they were drinking before (as well as the quality of stagnant water). This makes me feel better because I know they are drinking it, it is moving water (and filtered) and cooler for them. I recommend this to anyone with pets.
Stay away from this item     On: 2008-08-24

It started leaking out the top almost immediately. No way to solve water getting all over the floor. They need to recall this item and give everyone their money back. The water hits the filter and splashes out the back. It needs a water tight rubber gasket and some way to clamp down the top for it to ever work.
Pet water fountain     On: 2008-08-21

Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Medium, White

No bad though kind of disappointed. The stream is not very forceful. My animals are used to the Drinkwell product.
Jumbo Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain     On: 2008-08-21

I absolutely love this fountain. I have a small mixed breed dog (25lb), a Shetland Sheepdog, and 2 large cats. I used to have 2 Vanness 3 liter automatic waterers. The water that I filled with them would sit for a week or longer and never be less than half full. After about6 months, I got tired of how hard they were to clean and that the animals did not want to drink out them. So I splurged and bought this. I really love this thing. My pets love it also. They drink it all to the point of me refilling it about twice a week. They are drinking so much water now. Which I dont mind because they need it. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to clean the entire unit and it is very easy to do. My only complaint is that I wish they made a bigger unit. I got the Jumbo, but still I wish they made a larger one. Everything else about this product is excellent.
Cats LOVE it but hidden areas hold bacteria!     On: 2008-08-20

Ive have this fountain for 5 months, but the regular model, without the adjustable flow feature. All 5 of my cats love it and drink regularly, even when the reservoir tank gurgles to fill the bowl since theyre drinking so much at one time!

As with lots of other reviews, I do NOT use the filters as it restricts the flow of water down the ramp to almost nothing within a day. The pump is not strong enough to push the water through such a dense filter bag with very large chunks of carbon. I question whether the large size chunks do much good anyway. When the water cant flow past the filter to get to the ramp, it trickles back into the enclosed bottom reservoir where the pump is, thus making water sounds all the time, very annoying over the usually quiet of the fountain without the filter.

Since I use well water in the fountain and clean every part of it once a week, I found some very hard to reach and HIDDEN areas that harbor/grow the pinkish slime/bacteria that takes a contortionist to TRY and clean!!

Every hard edge around the back reservoirs interior and the upright brackets to align the pump need a cotton swab to de-pink their tight corners. Also, the removable grill area is very tight and requires swabbing the raceway areas. The channels in the filter reservoir also needs a long swabbing action to clean those tight angles where the filter would reside. And last and the very worst part to clean is the uptake columns inside AND into the curved spout where the water dumps into the filter reservoir!!

If the take up tube AND curved spout have goop in them that you missed, it will come out into the fresh water of your newly cleaned fountain, contaminating all the fresh water, and the process must be repeated. Ive started PRE-running the pump connected to the filter reservoir that has the takeup tube into a separate bowl of water just to be sure I had it cleaned right before installing it on all that fresh water.

I love the fountain as much as my cats, but one must be diligent in thoroughly cleaning EVERY nook and cranny if youre using well water with the minerals etc. due to the propensity for slime build up. I use dish detergent, cotton swabs, a hemostat (used with swabs & paper towels), pipe cleaners for the tube and curved outlet, and wash out the clear reservoir each time as well with detergent before a problem starts.

I also have the blue model which is extremely hard to find, but really looks nicer than a white one showing stains and grime though you can still see junk in it when you have to. Remember to pull out the pumps inner magnetic cylinder with pliers or hemostats and swab around the metal pin, youll see the pink residue on your swab as well as swabbing the inlet hole of the pump itself too.

This is NOT a ton of work to maintain the fountain, I just never saw these issues covered and thought it worthwhile to mention the cause of the slimy strings you may see in your water!! Definitely worth having to get your cats to drink water which is otherwise impossible ;)
great purchase     On: 2008-08-12

We bought one of these for our 4 cats over a year ago now and it has been a great purchase from day one. We do have to clean it once a week and fill it up with water twice a week but considering we have 4 cats, that is much better than we had it before with multiple water changes per day. The pump filter does have to be cleaned each week as well because hair gets caught in it. Total cleanup time is 5 minutes. Our cat love this, they never drink from the sinks anymore. They even drop their toy mice in the water bowl to play with them. The fountain can make some noise when the water flows back into the lower chamber but we found that by using filtered water going in we can eliminate the need for the internal fountain filter which prevents any noise via the water overrun inside the unit.
Highly recommended     On: 2008-08-10

I have had it for maybe 6 years. Also purchased the other type, I forget the name of that brand, it has more of a spout than this one, which is more of a flow. I have 8 cats, some really like the flow, some just want to drink from a bowl. I dont consider this noisy. I dont bother with the filter, consider that kind of useless. If the pump gets blocked by junk (will occur with or without using a filter) it will get noisy, or if the water gets low. That is your clue to add water or clean it. If you ever shelled out $500 because one of your cats had urinary blockage, you dont consider anything that encourages your cats to drink more water a bad idea. I also suggest filtered water (I use the attachment for my tap), cats really go for filtered water more. Bottom line, some of my cats just love this, and they all prefer it to the alternate brand. My toms all go for it, and male cats are more prone to urinary blockage.
great, except for the motor     On: 2008-08-08

I originally got this about 2 years ago for my cats and they loved it. Its a pain to clean, and it has to be cleaned regularly or it gets a weird slimey film inside the bowl.
The motor started dying this spring so I bought a replacement motor, for 2/3 the cost of the original unit. The replacement motor I got was faulty so it makes a very loud hum. Im going to try my luck with a Drinkwell fountain instead.
Fresh water daily     On: 2008-08-08

My cat is enjoying having fresh filtered water daily from his new fountain. I keep it in the kitchen to dump out old water, rinse the bowl and put in new water every couple days. Hes not quite comfortable drinking the water while its flowing but enjoys the fresh water after the flow is turned off. Its also at the right height for him to drink from.
Finicky Cat Owners Beware...     On: 2008-08-08

I think this is a great product. However, my finicky cat refuses to drink from it. I left it there for a month with another water bowl in a different location and she refused to use the pet fountain. I wound up giving it to a friend with 2 non-finicky cats. So, beware if your cat is attached to their water bowl.
The best pet product ever!     On: 2008-08-07

I absolutely love this pet fountain. It was recommended by the cattery I purchased my cat from. Fresh water is always available for my pets. I would never be without one.
Worked for 6 months and died     On: 2008-08-06

The fountain worked for 6 months and the poor quality of the pump I noticed when I put it together came through and died on me this week. After reading another negative review, I will try the drinkwell.
Loud     On: 2008-08-05

One of my cats insists on drinking from the faucet. So I bought this fountain hoping to encourage more water drinking. Needless to say, my cats did not like this pet fountain. They went to the standard bowl of water instead. Also, it is loud. My husband commented on the noise as soon as he walked into the room. I had to take this fountain back. :-(
Horrible!     On: 2008-08-05

We first bought this fountain for price and boy do you get what you pay for! We had actually been through 2 of these, because the first one didnt work properly, well the 2nd one didnt either. The flow is weak and gives out after a day or two and it needs to be constantly cleaned. I was really really disappointed with this fountain. We have since upgraded to the Drinkwell and I mean the difference was night and day. The drinkwell is a little bit more expensive, but it is worth it. Do your pet a favor and get the Drinkwell!
Died after 7 months :-(     On: 2008-08-05

***Edited on 3/13/09. Well, it died, unfortunately. I was doing the weekly cleaning, and when I plugged it back in, there was no power. I would have expected more than 7.5 months from this thing, but there you go. Aside from the gurgling sound it would make (which served to remind me that it needed refilling), I really did not care for it anyway. As I mentioned in the earlier review, I kept it because my animals, one cat in particular, seemed to like it. She missed it at first, but I have gone back to the stoneware bowl which, in my mind, seems more sanitary anyway since I can put the whole thing in the dishwasher. Even after cleaning, this always had a slight aquarium-like aroma that was kind of objectionable! ***

We adopted two kitties within the last year in addition to our two dogs, and I was concerned that the kitties werent drinking enough. One was overly fascinated with the toilet, another wanted to drink out of the faucet at every opportunity (the dogs have no trouble drinking enough). I decided to give this a shot. After a brief period of "whats this?" the animals have all really taken a liking to it.

So far I have not had too much trouble cleaning it. I know it needs to be cleaned when it starts getting noisy. I just dump it out and clean everything with very hot water and a little scrubbing. A slime builds up around the pump and when its cleaned away it becomes quiet again (about once a week).

I was hoping the reservoir on the jumbo sized model and the larger size meant it would last more than one day, but I find myself having to refill the reservoir *at least* once a day. If the water level goes below a certain point in the bowl, it starts making a grating sound. So, the true capacity is actually the amount in the reservoir (not much) because the rest of the water is in the right chamber circulating.

I quickly ditched the filters, as these seemed to block the water flow, causing it to make a loud trickling sound in the circulating chamber. The animals dont seem to mind. The benefit for them, I think, is just the cooler and aerated water.

So, the animals like it, but it is certainly not maintenance free. I considered sending it back, but they do seem to like it and my husband and I are forever ruled by our animals, it seems, so we decided to keep it. It performs its function (keeping fur friends happy) but with the caveat of creating more work for the pet owner...well, usually the case isnt it?


Animals like it, not sure if I do     On: 2008-08-05

We adopted two kitties within the last year in addition to our two dogs, and I was concerned that the kitties werent drinking enough. One was overly fascinated with the toilet, another wanted to drink out of the faucet at every opportunity (the dogs have no trouble drinking enough). I decided to give this a shot. After a brief period of "whats this?" the animals have all really taken a liking to it.

So far I have not had too much trouble cleaning it. I know it needs to be cleaned when it starts getting noisy. I just dump it out and clean everything with very hot water and a little scrubbing. A slime builds up around the pump and when its cleaned away it becomes quiet again (about once a week).

I was hoping the reservoir on the jumbo sized model and the larger size meant it would last more than one day, but I find myself having to refill the reservoir *at least* once a day. If the water level goes below a certain point in the bowl, it starts making a grating sound. So, the true capacity is actually the amount in the reservoir (not much) because the rest of the water is in the right chamber circulating.

I quickly ditched the filters, as these seemed to block the water flow, causing it to make a loud trickling sound in the circulating chamber. The animals dont seem to mind. The benefit for them, I think, is just the cooler and aerated water.

So, the animals like it, but it is certainly not maintenance free. I considered sending it back, but they do seem to like it and my husband and I are forever ruled by our animals, it seems, so we decided to keep it. It performs its function (keeping fur friends happy) but with the caveat of creating more work for the pet owner...well, usually the case isnt it?

quiet, works great     On: 2008-08-01

Weve had this product for several years for our three cats. It needs occasional cleaning -- at first I couldnt figure out why the pump quit, then I realized I needed to pull a glob of cat hair off the pump during cleaning-- but aside from that, it has had no problems at all. The cats drink from it and it means we do not have to refill the water all the time.

Two possible improvements on some future model-- a filter before the water gets to the pump (to remove hair), and a model with a significantly larger reservoir of water. (Wed love to let this go when we go on vacation for a week, but theres no way the waterd last that long. Wish I could somehow connect it to a 5-gallon jug of clean water!)

Overall, a great product that has worked for a long time. Im buying another one so we have one upstairs and one downstairs, for our oldest cats convenience.
Very Cumbersome!     On: 2008-07-28

This product is VERY jumbo! I bought this for my kittens, because they love to gather together at feeding time so I thought theyd enjoy having room to drink at the same time. The main problem with this is that sediment gathers at the bottom of the well very easily and the filter isnt strong enough to get it out. So basically every day you have to unplug it, drag the power cord to the nearest sink, and get the whole thing in the sink to rinse it out without spilling water all over the place. I was unhappy with this product and I really couldnt see myself going through all that hassle every day to rinse out the well, so I returned the product.
Convenience at a low price     On: 2008-07-23

This fountain is quite inexpensive compared to others I have seen elsewhere, and is convenient for those who are always on the run, such as myself.
It keeps the water cool and makes the water fresh (I add lukewarm water and minutes later it feels nice and cool). Rather than changing your pets stagnated water daily, this fountain only needs to have water added whenever it starts becoming noisy due to the filter needing to be fully submerged. It includes a reservoir too which makes your water-filling less frequent and since the water is constantly circulating, you dont have to worry about it getting algae. The filter traps pieces of food your pet may accidentally kick into the water, so at that time it is a good idea to empty the water and clean it with hot water.
Love it, love it, love it!     On: 2008-07-22

This unit is so quiet and works great. I have a 3 pound Chihuahua and a 14 pound Chinese Crested Hairless and the size is perfect for the two of them. I highly recommend this to any petite to small animal owner.
GET THE DELUXE MODEL     On: 2008-07-22

I had the deluxe model, and thought it wasnt working correctly, and I ordered this model, which did not work water gurgled out the sides. I cleaned the deluxe model with vinegar and it is working again! it keeps water circulating and my siamese and jack russell seem to drink more water .. get the deluxe model, you wont be sorry.
Easy to use, good for your pets     On: 2008-07-21

One of the things responsible cat owners have to do is to make sure their felines are drinking enough, especially true if your kitties are on a dry-food diet. This can be a challenge since cats can be notoriously finicky or even lazy about drinking enough water.

With this in mind, as well as keeping more water available during my frequent travels, I tried out this unit, was pleased, and bought an additional one. After about a year, one of them started to leak through the joint whre the water flows through. I replaced the unit with a new one that has not leaked yet.

Ive had three cats use them. One loves the water fountains best and drinks from them pretty much exclusively; that senior kitty cant crouch very well so she drinks from the top of the flowing part, while standing up. Another cat alternates between normal bowls and the bowl of the fountains. A third one never used the fountains.

For the people complaining about noise or burned out units, keep in mind this product uses a submersible pump (like in an aquarium), it needs to be completely immersed to function properly and to cool itself. Letting it run dry makes it both noisy and damages the pump (after a while). Keep it filled and its fine. The fountain will be noisy for 1-5 minutes when you first re-fill it, but otherwise its just a quiet hum.

Caveats: Its hard to tell when the filters are gunked up enough to affect the taste of the water, and replacing them creates some added cost. If your animals shed a lot, fur can get stuck around the pump and eventually impede water flow. My cats prefer if I change the water in the fountain regularly (much more often than Petmate suggests).

Other thoughts: I checked with my P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor
and discovered the unit only uses a miniscule 2W, less than most nightlights!

For the price and the health of your animals, these are a bargain. Recommended!
Petmate Fresh Flow Water Bowl for the kittys     On: 2008-07-19

Reading some of these reviews I find there are quite a few people out there that dont know you have to take the little motor apart and clean the cat/kitty hair out of it to keep this unit working like a top and its not that hard to do either. I have had my unit for about 3 years and my kittys just love it. About once a month or every six or so weeks I unplug the unit and totally clean it out and the most important part is cleaning the cat hair out of the motor.. This really is a great product. Thanks Petmate
Good but None Too Large     On: 2008-07-19

Buy a larger size than you think youll need. I bought the Jumbo for a two-dog (one small, one large) household and wished that it came in a larger size. It required refilling every day or so. Other than that no real complaints. Reading the mostly positive reviews here leads me to believe that this product can have a long life. I havent owned it long enough to form an opinion. The first unit I purchased experienced pump failure within a week and was exchanged for another, which did not fail. Maybe the pump is the potential weak point....

There doesnt appear to be another, better product on the market, so go with the Petmate!
Doggies Love it     On: 2008-07-18

To my dogs, this is as much fun as drinking from the garden hose or drain spouts!

The unit REALLY should be cleaned everyday, the pump comes apart to clean out the doggie spit and muck that accumulates. A pad last less than a week and a 3 pack isnt cheap. You can run it without a pad in place.
The Cats Just LOVE It!     On: 2008-07-17

Figured it was time to replace my previous pet fountain which is now several years old. Never had a problem with it, just seemed like it was time to get a new one. With a Gold Box Price of only $21.99, this is a SUPER Buy! Just change the filters regularly and clean out the motor area...it works like a charm!

Keeps the cat from drinking out of the pool!     On: 2008-07-17

My cat will not drink out of a bowl, period. This has been a god-send for us. Yes, it does gurgle if the water level runs low, but goes quiet as soon as its replenished. I dont even bother with the reservoir, other than when I first clean and refill it. We just pour fresh water into the well. Cleaning it can be a pain, but I throw all of the parts, other than the motor, into the dishwasher. Weve had ours for a few years now and havent had any problems with the pump. We have one, short haired cat, so hair hasnt been an issue for us. For us, its has been worth every penny and more, now that we have a reliable, safe source of water that the cat will use.
Pump fails     On: 2008-07-16

Great idea, lousy pump. Unlike the other reviewer whos experienced the pump failure, I refuse to buy a new heap of plastic every 6 months. Looks like its hit or miss, since several reviewers have not complained of pump failure, but Ill wait for a better pump before buying another.
Excellent Product     On: 2008-07-14

The best pet fountain I have found so far. It does make a little noise when its low on water, but overall I am happy with it. My cats love it so much they will no longer drink from regular bowls.
Second One Works Well!     On: 2008-07-12

I recently ordered the PetMate fountain because one of my KittenKats had one episode of a urinary problem and I want him to drink more water. After two hours of trying to assemble and get the flow lever to fit the pump; I decided "its not me" and the part was defective. I called Amazon and was immediately provided a postage-paid return label and confirmation of a replacement. Even with the free shipping option, I received each unit within two days! The replacement was easy to assemble, and I was able to see that yes, the first flow lever was defective. So far, it is working very well and is quiet. I left the flow lever on the "Low" position as recommended and it produces a moderate flow of water down the ramp, creating just a little movement of water in the bowl (which is preferrable to Kitties). I am also very pleased with the long power cord, so the bowl can be placed near their food. Even though they get bottled water, I went ahead and used the carbon filter too. Be sure to rinse it well first. BTW: if you use bottled water, check the label for Magnesium content (magnesium sulfate). Magnesium is the primary mineral found in cat foods that can cause urinary crystals and blockage (a veterinary EMERGENCY that must be treated in less than 24 hours!). I am happy with this purchase, especially for the price and free shipping and great customer care. And kittens are fascinated
My cats LOVE this!     On: 2008-07-11

I bought this fountain for my eighteen cats about a month ago. They absolutely love it! All of them are drinking more, which is definite plus in Arizona in July. I tend to add water to the bowl during the day and make sure the reserve is filled for the night so the pump doesnt run dry.

The only possible downside is that I have to clean it 2-3 times a week, but that takes about 15 minutes, start to finish, washing with soap, and much feline help. There isnt a filter before the pump, so with long-haired cats you need to check it more often (15 of my 18 are long-haired.) For someone with fewer cats, I could easily see the need to clean it drop to no more than once a week.
Love it!!     On: 2008-07-09

I bought this product three or four months ago to stop my cats from drinking out of the toilet/tub after we were done showering. It worked! They immediately stopped drinking out of both of them and instead started drinking out of the fountain.

While I will admit this does take a small amount of maintenance, it is still a wonderful product. Okay, sure, you need to clean it every week or so; but shouldnt you do that with a normal cat bowl anyways? Its just a tad bit harder with this bowl because of the small crevices.

I plugged in the filter on the first day and it was as silent as ever. I couldnt even tell that it was running! I originally was so scared that it was going to be a loud filter, causing my cats to run away from it but boy was I wrong. The filter does need to be cleaned out every now and then from the cat hair and debris, which people have been complaining about. But I would much rather have to clean out the pump every week than have that Cat Hair & Co cycle through my fountain until the water became murky and gross!

My fountain has started to "leak" just recently, but I have yet to determine if that is condensation from the high humidity or actual leaking.

All in all, I love this fountain. Like I put earlier, it does take a small amount of maintenance, but that is understandable.
PetMate Watering System     On: 2008-07-08

Petmate Fresh Flow 50-Ounce-Capacity Pet Fountain, Medium, Planet Blue
Never did I believe how this product would change my life. My cat, DCI Barnaby, would hop up on the sinks whenever water was running (a tad annoying, but loveable). I worried that he was not getting enough water since he would mostly avoid the still water in his drinking bowl and since I am gone from the home for many, many hours at a time, I wanted something that would satisfy his desire for cool, running water. Wow! Barnaby took to this watering system right away. We are both thrilled and the bowl does not get "slimy" as his water dish would. I have recommended this to every pet owner I know. It has made such a huge difference in my life, with less worry over Barnaby, I am a healthier person! Amazing!
Great for Cats!     On: 2008-07-06

I got this system to be used by my cat and my dog. My dog is only 15 lbs but she quickly drinks the system dry. Sometimes within the same day. I have the standard size. When I got it, there were no other sizes available. My dog also tends to leave debris in the water from her whiskers and beard. It clogs the hole where the water is taken to be recycled through the filter. I decided to put it up out of reach of my dog and use it for just the cat. I have also not been able to find something like Drinkwells "aqua garden" for the system I currently have.
However, the system is great for my cat. I just wish I could find a cat grass thing for it.
Why combined with non-fitting filters     On: 2008-07-05

Curious why amazon has chosen to combine the Large size fountain with filters that fit only the Medium and Jumbo size fountains.
not great     On: 2008-07-05

our findings:
1) our kitties arent interested: we have a fairly large herd of cats here and were surprised that none of them cared one way or another about drinking their water from this.
2) doesnt circulate water that well: the fountain has to be filled to the brim for a small trickle to appear.
3) gets dirty fast: theres a filter but its probably for show.

conclusion:
waste of electricity.
waste of $30.
Noisy at times, durability issues     On: 2008-07-04

These are reasonably nice and quiet when they work right. However, it has been my experience that they eventually get noisy and that the durability is poor. I would not recommend these unless you plan on replacing it every few months.
Scared at first - but now loves it!     On: 2008-06-30

I have only had the fountain for 6 weeks so I can not say anything about durability. I did not read the instructions carefully and turned it on right away (your supposed to get you cat used to it before turning it on). My cat was afraid of the fountain for several days but has now fallen in love with it - and will not drink from anything else. I think he is now drinking more water than before, which was the goal for the purchase.
The reason for 4 stars is that it is not that easy to clean and the water reservior (the clear part of the fountain in the photo) sometimes drips when you are putting additional water (or refilling) the fountain. We have to refill the fountain once a day. This is the only foutain that I own so I have no comparision.
Nice Pet Water     On: 2008-06-29

I love this waterer. Believe it or not - it is easier to clean and care for then just a plain bowl of water. I refresh the water every few days and rinse it out. Our water is hard- so this is my second Petmate- and I use bottled drinking water exclusively- no lime buildup in this one! It is nearly silent- and my cat loves it- he drinks more water than he ever used to. He never drank out of the bowl anyway- he would jump in the sink to drink tap water- this makes him nearly as happy- and he can play in it a little... I highly recommend it. His first Petmate I got second hand- but it built up with lime and then the motor died- hence the reason for bottled water only in this new one. It makes a HUGE difference.
Good fountain!     On: 2008-06-28

This is my second fountain from Petmate. I ordered the same model because it was only through my own fault that the first one stopped working. I am very pleased with its design and longevity. I think its one of the least expensive models. It wouldnt be good for large dogs.
The cats love it and so do I.     On: 2008-06-26

This is a great product. I compared the Petmate Deluxe with the Drinkwell but decided on this one. My cat likes to drink water that is moving but pooled rather than dripping vertically. The Petmate Deluxe is silent and I have noticed the cats drinking more frequently. The only problem I have with it is the pump; the screen which should filter out cat hair doesnt block everything. Its not a hassle or anything to clean out but I am finding I need to clean out the pump every 2-3 days in a three cat household. One of our cats likes to take pawfuls of litter and dump it in the bowl and that has not altered the performance at all (we just change the water very frequently). I also keep it in a shady area in the house and I have not experienced any slimy buildup (but then again, I change the water often and take it apart to get to the filter). My cat likes it so much that he will not drink out of a standing water dish anymore. He was locked out of the bedroom once for a whole afternoon and when I got home he bolted in to take a drink despite the other bowls of standing water all over the house.
Works well but noisy!     On: 2008-06-25

We really like this fountain, but have found that the intake is too high. The water level needs to be maintained at a very high level to keep the unit quiet. The cats really seem to prefer this over a bowl though and with a cat that just cost us $2000 for a urinary tract infection, this is well worth it to keep him drinking!
Satisfied so far     On: 2008-06-25

This fountain was amazingly quiet for the first few days, and then began to make a loud humming or vibrating noise. Nothing I tried made any difference, and the noise continued for almost two weeks - when all of a sudden the noise ceased. It has now been running absolutely silent for a week. And my kittens love it, though they havent lapped at the waterfall yet.

The quality of the reservoir cap bothers me a bit. Im afraid to over tighten it and break it, so I have been refilling it without removing the cap.
Doggy said "no thanks."     On: 2008-06-25

My dog hates drinking stagnant water. I had to change her water bowls at least 3x a day. I figured Ill solve my problem with this little cool invention...

After sitting for a bit, the "filter" proved useless when dust and little odds and ends are floating in it, obviously NOT being filtered.... also, just because the water is supposedly SLOWLY circulating, doesnt mean the water is "fresh." I literally felt compelled to take this thing apart once per day to clean, and even then, break it down at least 2-3x a week to thoroughly get in the nooks and crannies... not an easy job when you cant really get into the water reservoir where I imagine all sorts of mildew and mold, bacteria and algae will eventually accumlate.

A BIG waste of money, a HUGE waste of time, an even LARGER inconvenience.

Im back to my old ways of changing both her indoor and outdoor water bowls at least 3x a day, whenever I walk pass it, and just washing a simple bowl out at the ened of the night... cheaper that way too... no electricity to use, no fear of electrocutng my doggy, no pricey carbon filters to buy.

Used it for 2 weeks and now its in another "bad buy" pile....
Cat loves it.     On: 2008-06-23

I first tried the Drinkwell unit but they are so noisy neither the cat nor I would go near it. This fountain is whisper quiet and provides enough water to be able to be away for a few days without worry. Cat loves it, end of story.
My cat drinks and drinks from this fountain!     On: 2008-06-22

I had only had my cat for about a month, rescued from the Humane Society. I noticed she barely drank any water from the water dish I set out for her with water changed daily. After reading many reviews of various pet fountain products I chose the Petmate Fresh Flow hoping this would entice her to drink more.

My new kittie now drinks lots of water and I couldnt be happier with the Petmate Fresh Flow fountain. Its fairly quiet and although a little tough to clean becauses of its nooks and crannies and odd spaces its not that bad- it can be done with a toothbrush or other type of small brush.

My cat and I are both very pleased with this product.
Very Pleased     On: 2008-06-20

I was very pleased with the speed of arrival. The product is very handy and is almost identical to an old one I had before I moved a year ago. It is a little louder than the old one, but other than that, great.
happygabbie     On: 2008-06-20

I recently purchased the Petmate Fresh Flow from a near-by pet store after I complained that my year-old kitty loves drinking from the toilet. The sales lady recommended the Fresh Flow because cats like drinking water that flows. Worried that Gabbie was not drinking enough water I purchased the item only to discover that she loved drinking from a "cleaner bowl". The Fresh Flow is easy to set up and clean which I do twice a week and so far I havent had any problems. Now, with the warm weather, she spends more time drinking clean water from her fountain and I no longer worry that shes not drinking enough. I totally recommend this item for cat-loves who care that their cats drink enough water which prevents kidney problems along the way.
Diminished Quality     On: 2008-06-16

I have an older PetMate Pet Fountain purchased about 4 years ago. It is still running, and running well. This new purchase is for an outdoor kitty who recently "found" us. First off, the manufacturer is making the unit smaller, which is actually a good thing, as it really does not have to be that big to do the job, so I was happy about that. What I was NOT happy about is the quality of materials, particularly and especially the water pump, which is the guts of the unit. They are obviously cheaper (materials) and Ive had some noise issues here and there (meaning not constant, but I have to take the fountain apart and mess with the pump). If I had known this, I probably would have looked at an alternative. I am guessing all of the manufacturing and assembly is done oversees, so, as with all other things, this product will just get cheaper and cheaper quality-wise. Its sad, really. So, really, its a crap shoot. Well see if this one lasts as long as my older, better quality unit. Oh, and BTW, for years I owned (more than one) Drinkwell Pet Fountain. The pumps on those are REALLY noisy, no matter what, which is why I had switched to the Petmate. Just an FYI for those of you researching pet fountains. Good Luck!!
quiet, wonderful pet fountain     On: 2008-06-13

This fountain is very quiet. It keeps my pets happy. My cats have been drinking more water since I bought this. It will help keep them healthy and happy, which will make me happy.
Previous model better     On: 2008-06-09

Petmate 24860 Deluxe Fresh Flow 50-Ounce-Capacity Pet Fountain, Medium, White
The color of white over blue is great, but the new water pump is very noisy and without the filter guard it is more difficult to clean. Fortunately I was only buying a new FreshFlow for the looks. The previous one had worked beautifully, so I was able to pirate the motor and filter from the one that I was retiring. So together they have made a good combination.
Pretty Nice Product!     On: 2008-06-09

I bought this for my 4 dogs. One of them is a mastiff who slobbers into her water bowl;making it so the other dogs wont drink from it. The Petmate filters that out and it circulates the water to keep it fresh. My only gripe is that it doesnt circulate with enough force to pick up heavier particles like dirt and kibble particles. I still have to clean out the dish regularly.
The dogs were a bit reluctant to use it at first but quickly realized the benefits of it and drink much more frequently than they did from a regular bowl that I emptied, cleaned and refilled daily.
I dearly wish they would make a tap for an ice maker water hose; which would keep the water level constant; just thinking out loud here but maybe turning the refill bowl into a float system with a tap on the back so people (like me) could add it to our system.
Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Foutain, Jumbo     On: 2008-06-07

Ive had the med. size Fresh Flow for years, and the cats and myself love it, in spite of the fact that debris can collect in the bowl (I solved that problem long ago, by using a turkey baster to suck out food bits, etc.., !). I now have five kitty mouths to water, and the med. just didnt cut it any more, so I purchased the Jumbo. It has pretty much the identical design, except for a small spout at the top of the return flow tube that delivers water to the filter. I assume this is because there is a greater distance for the water to travel with the jumbo, but not sure. While the med. made absolutely no descernible noise, the jumbo made a constant trickling sound. For some reason, after using it for a while.. couple weeks.. it isnt making the noise any more! The med. size released water to keep it at a level of ½" below the rim, but this jumbo one doesnt add water until the level in the bowl drops to an inch below the rim... fairly minor difference. I sort of expected a more powerful pump, though, in retrospect, it doesnt seem to affect performance at all. All in all... Positives: I like how much water the reservoir holds; it doesnt spatter at all, like so many other brands do; it is (now) totally quiet; The "kids" love it; the price was very right! Negatives: I wish it kept the water level a bit higher(just a minor negative); still wish Pet Mate could find a way to have their products circulate the water strongly enough to catch debris, even though Ive found a "work-around" ;o) If they could do that last thing- Id consider pretty close to perfect. As it stands, its still my first choice, and I would recommend it, in whatever size makes sense, as a great way to supply cool, oxygenated water to your cat(s), especially since cats often dont drink enough water to supplement the dry food many eat. Of course- great for the woofers, too!
Great water fountain,but fails in one area.     On: 2008-06-07

I have two Persians,which are long haired,and I
find I have to clean the pump and replace the
filter every week,if I dont the water flow drops
to zero. This fountain was designed for a short
hair cat,but when it is cleaned my persians love
it. I still recommend this item because it pro-
vides a fresh and cool water source.
Petmate Fresh Flow Fountain     On: 2008-06-02

We had used our Petmate Fountain for 7 yrs before the motor went out. We ordered a new one from Amazon and are as pleased with this one. Our pets love to drink from running water.
Great fountain for the cats.     On: 2008-06-01

This type fountain was recommended by our vet after our one male cat suffered from urinary blockage. A part of his care is to get him to drink more and our vet said a flowing fountain would help since cats like the water moving. The price was good. As soon as it arrived, it was put to use ( easy to assemble) and the motor is quiet. Our other cats enjoy it too. The resevoir lasts about 2 days for our crew.
Umm Yeah     On: 2008-05-31

I purchased this fountain for my two JRTs. While one of them was ok with it the other did not like the gurgling noises it makes when the tank releases water. It preforms as advertised. It keeps the water nice and cool and holds a lot of it.. But I found I had to keep a separate bowl of water for my other dog as after the 2nd or 3rd gurgle she no longer drank out of this fountain.. It now sits empty in my basement.. I gave it four stars because it does work as advertised.. It just doesnt appeal to my sensitive dog..
Cat loved it; too bad it broke after a week!     On: 2008-05-26

I had high hopes for this fountain, but, alas, like other folks have mentioned, the pump failed. Unfortunately, my cat didnt even get 2 weeks enjoyment out of it. I guess I could go get a new pump, but I think Ill probably just return the whole thing. Kind of peeved that we didnt get more than a weeks worth of use.
So far so good....     On: 2008-05-25

Have had this about a month. My kitten enjoys drinking from it (but still attacks our RO unit!!)--appears to function well, but the strange shape keeps it from being ergonomically perfect on my kitchen counter--actually the trickling noise it makes is not too loud, and rather soothing.....overall appears to be a good deal, but again, time will tell as far as durability.....
Needed slight modification     On: 2008-05-23

I am pleased with the size and water capacity though I was instantly disappointed with the water dribble. I found an easy solution I thought I would share. I inserted a 1" diameter clear tube, 6" in length into the exit hole. I trimmed the height of the tube slightly so that it would fit snug into the opening and wa la, instant waterfall. The tube was just a standard fish tank hydro-lift tube used for under gravel filter systems.
You can play with the length and orientation of the tube to fit your animals needs.
Great product     On: 2008-05-18

I am pleased with the product - some of the cats aare taking a while to get used to it though :-0
A wonderful idea for your pet     On: 2008-05-18

I purchase this fountain for my new puppy...he loves it. The first day he loved it. The fountain itself is great. I had one before, so I know about it. Its nothing wrong with it all. When the water is low, or course the motor will sound off. Other than that, its a wonderful machine. It keeps the water clean and cool at all times. I clean mines once a week and by me having one pet, I change the filter once a month. I recommend this to anyone. Its a great buy, if you purchase at Petco or walmart then you will pay more. So it is a good buy from amazon. I love it and I advise anyone to buy it for your pet. It is good for them.....
My cats love this fountain (lasted 9 months before pump died)     On: 2008-05-17

Three months ago, I bought the large Pet Mate Deluxe Fresh Flow for my 3 kitties. They love it. Ive never had a fountain before this one so I cant compare it against other brands. It was kind of expensive about $36 at the pet store down the street but I had $10 off. Im definitely glad I got the large one. The reservoir is large enough that you only need to clean & fill it about once or twice a week. The charcoal filter (kind of like what you use in fish tank filters) I had to throw away because my brat cat, Eleanor, pokes her paw into the hole and rips apart the filter. Not only does brat cat rip the filter but she is fascinated by water and paws at the reservoir until the top comes off. Easy solution for this though.. I duct tape the top of the fountain in place every time I clean it and it is now cat proofed! It has a long electrical cord and it even disconnects from the plug for easy cleaning. The reservoir is large which is great. I wait until the reservoir runs out of water and the fountain is making gurgling noises. Thats when I turn it off and put it on my To Do List for cleaning.

CLEANING: I use VERY hot water with the water sprayer and disassemble the whole unit. I use my hands to feel where it has gotten slimy and keep running my hands over it until its not slimy any more. There are nooks and crannies and crevices to look out for too. And the MOST important thing is to be sure to pull out the pump each time and rinse it out to remove the cat hair. I always have cat hair in my pump and you cant see it until you pull out the pump. The hair is usually underneath the pump or actually inside the pump itself. The hair gets inside the pump through the little slits. This is probably why some folks have their pumps die on them because their pump runs too long with fur in it. And if you also have a brat cat remember to duct tape the top on too.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2008: My pump died too. I am disappointed. It only lasted about 9 months before the pump stopped working. Its a great product too bad they cant provide you with a great pump to go with it.
My cats love this fountain     On: 2008-05-17

Three months ago, I bought the large Pet Mate Deluxe Fresh Flow for my 3 kitties. They love it. Ive never had a fountain before this one so I cant compare it against other brands. It was kind of expensive about $36 at the pet store down the street but I had $10 off. Im definitely glad I got the large one. The reservoir is large enough that you only need to clean & fill it about once or twice a week. The charcoal filter (kind of like what you use in fish tank filters) I had to throw away because my brat cat, Eleanor, pokes her paw into the hole and rips apart the filter. Not only does brat cat rip the filter but she is fascinated by water and paws at the reservoir until the top comes off. Easy solution for this though.. I duct tape the top of the fountain in place every time I clean it and it is now cat proofed! It has a long electrical cord and it even disconnects from the plug for easy cleaning. The reservoir is large which is great. I wait until the reservoir runs out of water and the fountain is making gurgling noises. Thats when I turn it off and put it on my To Do List for cleaning.

CLEANING: I use VERY hot water with the water sprayer and disassemble the whole unit. I use my hands to feel where it has gotten slimy and keep running my hands over it until its not slimy any more. There are nooks and crannies and crevices to look out for too. And the MOST important thing is to be sure to pull out the pump each time and rinse it out to remove the cat hair. I always have cat hair in my pump and you cant see it until you pull out the pump. The hair is usually underneath the pump or actually inside the pump itself. The hair gets inside the pump through the little slits. This is probably why some folks have their pumps die on them because their pump runs too long with fur in it. And if you also have a brat cat remember to duct tape the top on too.
Not big enough for three cats     On: 2008-05-14

This would probably be good for one, very dainty cat, and an owner whos home all the time. However, the instructions say not to leave it on when youre not around - and indeed, the reservoir is so small that it runs out of water in 1 to 2 hours anyway. I have three cats, all of who love to splash in the water so crud gets into the dish and just stays there until I clean it out. My old inverted-jug waterer is easier to clean and change the water, and doesnt have a carbon footprint except for when it was made. Im going back to that.
My 2 cats LOVE this     On: 2008-05-12

My 2 cats LOVE this thing. We had one for 3 years until the motor died. I went and got them a regular water bowl, but missed watching them drink from the fountain and having to wash the bowl every day. With this, it is filtered and I only wash it every week or more. The water is clear and clean.
NOT BAD     On: 2008-05-08

The cat likes it but still prefers the fish tank filter. Its a bit noisy but anything w/ a motor will be.
Makes kitty happy :)     On: 2008-05-08

My cats were lovin this thing even as I was putting it together! It gets quiter after a few days of running. The pump makes some noises when the water is running low. Water resevior is not the biggest, but adequate for 2 fat and thirsty kitties! I suggest rinsing the charcoal filters for a few minutes in the sink before putting the new filter into action. My cats are my best friends, and anything I can do to make them happy, I will do. The investment to bennifit ratio on this product is astronomical! Just buy it, you wont regret it.
Lousy Design     On: 2008-05-06

This is an excellent idea but a lousy design. Its impossible to clean in all the nooks and crannies inside the reservoir and the crud that grows there is nasty. Usually I donate things I dont care for to someone else who might use them. But I wouldnt wish this nightmare on anyone who cares about their cat.
Good Fountain,cats and dogs love it. A little difficult to clean     On: 2008-05-06

I have had this product for about 5 years with no issues. The cats and dogs love it. I had been filling it at least twice a day so I also purchased the Drinkwell. Which is also good, but not as well liked by the dogs. They prefer the Petmate.

Most of the parts are dishwasher safe on the top rack and it does a great job of cleaning it. I usually clean both fountains by hand about every two weeks. The tight areas are a bit difficult to clean. I find that the Drinkwell is easier to clean. But the hassle of cleaning it is worth it to keep the cats urinary tract and kidneys in good shape.

I have had no issues with the pump in all the years I have had the product. Which ever brand you choose it will be great for your cats!
Excellent, Our cats actually enjoy drinking water now!     On: 2008-05-02

We have a one year old and a 3 month old siamese, and they both just love to drink out of this fountain. Our 1 year old had this finicky habit of only wanting to dring off of your hands at the sink, seemed to have an issue with drinking out of a "body of water" such as a bowl. Even to the point he would wake my wife or I up in the middle of the night to come to the sink in our bathroom for water! Not a good relationship builder.
My hopes were answered with this fountain, they both took right to it, and our older one has drank more in the last two days than he normally would in a week! We look forward to less hairballs, reduced chance of UTI and kidney stones, and most importantly (MORE SLEEP!) Just kidding.
I highly recommend this to any cat lover who wants a great water supply for there kitties.
I have to make mention of another cat item I just got that I love...The Litter Robot LRII, definately worth checking into if you have multiple cats.
Sincerely,
RJG-FL
Great, you just need to clean it!     On: 2008-04-30

This fountain has worked great for my 3 Maine Coons who are traditionally hard on everything. I clean it every 3 days and it stays immaculate. It takes about 4 minutes. I also add something the vet gave me to prevent gingivitis, the cats love the fountain, they drink and play in it all the time.
waterfall     On: 2008-04-27

This is the third Petmate I have gotten. My cats seem to enjoy drinking fromt the flowing water and it does stay cleaner than standing water. Im not sure why they seem to start leaking after about a year and I have tried other types of flowing fountains but come but to this one. It was easy to put together and is quiet.
My cats love it     On: 2008-04-27

I have two of these--one upstairs and one down. Im lazy so I keep bottled water next to each of them in order to top them off every other day. I clean them once a week and my cats seem to like drinking from the slide. Ive have one for three years with no problems and the other old one died when I my pet sitter didnt keep it filled up. It does take from 5-10 minutes to clean, but I prefer that to washing a bowl every day. I also like that my cats are enticed to drink more water. My cats fround the other brand too noisy, although if you have a cat that loves drinking out of the tap when it is half force, they may prefer that one.
DO NOT BUY PETMATE PRODUCTS..THEY DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEM     On: 2008-04-26

This PetMate product lasted less than two months! I have had similar products, so I know I did not abuse or misuse the product. I contacted PetMate twice...they did not respond to either inquiry. They do not stand behind their products! I would have rated it 0 stars if I could have.
cleans the water, keeps the wife happy     On: 2008-04-23

Bought this for the wife. Cats will drink water out of anything, but it puts a smile on the wife. Quiet and filters the water, probably healthy for the cats. Good price compared to the others I looked at. Cheaper then at the store.
Cat Water Fountain     On: 2008-04-23

MY CAT LOVES!! WATER AND HE KEPT TRYING TO LAY IN HIS WATER FEEDER DISH. I THEN FOUND THE CAT WATER FOUNTAIN @ A STORE AND THEN WHEN I GOT HOME I LOOKED ON-LINE AND FOUND THE SAME DISH WITH EXTRA FILTERS @ $10.00 CHEAPER WHICH INCLUDED THE SHIPPING!! I WAS REALLY HAPPY, BUT THE ONE WHO IS REALLY HAPPY IS ESCOBAR. HE LOVES HIS NEW WATER DISH AND HE ALSO DRINKS A LOT OF WATER NOW, WHICH IS HEALTHY FOR HIM. NO MORE SPILLAGE ALL OVER THE FLOOR. THE DISH WORKS GREAT! I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO HAS AN ANIMAL THAT DRINKS WATER.
My cats prefer this new fountain     On: 2008-04-15

This fountain replaced a Drinkwell fountain that my two cats gave up on after a year of use. I spent the past year wondering whether it was worth trying to buy another fountain or just let them drink from the dripping faucet (which is the older ones preference).

This fountain has several improvements over the previous fountain:
*very large capacity in a compact space, over 200 oz. with no extra water bottles attached to the back
*silent! Our previous fountain made a lot of noise when the stream of water hit the bowl. This one is quiet, and I cant even hear the pump.
*power switch on the cord

Both of my cats (ages 2 and 6) love the new fountain. The older has not once tried to drink from the faucet (which I appreciate). They are also drinking a lot more water.

This fountain is certainly big enough for more than 2 cats. (Does that mean I can get another one?!?) I was actually surprised by how large it is...perhaps it is intended for dogs, but I love how much water it holds.
Decent, but had flow problems from the reservoir, and it needs pre-filter for larger crud     On: 2008-04-07

I got it because it was a bit shorter, front to back, and I thought the cats would prefer the water slide. From the start, the water in the reservoir never trickled out when the water level dropped in the bowl. Six months later it seems to be working, go figure. It has a fabric and charcoal filter, which may look clean, but you have to remove it to see that green slime is building up inside it. It also needs a pre-filter for hair and other crud, because the pump gets clogged. Sure, you need to clean it regularly, but a small screen would give you a visual indication. The Drinkwell Platinum has one, which I intend to purchase.
Noisy but good..     On: 2008-04-01

Ive been reading the reviews for this product and others similar to it. I broke down and bought this one. It wasnt hard to assemble. The blue part is a resevoir of water with a floater to continually add water to the bowl as it gets used up. When you clean it or set it up you have to make sure that you add the water to the base before putting the resevoir on, or all the water from the resevoir will trickle out to fill the base. It comes with a replacement filter. The motor is small and makes quite a bit of noise, like an aquarium. It also has an adjustment lever to control the flow of water.
The cats were afraid of it at first but once they got used to the sound they started to use it. The ferret loves it too. Ive noticed them drinking a lot more water. I put a couple of ice cubes in the bowl everyday so that they have cold water.
They seem to appreciate having clean water with no woozies in it. They lick their own butts, but dirty water, they aint havin that. One cat likes to wash her feet in the bowl, which I appreciate since she sticks her foot in my nostrils while Im sleeping.
Ive had it for several months now, and all seems okay. Overall, this is a product that I would recommend to other pet owners.
Great for outdoors too!     On: 2008-04-01

I am sure, buried somewhere in the manual, it says not to use it outdoors. Well, sue me, I do. :-)

I have an outdoor-only kitty whose water is periodically contaminated by her raccoon friends. Yes, the raccoons are the kittys friends! [shrug]

Anyway, I keep this in a sheltered place outdoors so it is not exposed to the elements. I have had the unit for nearly 9 months with no trouble. It can maintain acceptable water level for 2 - 4 days, depending on the temperature so a weekend trip is doable.

My unit is virtually silent. I suspect the noise that others talk about is due low water levels. In fact, that is my signal to add water.

Adding water is easy and quick.

DO NOT forget about filters. You will need to replace them at least monthly; more often when it is warmer.
Better than the others, but still short of perfect     On: 2008-03-30

Compared to the Drinkwell fountain I had previously - its a much better fountain for a number of reasons.

Good things:
- Quiet. When its running properly, you cant hear a thing.
- Doesnt make the water too warm. This is important because with the Drinkwell fountain, the motor would get hot and warm the water - not only do the cats dislike this, but it leads to an increased chance of bacteria formation. I honestly dont know how it keeps the water cool, but it does.
- Filters are cheap. You can get 2 or 3 packs at Petsmart for cheap, or get them from Ebay for even less.
- Material is easy to clean. The entire unit is made of a very smooth plastic that makes it very easy to clean. The Drinkwell fountain was made of a rough material that "trapped" food particles and made it difficult to clean.

As much as I like it, there are some things that definitely need to be improved:

Bad things:
- The motor traps hair easily. Hair gets caught in the motor and you have to remove the hair almost weekly. If not, youll find the fountain doesnt work properly and you have to keep turning it on and off.
- Theres a plastic piece on the main water reservoir thats so thin that it breaks easily. Ive broken it twice when cleaning it - luckily customer service is great and they send me free replacements.
- Theres an issue with the motor where if you turn it off to add more water, then turn it on, itll make a loud bubbling noise as it tries to get water up to the top. It fixes itself if you turn it on and off repeatedly, but its a pain.

I usually let the fountain run 2-3 days. By then, the reservoir is more than half empty so Ill empty the entire thing, give it a quick wipe, then refill it with fresh water. Once a week, I clean it with dishsoap and use a Q-tip to clean out the motor. Im told it isnt necessary, but I like the idea of a clean fountain.

Overall, this is much better than the Drinkwell fountain. Not perfect, but definitely one of the best out there. I paid $50 and its since dropped to just over $25, which is a great deal.
Best Pet Bowl For Your Money     On: 2008-03-29

3 years ago, when I was still living with my mother, we decided to purchase this cat fountain. My cat, Sally, always had a desire to drink from the fresh running water of the sink, but wouldnt be nearly as eager to drink out of the automatically filling plain water bowl that we had. We bought this fountain and shortly after, the previous still-sitting water bowl was entirely abandoned by all three of our cats. They all switched over, exclusively, to the Petmate bowl. They seem to enjoy the running water and the fact that the water is continuously moving and that its filtered. We no longer see bits of cat food sitting at the bottom of the bowl, mucking the bowl up.

I occasionally saw stray strands of fur floating at the top of the water in the bowl, but the cats would drink from the little slide the water ran down. We were easily able to just scoop the little bits of fur out of the water. We also found we were easily able to monitor the cats water intake by watching the resevoir levels, which helped us keep an eye out on the cats to see if any of them were getting sick.

The fountain isnt very hard to clean at all, so Im not sure why everyone is complaining. We refill the resevoir when it starts to get low, empty the water out and rinse it with hot water before refilling it with cold water and replacing it. We change the filter every 4-6 weeks and the bowl, itself, is easy to clean using hot water and dish soap (like a regular pet bowl). I find it stays clean a lot longer than a regular sitting-water pet bowl. I cant imagine what a persons cat must be doing in these bowls for them to have slime of any sort on any of the components or to find themselves needing to clean it daily. Even weekly seems rather meticulous for this bowl.

Our cats are drinking more water than they did with the old bowl, were happy we dont need to clean their bowl so often, and its very quiet. You can hardly tell the fountain is running at all unless you were to see the water running. The filters are cheap and its really a good luxury for any spoiled or well loved pet. The price really just cant be beat!

And now that I live in an apartment with my cat, Im buying another one just for her. Theres no way Id switch and theres no way Id cheat my cat out of this fantastic treat. Ive never once had a single problem with this product. Its perfect.
This fountain is awesome     On: 2008-03-26

I have two big dogs and I was afraid that this would have to be refilled everyday however, it has a very large capacity. My dogs havent drank out of the toilet since we got this fountain!!! I am very happy with it. Only problem is when they drink after they eat so food particles get to the very bottom, but I read someone elses review about using a clean fish net to get it out and it works great!! This is definitely a must have!!!
Wonderful!     On: 2008-03-25

This pet fountain kicks butt! I have had it for about a month now. Two out of my 3 cats are obsessed with the shower when I get in, because they love running water. I was curious as to whether or not this would translate to the drink fountain, and I was glad that it did. It took a few days for my cats to realize what the heck it was, but now all three of my cats are drinking out of it. My cats were very finicky about fresh water before--I had to change the water bowls twice a day, and they would stand there and stare at me until I did it! Now with the constant filtration of the Petmate Fresh Flow, all I have to do is refill the reservoir every other day. I highly recommend this quiet, efficient product!
It must have magic in it     On: 2008-03-13

Personally, I dont get it. Its a glamourized water bowl. Nothing more. I bought it thinking that the filter system would be like a fish tank - you know, it sucks out the food and waste and you clean it off and replace as necessary. No, this filtering system does not have any vacuum sytem for sucking up hair and food. The hair and food chunkies lie in the bowl until you dump it out. I have 3 cats and thought I could get away with changing the water bowl every 3 days or so. I could, but then how much hair and chunky stuff do you allow to accumulate in the bowl? So I change it completely out every other day. But here comes the interesting part. My cats LOVE THIS FOUNTAIN. I swear there must be some magic or crack in the system, because they cry and pace the floor until I put it down and start it up running again. They drink so much more water than they used to, which is a plus for their health. If it were up to me, Id give this product a 3, but this product isnt for me, its for my cats and they would without a doubt give this a 5. Get your pet(s) one of these and be amazed like I am.
My cats love it!     On: 2008-03-11

Ive had the product for about a month. I didnt start out running the pump so the cats could get used to it [as Mfg. suggests] After 3 days I started the pump. I would suggest for multiple cat household to get the largest size you can afford. My cats are definitely drinking more water. I refill the resevoir every couple of days.
The only problem I had was 1 of my cats is an adventurer and stuck her paw in the opening above the ramp and started pulling the filter out. I solved that by a couple strips of duct tape to make the opening smaller.
Have had no problem with pump getting clogged and not working, and when I took it all apart after 3 weeks I only found a small amount of hair in the water so its staying pretty clean. Be sure to turn the flow control [on large deluxe model] to its lowest setting before doing maintenance, oherwise it tends to overfill.
The cats sit and watch it before drinking.Very happy, and so are the cats.
blah     On: 2008-03-11

It worked fine for a week and then its just a giant pain to keep working properly. Even with the water level at where it should be, the petmate makes odd sounds. I prefer a regular water dish after using this product.
NOT AS APPEALING     On: 2008-03-06

not as appealing to my 3 cats as i had thought, also water gets dirty even with the filter? so its harder to fill and clean than just there plain old bowl?
Do Not Buy This!!!     On: 2008-03-06

Fresh Flow Pet Fountain by PetMate : Size DELUXE
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY.It will clog very easy.
Then it sounds like the garbage disposal running.
Buy a drinkwell.my wife works for a cat rescue.
they have drinkwells and they work great.
Back for another     On: 2008-03-03

Ive had one of these pet fountains for about 7 years of constant use by my two cats, and I heartily recommend it to others. The main things you should keep in mind are that you will need an electric outlet and you should not put this next to your pets food bowl. Because you dont empty and replace the water each day, you need to prevent food from being dropped into the fountain. Also note that the blue unit is incorrectly described here as the Deluxe model. Only the versions that actually show "Deluxe" in the printing on the side fit into this category; however, Ive never had any complaints about my basic model.

The fountain is easy to set up and my cats love it, which means better health because they drink more. I like the way the water circulates through a filter, which catches bits of hair and debris and keeps the water fresh longer. I wash out the filter a time or two before replacing, and I buy replacement filters at my local PetSmart.

I also discovered that the unit (with the exception of the pump) is top rack dishwasher safe (just dont use the drying cycle). The water resivoir does become cloudy in the process, but I like the ease of cleaning and knowing that the unit is sanitized. I tend to wash it by hand between times and use the dishwasher method about once every 2-3 months.

As the fountain got older, I did have a temporary overflow problem that I thought was a leak until I discovered that it was actually flowing out through the opening hole behind the filter when the water level would get too high. Adjusting the pump by moving the lever on it to a lower flow level fixed the problem.

The pump on mine just stopped working last week, but that isnt at all a complaint. It has had a much longer life than I ever expected. Im currently deciding whether to replace the whole unit or just the pump ($13+shipping); Im leaning toward the former. Either way, I plan to continue using the Petmate fountain for as long as I have pets.

Follow-up: After reading reviews referring to a pump-cleaning process, I went to the Petmate website for details. I opened up the pump as described and cleaned it thoroughly using dish soap and q-tips. When I re-assembled the unit and plugged it back in, it worked! Ill certainly purchase another Petmate fountain when the time comes, but for now its rolling again. My cats sat in front of it for a good 10 minutes, as if to say, "About time this thing is working again!"
Love it!     On: 2008-03-02

I have the medium size and the Jumbo Petmate Fountains. I clean them out once a week and have no problems. These fountains run quietly and are very easy to clean.
Not good for mulit cats households.     On: 2008-02-29

I must say that my cats do enjoy drinking running water. I first encountered a problem with this product with in its first week of use. mainly, my cats would reach their paw in the hole that the water comes out of and rip holes in the filter cartridge.The cartirage is poorly designed in the first place. it is made of a felty material the is just asking to be ripped apart. my second, and finial problem with this product is the lack of filtering on the water pump. This product is made for pets, you would think that they would put a filter of some kind infront of the pump to prevent it from being clogged with fur. well they didnt. my pump would clog with fur at least once per week. i had this product for 3 months when the pump stopped working.
So far So good     On: 2008-02-26

I bought this item to replace our existing Drinkwell fountain. We have had two of the Drinkwells and each seemed to work well for a year or so and then the pumps gradually became louder until neither we nor our cat could stand it. So far this item seems to work well, it is definitely quieter than the Drinkwells. After the first 24 hours it started making a buzzing noise, but after I unplugged it for about 12 hours and then plugged it in again the noise was gone - I think maybe there were air bubbles in the pump? We have been using it for about a month now and it is still running quiet, I hope it stays that way longer than the Drinkwells did.
Note, unlike the Drinkwells the power cable for this unit has a small transformer block at the plug. Not sure if that would matter to some people or not.
Not completely happy     On: 2008-02-26

Pet Fountain is a little noisy. Weve had it a month and cat hasnt used it yet. Hope he will get used to the noise. THe price was good but maybe you get what you pay for.
Cat likes it     On: 2008-02-23

My cat, who hates anything I buy for him loves this fountain. I like it too, because it makes a very noticeable noise when the water level gets too low, so I dont even have to remember to fill it. My only complaint is that it is a little hard to assemble. It does not help that the pictures in the manual dont quite match the unit.
Cat loves it !!     On: 2008-02-22

I had previously purchased the Petmate (blue) from a store near me. It started to leak in about 3 weeks. I returned it, received a refund and ordered the Petmate (white) DELUXE from Amazon. My cat loves it! He drinks more water than ever. The motor is very quiet. I am happy that I decided to go with the DELUXE model for less money than the other one. I would recommend this item to anyone who has a cat(s) that dont usually like to drink alot of water. I think this fountain makes a great difference in the amount of water they intake.
kitty likes her fountain, more work than a water dish     On: 2008-02-17

This is the second Petmate water fountain Ive bought. The first one lasted over 3 years before the pump died and it was cheaper to replace the whole fountain than just the pump. Considering it was running every day for over 3 years before it died, it was definitely cost efffective. My cat loves the fountain and drinks more from it than she would a regular water bowl. It isnt difficult to clean and I only clean it when replacing the filter once every 2 or 3 months. The filters arent too expensive and will run you about $12-15 a year. The only problem I have is that is has a lot of small corners that are impossible to get into so a bit of algea and gunk builds up over the years (which was another reason I bought a new one rather than replacing the pump only). Overall, its worth the little bit of extra work and cost to keep kitty happy, healthy and hydrated.
big is better     On: 2008-02-16

I purchase the 50 ounce thinking it would be big enough for my two cats but I would suggest you buy the larger one I may get it down the road. Your kitties may think it is a toy at first like mine did otherwise later they learn it is a water sorces. Good luck and enjoy it like I have been doing.
Works great!     On: 2008-02-15

Works great. Just need to keep water in it otherwise it gets kinda loud. My cats LOVE it!
Dependable if you clean it occasionally     On: 2008-02-15

Weve been using this unit with multiple furry cats who like to dip their paws in the water. It has lasted well over a year. You do need to take it apart and clean it once a month or so. Every 3-4 months clean out the pump as well. The submersible pump is fully servicable: if you snap off the screen over the water intake you can take out the impeller and rinse any muck off of it. When I did this the one time the pump got stuck.. it ran like new ever since.

I do wish this unit was easier to clean, but I havent seen a better model yet and the price is very resonable.

If you are willing to keep the water level from emptying (which keeps it quiet) and are willing to clean this unit and replace its filters regularly, your cats will love it. I think this fountain is a good value overall.

If I were to change anything, I would have designed the filter to get the water before the pump does. This would probably mean you would never have to clean out the pump.
great apart from burnt out pump     On: 2008-02-13

We have three of these and they work great, they prefer this to the large dog size Drinkwell that we have, we have LOTS of cats. The only problem so far is one of the pumps has stopped working and I am trying to find a replacement for it, with no luck so far. The pump is a Jebao, obviously whatever pump replaces it needs to be "pet friendly" i.e. no oil etc. Ive tried various search words on the internet but not come up with anything satisfactory. Suggestions anyone?Petmate 24960 Deluxe Fresh Flow 50-Ounce-Capacity Pet Fountain, Medium, Planet Blue
fountain     On: 2008-02-13

it was ok for what it could do, except that you have to keep filling the 50 ounce water container if there is no water missing from the main water dish.
satisfied at last     On: 2008-02-12

Supposedly, this item was delivered to my residential front door on February 11, 2008 but it is not here at my residence. I was lookin foward to having this item. Turns out DHL delivered it on February 11th at the wrong address, they were confused about rural routes. The product works, so far so good. Happy at Last
Petmate Deluxe Pet Fountain     On: 2008-02-08

My (6) kitty babies LOVE this fountain. They come running to see what I am doing to THEIR drinking fountain when I try to clean it on the wkend. I have to clean out persian cat hair from the pump intake every now and then because my kitty likes to sleep with her head on the edge of the fountain. Once you get the hang of undoing the hinges to get to the pump its simple to clean. It has stopped them from hanging out in the sink and tub looking for dripping water. It is VERY quiet.
I think it's a great idea, but my cats are scared of it.     On: 2008-02-08

The sound of the water pump seems to scare the cats, but it functions as it should.
Great concept     On: 2008-02-08

Well, this is my second Petmate and this one leaks. This is the only way to get my cat and kitten to regularly drink water. They love the flow and watching the water come down the ramp.
Perhaps, I just recvd a lemon
happy customer     On: 2008-02-05

The pet fountain is great. It came quickly. We are satisfied with it.
My Basenji loves this drinking fountain!     On: 2008-01-30

I purchased this pet fountain from my local Petsmart about a year ago and find it to be the most excellent way to provide my dog with fresh, crisp and healthy water. I really did my research before deciding to invest in a fountain and I ultimately chose Petmate for its quality and reliability.

This fountain has provided my dog with more sanitary and healthy drinking water in comparison to a standard water bowl. The constant re-filtration not only maintains cold, crisp and clean water, but it also eliminates any impurities and removes any floating sediment such as hair.

The clear reservoir also allows me to note when the unit is low on water. All that needs to be done is to refill this "bottle" once it empties and replace it all without having to turn off the whole unit itself!

My favorite feature is the long cord featuring a toggle switch. This permits the pet owner to place the fountain in nearly any desired location and to turn on/off the unit with ease.

This product performs flawlessly and has never let my pet or me down. I have not experienced any leakage, pump malfunction, cracking, or clogs as stated in many of the other reviews. I could not ask for anything more.

Also, the unit assembles and disassembles very easily to provide the user the ability to thoroughly clean it in no time at all! I clean mine about every week and make sure that pump is functioning properly. My only suggestion is to make sure that the pump itself is properly cleaned often to prevent any algal buildup. This is as easy as using a scrub brush, soap and hot water.

I cannot be any happier with this drinking fountain from Petmate. If you are looking for an excellent solution for healthy, crisp, filtered, oxygenated and cold water for your pet, this fountain shines above the rest. You and your pet will not be disappointed!
My cats love it as much as I do!     On: 2008-01-28

We used to own another brand of fountain for the pets. That other brand was noisy, extremely hard to clean, and didnt hold a lot of water. I found myself having to fill it with water every single day. I also found that with the other brand filling the fountain always made a watery mess. Now that we have the Petmate fountain Im much happier. Its really easy to clean because you can pull it completely apart without any hassle. Ive also found that its just about dead silent. Because of the little reservoir, its easy to tell when the fountain needs more water. Putting more water in is a snap as well. The reservoir pops right out without any tugging and you simply fill it up and pop it back in without any mess to clean up. We have wood flooring and the kitchen is too small in the apartment to have all the cat stuff sitting around; So, we needed something that wouldnt be making a watery mess. Luckily the cats dont splash at the water.
Great product     On: 2008-01-28

I have a Jack Russell and a Siamese.. used to have to keep 2 separate bowls.... my husband was so negative when i brought this fountain home. He thinks it is the greatest now. Easy to assemble. Fresh water, if you have a pet/s that is water "finicky" buy this product. Medium size is perfect size for a corner in the kitchen.
Cat Hated It     On: 2008-01-28

Its not the prettiest product--kind of looks like a toilet, and I think the sound of the motor was what put our cat off. The cat, who usually steals our water in whatever form or location, wont go near this fountain when its on. For your reference, we also have a Siamese, which can be a picky breed.
cat fountain #2     On: 2008-01-26

This is the second petmate fountain I bought and this one seem to work so much better. I had a problem with the other earlier model constantly getting clogged and losing the prime. This has screen over the suction inlet .Cats love it too.
Large Petmate Pet Fountain     On: 2008-01-25

I found this fountain to be everything I had expected. I had the smaller model and with this one I do not have to refill the reservoir as often. My cat loves it too, she sits and watches it by the hours, seems fascinated with it.
Great fountain, nice price     On: 2008-01-25

Ive been using several months & am well pleased. Its silent unless its running low on water, which is great, because Id forget to check it otherwise. The cats like it and it keeps the water fresh and clean. I take it apart and clean out the hair that gathers around the pump once or month or so.
Cat's love it!     On: 2008-01-25

The Petmate 24960 Deluxe Fresh Flow Water Fountain continually provides cool, fresh water for pets. I have three cats who seems to love the movement of the water and, in turn, consume much more water than before. The product may be slightly over-priced based on the materials and construction, but overall its been well received in my household!
Best item I ever bought for my pets     On: 2008-01-22

I have owned one of these for three years now, and it is the single best investment I have made for my two cats and one dog. All of them love the water flowing down the ramp, especially the cats. Very quiet and low maintenance item. Yes, I do go in and clean off the pump intake once a week (have a long haired cat). About a year ago, the pump stopped working. I went online and found simple directions as to how to get it going again. Worked like a charm, and no problems since. I do take it apart once every few months for a check and cleaning if need be.
My model (just like the one pictured on Amazon) does an amazing job of "sucking up" all the smaller bits of grass, hair, and gunk that get into the bowl on occasion. No pump this size will keep the bowl totally pristine, so I do keep an eye on it, and pick out larger "stuff" (bugs, blades of grass, etc...)
All I can say is: I LOVE this device, and my animals give it a big paws up. The cats drink more water than when I had a regular bowl of standing water out for them.
Great for Faucet Kitties     On: 2008-01-20

Like all new things, cats take a bit to adjust, mine were ready for full use within an our or so after looking, sniffy, and feeling the new device. I have two, one cat is a faucet loving cat, while the other is very choosey and only wants the freshest of clean water. Weve had the fountain for a few days now and I dont think Ive ever seen them drink so much. I placed the fountain in my bedroom where I used to have my personal water fountain that they used to drink from (the one they werent supposed to drink from) so they would be comfortable with the spot. It is far far from food and litter and thus far has remained unbelievably clean. Ive only been using clean water from a purifier to keep the motor lasting longer. The sound is very minimal and is actually quite soothing, somewhat like a fishing tank moan. For the price, it was a great addition for my babies.
Petmate     On: 2008-01-18

I use this for my dogs and they love it. If given a choice between a bowl of water or Petmate, Petmate wins all the time.
The cats love it     On: 2008-01-15

I bought this originally for my one cat, and have had it for some time. She loves the moving water, and if you fill it completely, it lasts for several days. Since I got it, I moved in with my fiancee (now wife) who has two cats of her own. They love it too! Yes, it gets a little slimy after its been running for a couple days, but - its water that youre leaving out, so you should expect to have to freshen it up! Cleans easy, works well, just remember to keep it filled up so the motor doesnt run dry. Great stuff, Id buy it again (and probably will!)
My cat won't touch it!     On: 2008-01-15

She insists on drinking out of the tub and wont touch this water fountain. As a product - its great - works well, is virtually silent (until runs low on water), and circulates the water seeming to cool it as well. If only my cat would use it instead of preferring the tub.
Noisy, but the cats love it     On: 2008-01-14

We bought the petmate 50oz fountain for our cats, and for the first three weeks, it worked perfectly. We have two cats, and they both loved it. The fountain worked silently, and holds a large amount of water in a reserve tank that is removable for easy refilling. Unfortunately, after about three weeks, the device began making noise. It now sounds like many of the small desktop fountains people will buy for home to generate white noise from the water running over rocks. Luckily, this is not a particularly annoying noise, but it is enough noise to keep me from giving the fountain a better score. So be advised: the product works well, if you dont mind some extra white noise in your house.
faucet cat loves it -- shy dog took a bit longer     On: 2008-01-14

The results were great for the pets. It was a hit with my mostly-Siamese cat, who loves to lounge in the sink and begs water to be run on her for "spot drinks" and will drink faucet drips even if theyre almost a shower. And, once my Sheltie decided it wasnt going to bite her, she liked it, too. It beat her dog bowl that seemed to collect every bit of hair and debris that made it that far. And they both seem to prefer the fountains filtered water to nasty local tap water. (I dont drink it, so why should they have to?)
And that she delayed may have been my fault. The pump made a lot of noise til I turned it on full force and got it filled properly. One must remember the capacity of the reservoir means you have put nearly half a gallon of water in it for it to run right! The blue reservoir holds about a cup or so, and will have to be filled several times. If you can hear any sound from it, you need to add more water to the reservoir, which is easy to do even as its running. My rule of thumb is that I refill the reservoir til it doesnt bubble and drain out if I find it low or I can hear the pump running.
I havent had to clean it yet, and almost dread that, because my major trouble was getting it apart at the outset to assemble the parts that werent set up. If you have problems with arthritic hands as I do, it can be a little aggravating, but its do-able. To clean it, Ill try pipe-cleaners to get into the intakes, but keeping debris out of it in the first place makes frequent cleaning less a necessity. Id have given it a higher rating if not for the difficulty of disassembly, but somebody without arthritis would not have that trouble.
The cats love it!     On: 2008-01-12

Both of my cats used to cry every morning to get the previous nights water replaced. They hated stale water! The fresh flow dish gives them fresh moving water that is never stale. They absolutely love it!
Works great!     On: 2008-01-07

I gave this to my mother for Christmas. She has an old cat who loves to play in water and she had always talked about some day getting him a pet water fountain. I had read a few other reviews and was a little leery as to how well this would work, but gave it a try.

Her cat loves it! From day 1 there have been no problems with it. And best of all, it VERY quiet. You cant hear it at all! She has it set up in her living room. I didnt even know it was there.

I would just make sure you always have it filled with water so the pump doesnt burn out on you. Because cats drink so much water with this, when you first get it, you should watch the water levels so that you get an idea on how often you should replenish the water supply.

Absolutely great product!
So-so     On: 2008-01-07

Pros
* Filter
* Automated
* Oxygenated water

Cons
* Filter needs frequent replacement
* Prone to malfunctioning
An excellent product!!     On: 2008-01-07

This fountain is wonderful!! I have four cats, and I am convinced that they are drinking a great deal more water than they used to out of their normal bowl. They love it so much that two of them sleep curled up around it. :) I just timed myself cleaning it (which I do once a week) and it only took 10 minutes start to finish. I would recommend this product to anyone!
An excellent product!!     On: 2008-01-06

This fountain is wonderful!! I have four cats, and I am convinced that they are drinking a great deal more water than they used to out of their normal bowl. They love it so much that two of them sleep curled up around it. :) I just timed myself cleaning it (which I do once a week) and it only took 10 minutes start to finish. I would recommend this product to anyone!
Quiet and helpful     On: 2008-01-04

We bought this about a week ago because our cats were drinking out of the fish tank filters, and we figured they could use their own clean water dish. Before, they were constantly tipping and spilling their water, or getting yucky stuff in it.

With this waterer, it was very easy to set up. I wish it had batteries in addition to a/c power but it has been no problem so far. For the first day, the cats walked around it, sniffing at it and poking it with their paws. Then they were kind of afraid of it. By the time wed had it a couple days, though, they drank from it frequently. They seem to really like it.

Unlike other reviewers said, it wasnt noisy, it wasnt difficult to use, and it doesnt get dirty. There is absolutely nothing in the bowl except clean water. The reservoir also holds enough water that as long as you glance at it every day or so (you cant let it run dry...it says so right on the pump and in the instructions, so if thats why yours breaks, thats your fault) there are no problems.

We are pleased, our cats like it, and it solved a lot of little problems for us (no more drinking out of the fish tank!).
My cat loves it!     On: 2007-12-31

The day i put my waterer to use, she loved it! I dont think she quite knew what it was at first, so she stood in it with her front paws and drank from the top of the fountain, sticking her nose as far into the hole as she could!
There are two other cats in the house and they love it too!
It is so quiet and I feel better knowing my cat has a constant supply of fresh water. I believe it has spoiled her though, because she always opts to drink from the fountain.
My only complaint, well advice really, if you have more than one cat that drinks from it, you should think about more than just one fountain. I am filling the reservior up alot, sometimes twice a day!
Great Product     On: 2007-12-31

I would highly recommend this product to any pet owner. My 2 cats love having the fresh water to drink at all times and I love not having to change their water constantly. I will say they were aprehensive at first, but once they got used to the new device they really like it.
My cat loved it while it lasted.     On: 2007-12-29

Overall, this is a good product. My cat really enjoyed the fresh flowing water and it definitely had him drinking more. You do have to keep it clean and make sure theres always enough water so it doesnt run dry; this isnt hard though and only takes about 3 minutes of your day. However, the pump seems a bit sensitive and suddenly failed after about 6 months of use. I have no problems buying a replacement as the product works great otherwise, but I was hoping it wouldve lasted longer. I took great care in maintaining it and it really shouldnt have failed so early.
Great product at a great price!     On: 2007-12-29

We have had this product, liked it, and needed to replace it after about 2 years of use, mainly due to corrosion of surface and motor. Found the same model at this website at a much better price than at local retailers.
I loved it; my cat didn't     On: 2007-12-28

I think this is a super idea but my cat thought it was scary. She prefers running water out of the sink (no we dont keep it running 24/7). Although I thought the motor was quiet, she was scared of it. Thats a cat for you!
Don't waste your money     On: 2007-12-28

I have two cats and thought this was going to be a sensation for them. I was immediately disillusioned though when I had to fill it every other day. Not enough storage for two cats. Then, after about 3 to 4 months it started making a noise like a coffee grinder even though the reservior was full. The reservior stopped adding water and it has to be filled twice daily with a water glass to stop the noise, even though the reservior is full. When the replacement arrives, Ill escort this thing to the dumpster. On the plus side? The cats like it.
Cat Water Fountain     On: 2007-12-28

I have had this product for over a year and it is still working well. It does need to be taken apart and cleaned about once a week but if you have picky cats who will only drink running water, this is worth the investment.
Elvis is a happy cat!     On: 2007-12-23

My boyfriend has this fountain for his cat, so I got it for mine. He loves it! He (like many male cats) hadnt been drinking enough water; but now he drinks all the time. Its great for his UT health.
Sturdy, reliable and my cat loves it!     On: 2007-12-19

I just purchased this fountain and have had it set up and in use for a week now. My cat loves to drink from the water that flows down the pathway. He was recently diagnosed with kidney failure and we are also using natural spring water in this unit. The assembly was easy and straightforward. I think this size would be suitable for 1 to 2 cats, but no more. I also dont let the water level in the clear container fall too much. I fill it everyday in the morning and have not experienced any gurgling noises.
Fresh Water Flow for Cats     On: 2007-12-19

My cats love this new addition to their water routine. They normally hop in the shower to be able to get at some fresh flowing water, and ever since I put this out, they dont do it as much. With this Petmate Fresh Flow, I find that they drink more water, and their drinking water stays alot cleaner.

It does need some cleaning every couple days, and of course it needs re-filling, but it provides much less of a headache trying to provide quality water for my cats.

The Fresh Flow is silent, and only makes a noise when water is running low, a good indication that the water needs to be changed, or at elast re-filled.
Works pretty good, but it's a bugger to clean!     On: 2007-12-18

All in all weve done ok with ours, but after about 5 years, I was looking at a new fountain. After this long, it gets harder and harder to get this thing completely clean. However, before we get a new one, I wanted to share the experience of our PetMate Fresh Flow ownership.

Pros:
* The boys (2 cats ages 4 and 11) drink more water with it than without
* It wasnt overly expensive to get
* Filters are, for the most part, reasonably priced
* Pretty quiet when its running on a full bowl
* Has been running for almost 5 years straight
* Easy to disassemble/reassemble
Cons:
* Impossible to thoroughly clean the reservoir
* Lots other of nooks I cant get into to clean
* That means you have to clean it fairly often.
* Food bits, hair,and litter dont get pre-filtered
* Gets noisy when dirty or low on water
* Bowl and ramp quickly get grimy even after cleaning
* Filters can be hard to find
* Even when using filtered water, filters quickly get incredibly yucky
* We still constantly have cats trying to drink out of the faucets.
Notes:
* Even though you can operate many pet fountains without a filter if youre using filtered water at home, I dont recommend it with this one. We tried it for awhile and it was gross in a matter of days.
Great product     On: 2007-12-12

I have owned many of these fountains and my cats love them. The only problem is cleaning it is a bit of a hassle, but its worth it.
Water Saver     On: 2007-12-11

Finally, my cat no longer jumps up on the kitchen counter or the bathroom sink to beg me to turn on the faucet! What the Petmate Pet Fountain costs in electricity cant compare to the high water bills I had because Id walk away from a running faucet and totally forget about it for two hours! Now I know my cat is getting all the water he should be drinking.
Not a very good product     On: 2007-12-10

As noted by others, the Pet Fountain can be silent if filled all the way up, BUT, after about two days the pump got louder and louder. A very poor quality water pump. Also, the unit was missing the top cover when we received it, and after a couple calls to the manufacturer, they agreed to send the replacement part and then never did. Finally, this is really a flimsy poorly made piece - you could do better buying a $5 water pump and making your own cat fountain.
Almost not worth the effort     On: 2007-12-10

We have had this fountain for about 8 months now. The flowing water is great, and it is very quiet unless it starts to run low. There are a couple glaring problems though. First, the capacity is hardly enough. We have 2 cats and have to refill it once a day. Second, it is very inconvenient to clean it. It isnt diswasher safe, disassembly is a pain, and there are a lot of nooks and crannies where you just cant reach unless you have some kind of narrow brush. This is very unfortunate since have to clean ours at least twice a month. Algae builds up for some reason and I have to take the whole thing apart and do a thorough cleaning, only to have it come back a week or two later.

Between the low capacity and the difficult cleaning, I am starting to wonder if its easier just to use regular bowls.
Loved it for years..     On: 2007-12-05

Weve had this fountain for several years now.. My husband got it for the kitties for Christmas in 2004 because they loved drinking directly from the water faucet. They love it, the water bowl is a hang out spot for them now, it does hum when it runs low (which reminds me to fill it), or needs cleaning.

Ive always found it easy to take apart, throw in the dish washer, take an old tooth brush to the pump, and put in a new filter. I do it about every other month (with four cats) and it still runs like a champ! If this were to ever go out (or a dog chews the cord, which is known to happen occasionally), well defiantly buy another one!
A great product that my cats love     On: 2007-12-04

This is the second Pet Flow water fountain I have purchased. The first was the original small version which immediately captured the attention of my cats (and encouraged them to drink lots of water). Something about running water is a real attractor for my feline crew of 3 rescue cats but the capacity of the small pet flow was insufficient, resulting in lots of refilling work for me.

The new larger unit is an exact mirror of the small one, but with more than twice the water storage capacity. It operates silently and without maintenance, and it seems to be equally attractive to the cats as the original. This has relieved the crowding (and sometimes noisy disputes) at the old watering hole, and reduced the refilling chores for this human cat slave.

I highly recommend this product.
Worthwhile Purchase!     On: 2007-12-03

I have two Rat Terriers. At every checkup, the vet raves about how healthy they always are - except: he always thinks theyre a little dehydrated. I had been using a typical dog water bowl and emptying/filling twice a day to keep things fresh. Since getting this fountain 2 months ago, I have noticed my dogs drinking more water more often, and their skin/coats feel healthier.

I empty it and clean it out once a week - maintenance is a breeze. The pieces come apart and go together very easily and I rinse the bowl portion in my bathroom sink. The fountains flow keeps the water cool to the touch at all times, and you can adjust the rate of flow. It makes noise only when first starting up after cleaning - after 2 minutes, it is on track again and completely silent. I definitely recommend this product.
Good Product, Note on How to Fix If Pump Stops     On: 2007-12-03

I bought this fountain (despite the warnings that it broke after a few months) and the same thing happened. Thinking there must be a simple solution - why would a company continue manufacturing a defective product? - I called PetMate. They were surprisingly helpful. They asked if Id ever cleaned the pump - and I thought, of course! If my three pets are hanging their heads over this thing to drink, there will be fur accumulating in it. Petmate walked me through a simple process to clean the motor which I did, then refilled it with water and it worked wonderfully. I really dont like taking things apart & fixing them, but in this case it was so easy I couldnt complain.

If anyone has a Petmate fountain & it stops working, give the company a call at 1-877-PETMATE (1-877-738-6283) and theyll walk you through the process.
Would buy again     On: 2007-12-02

This is my third petmate fountain. I bought two other smaller ones for my roommates cats and a friends cat, very easy to maintain and my dog really likes having flowing water, although she wont drink if the filter is in. My only complaint is not having a filter before the pump but with weekly maintenance the pumps last for years.
Very good and very quiet. All my pets like it.     On: 2007-12-02

Have had one of these for about two years. Because we have three dogs and 5 cats, we got the biggest model and they all use it just fine. Some like to drink from the bowl, some like to drink the actual flowing water. When the new kitten came home a couple of months ago, he thought it was great fun to swat the flowing water but we got him over that. Now he just watches it without making a mess.

Forget the charcoal filters. After using one of the charcoal filters, I tossed the rest and dont use them. There really isnt any need for them and the pets dont care. Think about it, your dog or cat will lick his own [...] after drinking from a puddle on the street and you are going to spend money to charcoal filter the water! I dont think so!

I clean the pump unit once a week and it only takes me a few minutes.

I just ordered a new unit because the pump stopped working. I am familiar with the pumps used in them from my years keeping tropical fish and a replacement pump would have cost almost as much as a complete new unit so why not get a brand new shiny unit for a few dollars more?

I have to say that when my wife bought the our first unit a couple of years ago, I thought it was a waste but now here I am ordering one on my own!
Very good and very quiet. All my pets like it.     On: 2007-12-01

Have had one of these for about two years. Because we have three dogs and 5 cats, we got the biggest model and they all use it just fine. Some like to drink from the bowl, some like to drink the actual flowing water. When the new kitten came home a couple of months ago, he thought it was great fun to swat the flowing water but we got him over that. Now he just watches it without making a mess.

Forget the charcoal filters. After using one of the charcoal filters, I tossed the rest and dont use them. There really isnt any need for them and the pets dont care. Think about it, your dog or cat will lick his own rear end after drinking from a puddle on the street and you are going to spend money to charcoal filter the water! I dont think so!

I clean the pump unit once a week and it only takes me a few minutes.

I just ordered a new unit because the pump stopped working. I am familiar with the pumps used in them from my years keeping tropical fish and a replacement pump would have cost almost as much as a complete new unit so why not get a brand new shiny unit for a few dollars more?

I have to say that when my wife bought the our first unit a couple of years ago, I thought it was a waste but now here I am ordering one on my own!
kitties like it, but they don't do the cleaning     On: 2007-12-01

We have one of these and one Drinkwell, and the kitties seem equally happy with either one. The Petmate is a bit quieter, but is even more difficult to clean, which needs to be done more often than Id like. Neither one is a day at the beach to clean, but the Petmate has even more little nooks and crannies and narrow little spots that are almost impossible to get the gunk out of. And as soon as youre done and fill it with fresh water, it starts getting icky again before you know it. Since theres no obvious useful purpose for all the little hard to reach spots, I can only conclude that whoever designed these things likes cats OK, but hates their owners.
Not fantastic, but my cats sure seem to think so     On: 2007-11-25

My cats werent sure what to think when we first unpacked this fountain, but after dipping their paws into it a few times, they quickly fell in love. I definitely noticed a drastic change in how much water they were consuming a day, since they LOVE flowing water (but I cant stand leaving the tap on all day!).

The unit is typically quiet but will start to continually whir loudly when it gets dirty. You have to take it apart and clean it least once a week and always make sure that the water level is high enough or youll burn out the motor! The filter always wears out quickly too, but we pre-filter our cats water so while we had it, it was just acting as a double filter anyways.

We have two small cats and the medium size is perfect for them and typically only needs refilling once a day, except during hot summer days when sometimes we might need to do it twice. If you have more than two cats (or have large cats) I would definitely recommend the large or jumbo. This unit also keeps the water nice and cool since its constantly in motion. If your cat hates bowl water, this is a must have.
My cats sure love it :)     On: 2007-11-25

My cats werent sure what to think when we first unpacked this fountain, but after dipping their paws into it a few times, they quickly fell in love. I definitely noticed a drastic change in how much water they were consuming a day, since they LOVE flowing water (but I cant stand leaving the tap on all day!).

The unit is typically quiet but will start to continually whir loudly when it gets dirty. You have to take it apart and clean it least once a week and always make sure that the water level is high enough or youll burn out the motor! The filter always wears out quickly too, but we pre-filter our cats water so while we had it, it was just acting as a double filter anyways.

We have two small cats and the medium size is perfect for them and typically only needs refilling once a day, except during hot summer days when sometimes we might need to do it twice. If you have more than two cats (or have large cats) I would definitely recommend the large or jumbo. This unit also keeps the water nice and cool since its constantly in motion. If your cat hates bowl water, this is a must have.
Good, but unnecessarily fussy to set up and fill     On: 2007-11-25

The Petmate was somewhat difficult to seat the top part of the unit over the pump outlet, and the design of the bowl is such that its very easy to overfill and have water start sloshing out the front of the bowl onto the floor once you power it up.

For comparison, I also use a Cat-IT fountain. It is much easier to set up, my cats love it and I really like the design, but it has been plagued by pumps that fail and need replacement after only a couple of months.

Side-by-side, the cats will drink from the Cat-IT (when its working) instead of the Petmate (and the Petmate instead of a still bowl of water). So if it werent for the pump problems, Id say the Cat-IT is the better option, but so far the Petmate has been more reliable.



cat loves it!     On: 2007-11-25

This is a great product for a water loving cat. Mine loved to see running water, and now he has his own water park, with slide! This is quiet, and easy to refill. Your pet will drink more and water is filtered for better health.
Three pugs and two weenie dogs     On: 2007-11-21

We have five little dogs and I really like this product. They all drink from the fountain and the bowl. We used to have a two and a half gallon water bowl that just never seemed fresh enough. So I desided to try one of these fountain water bowls. I have to say it is much better then before, it does a good job of cleaning out stuff that gets in the bowl. It will run a little louder when the water is getting low. I fill it every other day, just to keep up with it. We change the filter every 30 days mostly because of the amount of usage. I really think the dogs all drink more water, I am sure with their sensitive smell it has got to taste and smell better the stagnent water. The only thing I would do different is get one wih more capacity.
Really nice and a great value!     On: 2007-11-19

Ive had my fountain for a month now and I really like it. I have two cats though, so I have to refill the reservoir every day, but its really easy and not at all a hassle. There is no noise at all only if your running low on water, but as I said, thats really easy to fix. My cats love this fountain and its getting them to drink more water!
This thing SUCKS!!!     On: 2007-11-17

This is my third unit I have purchased. I like the way it looks and what it does when it WORKS!!! It is definitely not for more than one pet. When I had one pet it worked for about a year. Now that I have three it lasted 4 months. Wish they would fix the problems. My pump no longer works. It makes horrible noises even when full. Just not a great addition to someone trying to save time and give their pets good water.
kitty water fountain     On: 2007-11-17

We have had one of these fountains in the past and our kitty drank so much more water. This was the best value compared to the pet stores. Thanks for offering this product.
Quiet and worry-free     On: 2007-11-15

Excellent price, quiet, and my cat enjoys this product. Strongly recommend it for those who have a single cat. Low maintenance, easy to refill. Great!
Perrrfect Product     On: 2007-11-12

I find it interesting that some people have a horrible experience with this product. My experience has been absolutely wonderful. I have four cats who can be a bit messy at times, and it has been a breeze to clean and maintain. A few people mentioned that the pump didnt work for them, but if the device doesnt have enough water in it the pump of course doesnt work. The filter works just like a fish tank filter, so it is easy to change out; I find that it lasts about 3-4 weeks. I would recommend this product to anyone who has prissy cats like me!
disapointed!     On: 2007-11-10

I thought this product sounded like a good idea. Fresh water for the cats through a filter. It was hard to clean, hard to fill, and the cats kept going to the other water bowl. Better idea was to give them a clean bowl of fresh filtered water each day, much easier.
Bad Quality -- broken immediately     On: 2007-11-08

I bought this item and only used it for twice.
Guesswhat!! It didnt work anymore.
What a bad quality control! Harm its brand seriously!
Dont waste your money on this item.
Very happy with this!     On: 2007-11-07

I was concerned that our 2 cats werent drinking enough water. They went for toilet bowls, which made me uneasy. I changed the water in their bowls often, and tried ceramic bowls (thinking that was part of the toilet attraction), but it didnt make a difference. Finally, with the Petmate, they are drinking appropriately. I have to refill it every other day, which is fine. I appreciated the suggestions in the box for how to introduce it to your cats. Even my skittish cat is using it. Wed had no problems previously with their health; but Im much relieved that their urinary tracts will likely be in better condition.
Tested by six cats     On: 2007-11-07

Product easy to set-up, be sure motor is fully submersed before operating. It took about a week for our cats to accept it and now they drink more water than ever. Our oldest cat still prefers the bathroom faucet for running water and the youngest seems fascinated with it, the others seem to think it is a fine addition to their lifestyle.
Terribly disappointed     On: 2007-11-07

Fairly easy to put together. Within two days the unit started to make lots of noise; vibrations, grinding, etc. This unit is obviously not put together very well. I recommend buying something from this company in stores to avoid the hassle of shipping back for refund/exchange.
Petmate Fresh Flow Works Great & Cats Love It     On: 2007-11-07

Ive had a 50oz Petmate Fresh Flow for years. Currently, I have five cats (no more - Im over quota:))and I had to fill it about every three days so I just bought the 216oz size and it lasts over a week. My cats do drink a lot of water plus some probably does evaporate especially during the winter heating season.

Every 4-6 months I need to deep clean the mineral deposits to keep it running smoothly. I found an easy way to clean it besides taking the motor apart as shown on the Petmate website. I just empty out the water and run vinegar through it for a few hours, without the filter of course. My citys water is very mineralized so I do have to scape the white residue but it comes off much easier with the vinegar. Another alternative is to use the purified water from the refridgerator dispenser.

Ive recently broken the part that sticks out in the water bottle section that regulates the water and had to call for a replacement from Petmate. The person took my name and address and said its on the way. I didnt have to argue about the warranty, shipping cost or anything. It was free!. Great people to do business with. I love the product and its a great timesaver. I also bought the Petmate food dispenser (non-electric). The food lasts all week. It is the same size as the 50oz waterer.

Lastly, The waterer never leaked for me at all but I spill the water occasionally after rinsing it out and refilling it so I put it on a cookie sheet/tray to protect my wood floor. Excellent products!
too many parts     On: 2007-11-04

there are 6 parts that have to be disassembled and reassembled each time you clean it... overall, it is more time consuming than washing a plain bowl and filling with filtered water. it is a good product if you dont mind the extra work.

it is quiet. cats adjusted to it after a few days.
Great fountain, but it is NOT the "deluxe" model.     On: 2007-11-04

I recieved this fountain in the mail approximately 2 weeks, ago, so I will enter a new review later if my opinion changes...

That said, this is a great fountain so far. Fairly easy to assemble, extremely quiet (almost silent), and very easy to refill...you can leave it running, remove the water container, refill and replace without having to turn the unit off.

That said, it is not the petmate "deluxe" model..no in-line power switch, no flow adjustment valve... so, dont buy this if you are looking for those features.

Only time will tell if the pump continues to work as silently and as quietly as it has so far, but as of now, this is a good purchase for the money...given the mistake in labeling it as "deluxe". It is still at least $10.00 cheaper than the same model at my local pet chain store.
Not long lived     On: 2007-11-03

I love these fountains, but this one only lasted three months before it started to leak like a sieve! Took it apart but never could find the leak. I had the medium sized one for over 2 years before it quit working. Try that one.
Petmate pet fountain     On: 2007-10-31

I had one of these I bought when they first hit the market because I have a cat who loves to drink from faucets. He loved the fountain!
After about 8 years of working great the water flow valve broke. I bought this one a couple of months ago and even though the fountain works great and my cat is happy with it, the auto fill cap on the bottom of the reservoir doesnt work at all. I cant figure out why and have tried every thing I can think of to get it to work. The first one worked fine, filling the bowl automatically as the water level went down. With this new one I have to do it manually. I make sure the bowl is filled to nearly overflowing every morning so that I dont have to worry about the water dropping so low that the pump doesnt have enough water to pump while Im at work all day. Not sure if this one is just a lemon or if the design has been changed??? When I replace this one, it will be with a different model!
It's just ok     On: 2007-10-30

My cats really like this fountain, but after I clean it & change the water it makes a vibrating noise(very annoying) which lasts about 2 days. After that it runs pretty quiet...I tried trouble shooting like they suggest but it still does it. All in all its ok...I just wish I didnt have to wait 2 days for it to quiet down.
It's OK...not great because of noise issue     On: 2007-10-24

Delivery time was great - only one day! But the box was not taped securely. Only one piece of tape was used to close the lids of the shipping box, when 2 or 3 should be used. If it had been in transit any longer, the box would have opened.

The fountain is OK. It took a few days for our kitty to decide it was OK to drink from, and in that sense its doing a good job, since she definitely drinks more when there is moving water available. At first the pump was completely silent, but it has started making more noise as time goes by. Sometimes it makes noise because the intake is blocked by hair, which is easy to solve, but in general it makes more noise than it should.
Just don't last     On: 2007-10-22

I have gone through 3 of these, and none lasted more than a few months. I finally gave up and bought a completely different brand with much more success. Steer clear of the Petmate!
be patient     On: 2007-10-21

It takes a liitle while for the cats to figure out this is a drinking fountain instead of a toy or useless object, but once they figure it out they prefer it over the other water dishes. (As long as I keep it clean!)In time it gets some hard water stains in the bowl but I just soak it in a vinegar solution (a couple T. of vinegar and fill with water)for 20 minutes or so and that gets rid of the crust and disinfects it too. The pump on my last foundtain died and it was cheaper to get a whole new fountain than replace the pump. When I didnt have the fountain, one of my kitties got sick becasue she wasnt drinking enough water. So it helps keep your pets healthy and that is worth the investment.
EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!! VERY LOW MANTENANCE !     On: 2007-10-16

Talk about EASY!!!!!What a pleasure!Easy to assemble. Unlike many pet fountains, it doesnt get slimey & dirty, every week.Actually, Ive had it for about a month...and I only cleaned it once, only because I felt I should...but it didnt need it.All I had to do was just run the pump under water to flush any minimal debris away.Its perfect!My cats are used to fountains that have a spout, but they quickly got used to the flow.And the design/size is nice & compact.
You just have to fill the water reservoir every day,but thats easy too!This fountain pretty much takes care of itself!
Cats like it, but still needs work     On: 2007-10-15

New review:
Pros: Cats like it, decent value for the price.
Cons: Cleaning is a chore, filter is useless, pump eventually quits working after a couple of years.
Improvements needed: Redesign the pump so it doesnt burn out or clog with cat fur as easily, make the parts (except for the pump) dishwasher safe.
Conclusion: If your cats/pets like it, and you have the money it may be worth purchasing.

Considering that the pump (even when well-tended and cleaned) tends to quit working in a year or two is annoying, but considering how much my cats like it IS worth buying a new one. My cats do seem to drink more, and the fountain doesnt seem to get as dirty as a bowl of water setting around for the same time. It is a chore to clean since I find I have to clean the fountain and pump at least once a week as slime builds up in the fountain part and cat fur starts to clog the pump. The pump needs to be taken apart about once a month and cleaned out or lime? build-up can occur causing it to stop, even when using filtered water. Some people have complained about the reservoir being hard to clean, but I find it cleans up just fine if you let it sit for a short time in a sink full of hot soapy water. I also dont find it that hard to refill the reservoir either; I dont take the cap off to refill it, I just dont turn the water up so high so that it doesnt go into the small opening in the cap. There has been some issues with the pump addressed since I started buying it - the opening for the water intake has been improved for example - but there are some design problems that still havent been addressed. Some problems that still need to be fixed: the fact the pump does clog with fur and does get build-up on it, the parts arent dishwasher safe, the filter comes AFTER the pump in the water flow, and the oddity that the cord is on the opposite side of the pump from the opening in the fountain for it.


Old review:
My only problem with this product is the PUMP! This is the second fountain I have bought in 6 months, and now the pump has quit working AGAIN. I clean the fountain out once a week, use filtered water, and take the pump apart periodically and clean it too, just like the manufacturer suggests to do and still the pump fails. In addition since its been little over a month since I purchased it, I cant return it to Amazon. I was looking into getting a Drinkwell fountain, but it appears they may use the same pump manufacturer as Petmate does, so getting a Drinkwell fountain may not be a better solution.

Just needed to clarify something...
The cats really do like this fountain to drink out of, which is the only reason I buy a new one once the old one finally dies. If only the pump was designed better and it kept the cats from playing in the toilet, it would be a great addition to any cat and small dog household.
Bad pump design     On: 2007-10-15

My only problem with this product is the PUMP! This is the second fountain I have bought in 6 months, and now the pump has quit working AGAIN. I clean the fountain out once a week, use filtered water, and take the pump apart periodically and clean it too, just like the manufacturer suggests to do and still the pump fails. In addition since its been little over a month since I purchased it, I cant return it to Amazon. I was looking into getting a Drinkwell fountain, but it appears they may use the same pump manufacturer as Petmate does, so getting a Drinkwell fountain may not be a better solution.

Just needed to clarify something...
The cats really do like this fountain to drink out of, which is the only reason I buy a new one once the old one finally dies. If only the pump was designed better and it kept the cats from playing in the toilet, it would be a great addition to any cat and small dog household.
My Cat Loves It a Year Later!     On: 2007-10-14

This Fresh Flow drinking fountain has been terrific. Its been a year now since I purchased it for my cat. It has worked flawlessly throughout that year. Its so quite that its almost silent, until the water level in the reservoir gets too low. Then it begins to make noise as the pump starts to suck in air.

I like the fact that this happens because it serves as an audio cue to me that I need to refill the reservoir. This keeps my cat well supplied with fresh water and prevents the unnecessary wear and tear on the pump that it would experience if it was permitted to continue to draw air.

My cat loves drinking from it. A year after we got it, it still works perfectly. Were both very happy with it. This ones a winner.
Cats need flowing water, but NOT THIS PRODUCT!     On: 2007-10-14

The concept is great. My cats love flowing water. BUT do not waste your money on THIS product. LOUD AND BADLY DESIGNED. I actually like the sound of running water far better than a constantly humming motor. People that reviewed this product and said the motor is quiet either have TV on constantly or have small noisy children running around to mask the CONSTANT humm.

I agree that you have to take it apart to clean the motor from pet hair and that a nylon stocking helps eliminate that problem. However, what the other reiewers forget to tell you is that it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to put the product back together again each time, due to poor product design. The pump has to line up with a rigid plastic hole while you hold the rigid plastic gate in place and keep the rigid plastic cord keeper from falling off. If you manage to get all those pieces lined up, then there is still all the plastic nipples that have to go in the plastic holes to hold the top in place. It is a nightmare of poor product design! Why should I have to put a nylon sock over something to make it work when I purchased it because it says it works??? It also says the motor is quiet. It is not, even with a sock.

If people actually like this product for convinience over its faults it is because we, as Americans,are too used to wasting our money on poor producuts and bad designs then throwing them away and purchasing more. Do not waste your money on this product.
Not so Fixed!!!!     On: 2007-10-13

I have had this fountain for a year when suddenly this week the motor stopped. I had been cleaning it weekly, even inside the front cover of the motor. I got on the Petmate website to order a new motor, and the website instructed me NOT to buy a new one until I made sure the old one was completely clean. It gave instrucions on how to take the motor apart further than I had been and clean it. It worked! I saved $ and my cat remains happy! UPDATE----After cleaning, the motor only lasted one more month!! I have now started using the Drinkwell fountain, and I think my cat likes it even better. Also easier to take apart and keep clean. Change rating to 3 stars for this petmate.
Petmate Water Fountain Is Great!     On: 2007-10-12

Ive always been a fan of desktop decorative fountains and fountains of all kinds really, and I had a pet that seemed to be extremely interested in getting to the sink whenever he heard the faucet running. He also seemed to spend a lot of time in the shower because he liked the drips from the shower.

After reading a few reviews of the Petmate Freshflow Pet Fountain, I realized that the reason why he may be so interested in flowing water was because he may be thirsty. Animals have much more sensative senses of smell and probably a more sensative sense of taste as well. If you leave a glass of water on your nightstand overnight, theres a big difference in taste of that water. So, if you have water that sits in your pets bowl, its just logical that the taste becomes stagnant and probably why your pet doesnt drink enough water.

After I bought one of these pet fountains, I immediately noticed that my pet stopped hanging out in the shower or running to the sink every time he heard running water. The Pet Fountain constantly filters and cycles the water and because of evaporation, naturally cools the water as well. Cleaning the fountain is simple. I probably clean it a little more than is needed, but the entire cleaning process takes about 5 minutes.

Cats are predisposed to developing crystals in their urine which can rack up huge veterinary bills as well as causing pain to your pet. I know for a fact that my cat drinks so much more water now since byeing the Petmate Fountain. I suggest this product to every pet owner.
Excellent addition for our cats     On: 2007-10-10

This had its pros and cons but overall it is a great item. My cats drank more often and quickly warmed up to drinking from it. They stopped begging for water from out of the sink once they got this. It can get a little noisy when the pump gets clogged or its low on water. After a year everything ran great mechanically but the plastic and bottom cracked causing a leak. I purchased the Deluxe version to replace it.
An upgrade!     On: 2007-10-10

I upgraded from the regular fountain to this. Not much difference although the white lets you know sooner if the fountain needs to be cleaned. The adjustable flow really has no factor for me. The first deluxe I bought had a problem. The water reservoir was open on a corner and would empty into the bowl causing overflow. The replacement however works great.
My cat now drinks fresh water; no longer toliet water!     On: 2007-10-05

The quiet stream of constant flowing water makes my cat drink more water now than previously, when I used just an open water dish. The unit is very quiet, easy to set up and maintain and cleaning is a breeze. Best of all is I noticed immediately that my cat is drinking more water each day. This unit is a great asset to my home; it works as advertized. Well worth the money for peace of mind, knowing my loving cat is getting fresh water everyday.
Sent the wrong item but still works well     On: 2007-10-02

Ordered the Deluxe Fresh Flow and sent the original fresh flow...still gets the job done and works well. My kitten is having some urinary tract problems so i tried this to get him to keep hydrated, seems to be working well.
Happy Kitty     On: 2007-10-02

Ive had this for about a month now and havent had any problems. I know a lot of people mentioned the loud nose however once I filled it up to the proper line with water the noise went away and just sounds like a trickle of water.

My cat loves it, but hes the type that would only drink from sinks and would never ever drink from his dish so this was absolutely perfect for him. I havent had any problems with the pump or the filter so far, so over all all thumbs up for me.
It's great!     On: 2007-10-01

This is a great pet fountain, super quite, you cant hear it at all and the cat loves it. I clean it out once or twice a week, I make sure the water level never gets too low and its been working great!
Poor design and manufacture     On: 2007-09-29

Item is of very poor design and manufacture quality.

Specifically, the cap must be removed to remove the reservoir. The check valve on the reservoir leaks when you insert it into the bowl. The item needs to be cleaned frequently but the pump is directly connected to the cord so you must unplug the whole thing and cart it to the sink. The filter for the pump does not trap cat hair, what is the point? Worst of all the pump just died after 6 months and they want more $14.95 plus shipping for a replacement, that is more than 1/2 of what the whole think costs.

You can find a lot better product than this, keep looking!
Nice concept, but cheap materials     On: 2007-09-29

Purchased this product hoping to get our Welsh Terrier, who is very picky about her water, to drink more. Our little prima donna would not drink unless her bowl was freshly filled just prior to drinking. She took to the Fresh Flow fountain right away drinking without reservation the first day. She was curious about the water flow, staring and cocking her head to one side. On the second day, she would approach and smell the water and then back away. The documentation says it may take a couple weeks for the animal to become accustomed to the unit so I tried to positively reinforce by praising when I could get her to drink from it. Time will tell if she becomes totally comfortable using this product. It does run very quietly.

As far as the build quality, my first impression when assembling the unit was that cheap plastics were used throughout its construction. I also wish that it was dishwasher safe to make routine cleaning simpler. I dont know if it just me, but I find it difficult to allign the plastic pieces when reassembling, especially the piece right above the pump. This could prove to be frustrating during suggested weekly cleanings.

The pump itself works on the dirty side of the water making me question the design and longevity. In order to be filtered, the food bits and hair must first be pulled into the pump, make it through the impeller, and then be pushed into the upper resevoir where the water then passes through the filter cartridge. I think a better design would have the pump working on the clean side by pulling the water through the filter rather than pushing water and dirt.

Overall I like the unit so far and I like the price compared to others so I gave it an initial rating of 4 stars. Im hoping that it holds up over time and doesnt make me change that rating to 3 stars.
Want your cat off the kitchen counter?     On: 2007-09-28

I purchased this product to keep my cat off the kitchen counters.For a few years,she has begged for fresh water from the kitchen faucet.This product has been successful in keeping her off my countertop.She loves her new "water fountain".This is a great unit,but it must be cleaned every 2 to 3 days.The filter life is about 4 weeks.You may need to add water to the fountain daily. This unit is also very quiet. There is some light maintenance,but well worth it!
Great price for a great product.     On: 2007-09-27

This is, by far, the best thing I ever bought for my cat. She used to jump to sinks, bathtubs, and toilets every time she heard water from them. Now we are able to keep her off the counters, as an added bonus she drinks much more water than she used to which I do believe is great for her health. Its not totally silent, but the hum is barely noticeable.
Didn't Appeal to my Cat     On: 2007-09-27

While many cats like drinking from the tub/sink faucet, this product does NOT mimic that experience very well at all. I wouldnt expect every cat to like this fountain when the water moves so smoothly and somewhat uninterestingly down the ramp. I thought the water moving would attract my cat but it is pretty hard to see the water at all. My cat was interested for 10 minutes and was done with it for good. The fountain is quiet, and yes, you have to clean it and monitor it so the pump doesnt burn out. Overall it was more trouble than it was worth. Not recommended. I would try the fountains that bubble or have the water free-falling down from the spout. At least it would attract my cat.
Cats love it!     On: 2007-09-19

I really like this fountain. Setup was a breeze and my cats love it. Yes I have to add water every couple of days but that just assures me the cats are staying hydrated and the water is fresh. As for noise, I barely know its there unless the water level gets too low. I am completely satisfied with this purchase. (Also the price is $20 cheaper than the exact same one at a local major name pet store.)
The cat loves it     On: 2007-09-18

The cat loves this fountain. Ive never seen him drink so much water before!
Great Product for Kitty and Me     On: 2007-09-18

I read many reviews on this item ranging from "dont buy it" to "great product" and I was worried when I finally decided to buy it. However, this product works great and I am beginning to wonder about the people who wrote the bad reviews. This product does not leak, it is not noisy (when kept properly filled with water) and it does not collect mildew and mold or the other horrible things mentioned by other consumers. The plastic is extremely easy to clean and it takes me less than five minutes to clean it. The only "problem" with the product is the pump. The problem is that the pump supposedly clogs easily and you must take it apart to clean it etc., but I did read a helpful hint about this: wrap the pump in a piece of pantyhose and no fur and crumbs will enter the pump. So I did just that and I have had no problems with any part of this machine. My cat is not afraid of it nor is she angry I took her stagnant bowl away. I do suspect that if your kitty like to drink falling water, such as from a faucet, she may enjoy the "other" product more. Keep in mind that the "other" product is noisier (falling water). This product on the other hand is extremely quiet. Best of all, this product costs almost 50% less. In my opinion, this is a better product to start the cat off with getting aquainted with fountains not because it costs less but because it more mimics the stand alone bowl. Then maybe when the cat gets adjusted to this fountain you can buy the "other" fountain that lets the water fall in a stream. There is nothing wrong with two fountains anyway, my cats had bowls all over the house. My guess is that it adds some fun in their day.
Petmate Fountain -- Thumbs Up!     On: 2007-09-17

I had one of these before years ago when I had cats and just got one again as we have new little fur balls : ) They love it just as much as the last. Fountain is well designed and good quality. NO splashing of water onto floor. Canister is easy access for quick refill, which is every day for us--3 cats. Filters water well also. Definitely worth the $.
Hard to clean     On: 2007-09-11

I have had this fountain for about 2 years and this product has served its purpose for the most part. My cat loves the running water and started drinking from it right away. The motor has become weaker as time goes on. It is not noisy, unless (as other reviewers have previously written) the water level is low. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this product or buy another one as it needs to be cleaned often and is very cumbersome to clean. To clean properly, the whole thing needs to be taken apart and there are small little areas that are almost impossible to get to without a Q-tip or something similar. I dont have the time required to clean this unit, so I am looking for other alternatives.
Good product     On: 2007-09-10

As other reviewers have mentioned, my only issue with this product is the noise it makes as it empties. When it gets to 10-15% capacity, it gets louder. I dont think that its too loud, but it is definitely noticeable above "background noise."
Couldn't take the pressure at my house     On: 2007-09-08

I have four dogs. This fountain, even the jumbo size, couldnt keep up with them. The pump died in less than a year, despite regular cleansing of the unit about every two week.
Cleansing this unit is NOT a snap, and the pump intake clogs with dog drool/hair/debris.
You have to dissamble the whole contraption to really cleanse it well. the ENTIRE inside/interior gets coated with slime if you dont.
So, tonight Im purchasing another fountain. My dog has been diagnosed with chronic kidney failure, and the vet has said make sure he drinks a LOT of water.
So, Im back to the drawing board.
One thing though, our dogs did LOVE to drink from this. I just wish it could have stood the pressure of all four of them using it. For the record, I have a labrador and three beagles. It wasnt as if I expected it to stand up to four Newfoundlands!
Pet Fountain     On: 2007-09-06

This product is OK, but my pets arent as attracted to it as I hoped
Great product - solved drinking problem for 15 year old cat     On: 2007-09-05

I had a 15 year old cat who only wanted fresh flowing water from the bathroom sink --which got to be a pain to deal with besides her not being able to get water when I was not around. I had doubts that I could change her habit but inside of a week she is happily drinking from her fountain!! I do use bottled water to save damaging the pump but that is only because of my well water, not any fault of the fountain. I have a second cat who adapted as well and the fountain usually lasts a day or so before needing to be filled.
Working fine so far     On: 2007-09-04

I had no problem installing this, though one other reviewer
here did. It was considerably cheaper from Amazon than it was
at Pet Express. The only addition I would have liked would be
an option to have the water fall down as from a faucet rather
than flowing down a slope, since I had gotten the device
because my cat liked to drink from a dripping faucet. I
jury-rigged a plastic straw so that the stream of water could
fall from the straw into the bowl. My cat now does always
like to drink from the stream that comes out of the straw.
happy cat     On: 2007-09-04

It has taken our kitty 2 months to accept to use the fountain, but he has finally begun drnking from it, so be patient. He was still expecting to be able to drink from the water tap and has finally given up. The sound of the trickling water finished by seducing him. Good product.
water hogs     On: 2007-09-03

this is the second water dish i have purchased. the first one was the "weenie" cat dish- i bought the dog size the second time. its very easy to clean and the cats love it. a little too much. the mainecoon spreads his twenty pounds of bulk over the top of it so his sisters cant drink. i think he feels its HIS dish, although his sisters dont agree. the filters are hard to find around here- walmart no longer carries the dish, so i order bunches of filters online. the cats are very happy with the dish and ive had the second one for a couple years now, with no problems.
Freddie loves it!     On: 2007-08-30

Just to clarify, Freddie is my cat, hes 15 years old and has been obsessed with fresh water. He used to jump up to the kitchen sink, drink from the toilet, try to get a drop from the shower, even though I supplied him a dish of fresh water daily. I thought my sweet cat was neurotic. One day a few weeks ago I saw the petmate fountain in a store and decided to give it a try. Freddie is like a changed cat! He hangs out next to the pet fountain and drinks a lot of water, hes more content and obviously has found his dream of good, clean everfresh water, its a joy to see. I was so impressed I bought a second (jumbo) sized fountain because I travel for 2-4 days sometimes. The water in the jumbo lasts him for 7 days, then I wash the container and the pump and re-fill it. Set up was VERY easy and cleaning it and the little pump is a cinch. A wonderful invention with a very nice, streamlined, modern style. I really give this fountain a full thumbs up!
Outstanding product. My dogs love it, almost too much     On: 2007-08-29

This is a wonderful product. Clearly it provides a better water source because I cannot keep the thing filled with water. If only the reserve tank was bigger, it would be the best dog product ever!
Pet Fountain     On: 2007-08-26

We never got to use this, because we couldnt get the motor loose to clean it.
My cats are ignoring their new water fountain     On: 2007-08-24

The pet fountain runs just fine, it is quiet, and there are no problems except that my water-loving cats will not drink from it. These cats jump on the sink when I brush my teeth, and are often in the tub when someone gets out of the shower, so I thought this would be great for them. Im thinking they would like it better if the water wasnt so quiet -and was more of a splashing fountain. Its been about three weeks, and no interest. Theres no convincing cats - either they like something or they dont!
Love This!     On: 2007-08-24

I love this product, but more importantly, my three cats love this. I no longer have to worry about whether I remembered to fill the water bowl. the only issue I have is how to clean the hard water marks off the sides of the bowl. It gets pretty badly etched by our hard water.
Works great!     On: 2007-08-23

Very quiet,unless it is running out of water, which I think is a great reminder. My cats love it. I have 4 cats that are no longer drinking out of the sink, bathtub, and toilet. I highly recommend it.
Works as promised     On: 2007-08-23

It works great, easy to clean and our cats love it. We have 6 cats and it lasts a day and then we change it so they are really happy about fresh water everyday. It keeps the hair out of the pump really well with a little cover that is REALLY nice. We had the largest one thinking with so many cats we would need it but it got dirty faster and they were not happy so we switched and it was the best thing we could have done.

I have learned a little trick to cleaning the pump easily Q-Tips. I have found the what I call pond scum that builds up in the pump and is nasty and hard to get out without a major effort (it could be just me) but I have found that if you run it under hot water for a few seconds and then use Q-Tips to clean the scum out it works REALLY well. You can get down around where the magnet sits in the center and all cracks and little spaces. Then I go and run it under the water again to make sure there is no cotton or left over scum and your done and put the pump back together.
Love This!     On: 2007-08-23

I love this product, but more importantly, my three cats love this. I no longer have to worry about whether I remembered to fill the water bowl. the only issue I have is how to clean the hard water marks off the sides of the bowl. It gets pretty badly etched by our hard water.
Kitty is pleased     On: 2007-08-23

When "she who must be obeyed" meows for something you have to jump. Our cat loved this thing. The quietly moving water fascinated her and she started drinking right away. If you have a pet who needs more water in her diet then this is worth the money.
Freash Flow     On: 2007-08-23

Ive got 2 of these and my cats all 4 of them just love it.They drink more water now and thats good for a health cat. easy to clean, but you do need to clean it at least once a month.
Hard To Clean, Gets Messy Easily     On: 2007-08-11

Ive had this unit for over a year and while I like it better than a plain bowl of water, there are some flaws.

The blue reservoir is growing algae in the corners and because of its shape, its impossible to clean those spots. I also have hard water in my apartment, so the slide gets a lot of hardwater build up which doesnt come off with scrubbing. Finally, the thing is always getting clogged up with cat hair and weekly cleanings are necessary if you dont want your cat drinking gross hairy water.

I will likely purchase the type of fountain that comes down like a faucet whenever this one breaks but I wont buy this one again.
Great Product!     On: 2007-08-09

My cat was constantly begging at the faucet for running water- she would just sit in the sink waiting for the water to be turned on. This got old rather quickly and I found this product. She must like the constantly running water because she has stopped begging at the sink. I find that it is quiet and does not need to be refilled often. Once a week I clean it completely and refill it. Cleaning can be a bit of a hassle, but its not too bad. The parts separate easily and with a toothbrush or q tip you can reach all of the crevices. I usually fill the reservoirs with brita water and skip out on the filtration cartridges to save money. I have had this product for 2 years and it still works great. I definitely recommend it for your thirsty kitty.
Great Fountain, Nervous Cat     On: 2007-08-09

While the printed directions were poor, the fountain was easy to assemble. Its simple to replenish. Its quiet and the water flow is very gentle. All in all, this cat owner is very happy with her purchase.

Unfortunately, Cognac, the cat, has a very different opinion. Cognac gives the fountain wide berth when it is running. If its not running, Cognac will approach the fountain tenatively. With dramatic flair, hell lower his head to take a few sips. Hes very suspicious of this new device.

The color might contribute to his anxiety as he is accustomed to drinking from a clear, glass bowl. This fountain is dark blue plastic.

All in all, I have no complaints with this product. However, older, nervous, or finicky cats may have a problem adapting to this new water source.
FABULOUS PRODUCT!     On: 2007-08-07

I received this product from my son who claimed his cats were afraid of the horrific noise it made, but after filling it correctly and turning it on I found very little noise. What I did find was he filled it incorrectly, did not fully saturate the filter before inserting, did not fill to capacity in the filter chamber or the bowl unit. After successfully and correctly filling the unit within a few minutes I found very little noise, VERY little. Basically it makes a very pleasant low gentle trickling water sound, which is what a fountain does and it does attract the cats, plus they LOVE it! I even like the soft gentle trickling sound, as it is relaxing and a sound you find on many sleep units for adults.

It is important to remember when this unit starts to run low on water or it is not filled properly it will indeed alert you via more noise, as the pump doesnt have enough water so you fill it and POOF the noise is gone. Of course you are buying a, "Cat Fountain" so to speak and therefore it will generate more noise than a bowl of water because it is a fountain which pumps constant water. For this unit to be silent it would merely be a bowl of water, but that is not what you are buying.

As for cleaning...........of course you need to clean it, but you also need to clean bowls of water and other non-pump auto water units. Actually I have found this unit to require less cleaning and stay cleanier than bowls of water or noncirculating auto water methods because the water it contains is constantly circulating, it has a filter and therefore stays pretty clean. I clean my unit once per week with antibacterial soap, rinse it well, wipe it down, etc., but when I used water bowls or sedentary auto water units I was cleaning them daily.

Of course it will collect airborne particles and some debris, as it is open and cats are using it however since it does have the circulating water and filter this problem is very minimal. Actually with the other non-pump auto water units and bowls I found they would collect a lot of debris and also mold despite my constant cleaning since the water just sits there.

You must also be certain to clean your pump portion in order to keep it running properly and this is very easy..........pop it out and rinse it off. I do this once per week, as I have noticed it will collect a bit of cat hair under it, which I think is normal and no problem whatsoever. It is also important to change your filter approximately once per month so your unit will continue to provide clean water.

My 4 cats LOVE this unit and actually it serves 2 purposes, as they think it is a toy, thus play in the water and also love drinking out of it! When my cats hear our electric ice maker in the fridge, which I must say is much louder they come running because they want those ice cubes placed in their fountain so they can bob and bat at them. Actually I have a new high end refridgerator and that makes more noise than this cat fountain.

After my son gave me the unit claiming it was too noisy he came over and found it was not noisy in the least when filled properly so he went out and bought another one, filled it properly, saturated the filter and filter chamber and POOF no noise! His cats love it too!

I feel good about the fact my cats are now drinking more water, which is filtered and circulating, thus cleaner plus they love it. I have had my unit for 2 years of constant use and finally the pump died, so I am ordering another one since my cats now sit in front of the existing one, which is no longer working and bat the water around like they are hoping it will start working again.

Actually I had no idea their fountain wasnt working, as it is that quiet, but then I noticed the whole gang was sitting in front of the unit just gazing at it, as if to say, "What the heck happened to our fountain?" I got 2 years out of my pump, which I think is fabulous especially because the cost of the unit is so reasonable, so I have assured the boys they will get a new one soon.

I think this is a fabulous product, much more sanitary, easier to maintain and the cats love it. Currently I know at least 5 people other than myself who are using this unit for their cats and none have reported noise while all have reported this is a great little water fountain, which their cats love!
No More Toilet Drinking!     On: 2007-08-03

Our cat only drank from the toilet and licked the shower walls. We were tired of seeing her bend and break her neck to drink (our toilets are the low water saving kind). So, I bought this product at a Petsmart for the original price. We shut the toilet lids for 1 day and used the drinking water you get from the grocery in the machine. It ran very very quietly, a slight humming, and the cool water trickles and circulates wonderfully. By the next day, when we put the toilet lids back up, the cat no longer jumped up to drink. She doesnt get into the shower anymore either. This has been a lifesaver. Shes an old cat and we didnt know how much more she could take bending like that. Weve also noticed that she has been peeing in her box more and more - shes getting her fluids in!
My cat loves it!     On: 2007-07-30

My cat was not drinking his water because he wanted fresh water all the time. He loves his fountain. Its great because I fill it once a week and my cat doesnt try to drink the shower water anymore. It does take filters but they last a while.
It takes a while, but ...     On: 2007-07-21

I takes several days for cats to get used to the humming of this fountain. But once theyve got accustomed, they use it regularly, and the water stays fresh for days. A weekly rinse and replenishment is all it takes to keep the beasties supplied with running water.
disappointed     On: 2007-07-16

I also called the company and they said they could not help me except to offer advice on filling and cleaning. I have been filling and cleaning the unit the same way for 18 months and all of a sudden it started to leak. The woman said that many units were sent back because of leaks and they couldnt get them to leak. Seems like there are a lot of us out there that CAN get them to leak.We cant all be wrong. I told the woman there are a lot of comments on amazon about the leaking units. My cats love the filter and I want to use it because my cat once had a UTI before I started using it. I just dont want to buy another one after only a year and a half. You would expect it to last longer.
A true disappointment     On: 2007-07-16

I thought I was doing the right thing by my cats when I brought this Petmate water fountain home. Wrong. Right from the start, the pump has sounded like a small jet aircraft at take off. Ive done it all -- dismantle and reassemble the pump, dismantle and reassemble the entire unit, drain and refill with cool clear distilled water. No. It is too loud to use near human habitation, and it is too loud for the cats to bother approaching it for a drink. And as someone observed here, it fills with junk and clogs in a heartbeat. Nope. I am resigned to leaving a faucet dripping and a bathroom door ajar around the clock to make sure our two cats get enough fresh water. This product has been a bust.
Improve your cat's health     On: 2007-07-07

We bought two of these fountains-- this one and the "planet blue," after our vet recommended getting an automatic fountain for one of our cats who is in the early stages of having urinary tract problems. We found out that cats usually dont drink as much as they need to, and this can lead to crystals in their urine, blockages and severe health problems including organ failure. Our vet also told us that cats drink less out of traditional bowls because their whiskers tend to hit the sides which is uncomfortable for them. The bowl of this fountain is wide enough to accommodate whiskers and therefore cats will tend to drink longer. After a day or so of being timid of the fountain, our cats took right to it. They are drinking probably four times the amount of water they used to drink from regular water bowls. The water trickling does make some noise, just enough to entice the cats and be soothing to nearby humans. It is so much easier to deal with than changing water in bowls twice a day; when the water gets low you simply pop out the reservoir and refill it. The water stays cleaner because of the filter. This is a great product and highly recommended to help prevent and manage urinary tract issues that can be aggravated by not drinking enough water. This fountain was recommended to us by my mom who has owned one for several months with no problems.
this thing sucks     On: 2007-07-05

it made loud noises and we had to fill it all the time. the cats stopped drinking out of it.
Below Average, Needs Constant Cleaning / Disassembly     On: 2007-06-30

The water pump is designed such that it will constantly take in cat hair and other miscellany, meaning youll be unclogging it constantly as water flow diminishes to an almost invisible trickle.

The device is only slightly more convenient than just pouring a bowl of fresh water daily. Not recommended.
What a difference this makes     On: 2007-06-28

My cat immediately began to drink more water on a daily basis as soon as I plugged this in.

It can be a little noisy when the water drops below the filter intake line; but to me thats a good thing, I know its time to fill it up again.

I am truly amazed at how her water drinking habits changed instantly.

Of course, it also fills your litter box quickly too ;-)
We were fooled!     On: 2007-06-14

Fooled into thinking this is the best product around.
the product was intentionally designed with a flaw to destroy the moter and force one to buy a new one. (why else would the company sell the motors and offer them as soon as the item was produced). Any intelligent engineer would have designed the product to have the filter BEFORE the motor, insuring the motor stays clean as well as the output water. we have to clean out the moter every 6-8 weeks so that it doesnt burn out from being clogged from dust and cat hair. I hope they redesign it and when they do, I will then write another review.
Best Thing Ever!     On: 2007-06-05

I have two cats and they LOVE the Petmate. I do not have to worry about changing their water everyday and the filter keeps the water clean. The reservoir comes in very handy and I can leave for a weekend knowing that the cats have fresh, clean water.
He loves this fountain - a must for your cat     On: 2007-05-29

My cat loves this product, will only drink from this fountain. And I add to the reservior and freeze it (do not fill to top)and then put into the fountain - always cold water.
Highly recommend this product.
Great item for the price     On: 2007-05-25

This is a great pet fountain for the money. If you dont use a fountain for your cats, you should. Drinking lots of water is good for us all, but it is critical for cats, especially male cats and older cats, to prevent polycystosis. We have used the PetMate fountains, and always found them to be good, reliable products. Our cats love drinking from the top of the slide where the water is coming out of the filter chamber. A tip for anyone using a pet fountain is to use reverse osmosis filtered water in the fountain. This cuts down on the frequency of necessary cleaning tremendously. You will need to clean the fountain out regularly, including the pump. To keep the pump going, learn how to take it apart and clean it well.
One point should be made here - we have many cats (we have a cattery) and the reservoir is too small if you have several cats drinking form it. You will need to fill it more than once a day. If you have several cats around as we do you might want to go the extra expense of the Drinkwell pet fountain. It has a 12 cup capacity with the extra reservoir option. But if you only have one or two cats, this is a great unit. It runs quietly, is reliable, and the cats really seem to like drinking from it.
Decent product, not worth the price.     On: 2007-05-25

I bought this product for my 3 cats and they rarely drink it. Maybe because they were so used to drinking from the sink faucet that they want something a little more fresh? The product itself is hard to clean and maintain. There are two filter bags that comes with the product, and I dont even know when it loses its effectiveness. The filter bag does get dirty quickly and Im sure it gets pricey to keep on replacing it. Overall for me, I should have just bought a Brita filter and attach it to the sink for the cats to drink.
Great item     On: 2007-05-21

I am very pleased with this item./ I have one little kitty, and he just loves this. It took him a coupld days to get used to it, but he likes it now, and i have my bathroom back. I couldnt wash my hands or brush my teeth without him running in, and jumping on the sink everytime her heard the water running. Now he goes to his own sink. It is also very quite.
Lasted 6 weeks     On: 2007-05-15

My pump failed in 6 weeks. The pump is a fifteen dollar replacement part, so no thanks. Thats not a solution.

To Amazons credit, they said they would accept the return, but I am waiting forever to get a postage-paid label snail-mailed to me -- and who knows how long it will take for the credit. Amex has a 90-day product guarantee, so at least I know Ill be protected by my cc if Amazon doesnt come through.
Leaky!     On: 2007-05-13

I had purchased the Petmate Deluxe model of the 50-ounce Pet Fountain for my cats. That works exactly as described and my cats drink more than they did from bowls of water around the house. I like blue, and the basic model seemed as if it would perform the same as the deluxe model. My cats still drink from this model, but it doesnt fit together as well as the deluxe model and, as a result, it often leaks, leaving puddles around it. If I purchase another, I will only get the Deluxe model.
pet mate     On: 2007-05-12

great product, great service. Would surely recommend this site to all my friends
Great idea     On: 2007-05-12

This water fountain is great! The model is quiet and only needs to be filled every 2-3 days. My cat loves the running water!
Fresh Flow Pet Fountain..........     On: 2007-05-12

My Pets love this fresh flow fountain. I have a maine coone cat and two Min Pins and they love it before each animal had their own water dish . Now they share and just love the freshness of the fresh flow and it is easy to clean what a great product!!!!!!!!
Kitty Refreshment     On: 2007-05-09

I really like this product. The water stays fresh, my cats love to drink from it, and I only have to add water once a week. It stays clean and its quiet. It also doesnt take up much room, which is nice. I would definitely recommend it.
quiet and clean     On: 2007-05-06

I purchased this for my ferrets and after their initial distrust and attempts at finding out where the water was coming from they seem perfectly happy with it. It was easy to assemble and is easy enough to clean.
The pump is a bit noisy each time I start it after cleaning, but quiets right down once the water is flowing.
LOVE IT     On: 2007-05-04

My kitty loves this new water dispenser! I noticed her drinking more water everyday! Very healthy for her! I would recommend this to anyone who loves their kitty!
I wouldn't use anything else     On: 2007-04-21

Ive been using these for about 1 1/2 year and only now the first one started having problems. I also have a diabetic cat who is still not under control, which means I can never have enough water around. Thats why I bought a second one when I rescued this diabetic cat.

All in all, I have four cats and two of these fountains, and they work really well. Of course, they all prefer drinking from one of the two fountains (it makes no sense, they are both the same exact thing to me), and I fill that one up every 24 hours, while the other one I only need to refill about once a week or so.

After a year and a half, the oldest fountain started to leak. I cleaned it well and it worked again for about another month and then started leaking again, really bad. I just got a Jumbo model replacement that arrived yesterday!

FOLLOW-UP: The Deluxe model (larger) is fantastic! I replaced my two smaller ones with this single large one and only need to fill up the side container about once a week, as long as every morning I top up the basin area. Keep in mind that my diabetic cat, although not drinking as much as he used to, still drinks a lot more water than a cat without that issue. I also had a 5th cat added to the group, so not having to refill the fountain every day is definitely a luxury this gadget offers me.

By the way, after 6 months I had to buy a new one. I was frustrated because the only thing that broke was the pump and I could not find a replacement pump alone. Unfortunately, I had given away my smaller fountains too, so I couldnt just pull one of their pumps to use with my deluxe unit. I also think I broke the pump myself, while washing it, so its not like it just died on me. But, still, it would have been nice to find just a new pump, instead of having to buy a whole new fountain.

All in all, although there was the pump issue, I wouldnt consider switching to a different fountain. I am very pleased with this one. :)
Great Pet Fountain with filter     On: 2007-04-15

I purchased this for my brother who has two cats and also has cerebal palsy. I was worried that he would have trouble assembling it and disassembling it to clean it, let alone refilling the water container. But I was surprised that he was able to put together in minutes and hasnt had any issues with it since. It is true, that vets highly recommend this as both of ours have. Ill be honest, in that the actual requirements to disassemble it to clean it are a bit combersome. But it has a handy power disconnect option that helps to clean it. I wish it had a larger water reservoir. Depending on what type of pets, how many and the heat of where you live, you still have to refill it every other day. I find that you have to clean it about once every five to six days depending on how messy of eaters your pets are. I have to replace the filter about every 60 days. Good price for the money and the pump is SO quiet, youll never hear it.
Take back your sink!     On: 2007-04-12

I bought one of these from Amazon 2 weeks ago, with the extra filters for half of what I would have paid retail. At first my boyfriend nixed the fountain, as it was very loud. Luckily, I remembered another reviewer had mentioned that the unit could be noisy if the water level was low. Once I filled it up almost to the rim, we could barely hear it. The cats adore it, havent been in the sink or toilet (well, maybe once or twice!) since we bought it. I give it 4 stars only because it is rather difficult to clean. Its a great deal for a really good product.
Action Water     On: 2007-04-10

Its the funniest thing to watch you coats first use. Mine waited for at least 1 day before the trusted it and even then they were cautions. Its entertainig and healthy.
Saved our cat from drowning in our toilet!     On: 2007-04-04

Didnt take too long to put together, way cheaper than the pet stores and now we dont have to keep putting the toilet lid down, as our cat loves fresh flowing water!

UPDATE APRIL 2008 - it broke 2 months ago, just kept gurgling noisily, cat was scared of it and went back to the toilet bowl for her water! It doesnt last long in use!
Loved It At First     On: 2007-04-03

When I first got the water fountain, I loved it. It was perfect for my cat who will only drink running water!! Problem is, the motor stopped working after I had only had it for 6 months. I dont know how long they are supposed to last, but 6 months seemed a short amount of time.
Happy for Five Years     On: 2007-04-01

Like other people, I bought this to reclaim my sinks. I had 4 cats and had to wait my turn to brush my teeth. This wasnt an automatic replacement, I still had to just stop letting the cats drink out of the sinks.

But here we are 5 years later and the thing is still humming along. I refill the water about once a day. I super clean it with Q-Tips and paper towels about once a month, including the motor.

I never had a leaking problem with the filters. I did however get a little scared about 2 years ago when I couldnt find replacement filters anywhere. But since then they have reappeared so the crisis has been averted.
Fresh Flow Cat Fountain     On: 2007-03-30

I received the product timely in good condition. It works very well and the cats seem to have taken to it quite well.
Works great!     On: 2007-03-29

While it does require some maintenence, my cat loves it so I dont mind the weekly cleaning. It is dishwasher safe, which makes it easy, and for those of you having problems with the pump, try this: run the pump in a bowl of a mixture of vinegar and water. The acid in the vinegar cleans the pump thoroughly (no slimy gunk or lime buildup), and its not toxic if traces of vinegar remain when you reassemble.

I had a tough time getting my cat to drink from anything other than a sink or tub faucet, but she loves the water coming down the slide, so its worth it for me to take a few minutes a week to clean it.
Cat Likes it!     On: 2007-03-29

I tried another type of flowing water dish for my cat and she wouldnt touch it. She actually uses this one so I guess she likes it.
Does the Job     On: 2007-03-26

Because one of our cats has a urinary tract condition, our vet recommended we buy this type of water dish. The flowing water motion makes the cats want to drink more and therefore is good for cats with this conidition. Our cats were also good at pushing the bowl over with our old "water cooler" style dish, this one is heavier and the weight is all low to the ground so it prevents this. The moving water also prevents buildup of slime and mildew so the dish stays clean for a long time. There is only 2 problems weve experienced with this dish. 1. We have 3 cats, and this model doesnt quite hold as much water as I would like. 2. After 1wk of use, it kept making a air swishy sound because the pump was not getting enough water. When it makes this sound, its usually because it needs more water, but the resevoir was full. I checked the filter grill and it too was clear. But I removed the top of the unit (which is easy to do) and found that some hair had gotten through the filter and was clogging the pump entrance. Id recommend checking this every once in a while to extend the pump life. Overall, we are very happy to have made this purchase.
fresh water for kitty     On: 2007-03-23

This was a great purchase for me & kitty. He would search the house for fresh water, waiting under faucets and licking pipes, regardless of how fresh his bowl was. This satisfies his craving & the relatively small, blue fountain fits into my kitchen nicely...
Petmate Fresh Flow     On: 2007-03-12

This pet fountain is great. I am having a tough time trying to get my cat to start drinking out of it, he was use to drinking out of the sink with running water so it is going to take some time to adjust.
Happy owner of this fountain     On: 2007-03-10

I love this product and I am very happy that my cat drinks from it without any problem.
The price is pretty good.
As other reviewer mentioned, the filter can cause leakage(or overflow) from the top.
The potential water damage can be easily prevented by putting a tray underneath it.
Any water pump motor (like fish tank pump) will make noise when water level is
insufficient. It is not a perfect product but is good enough for me.
Thank you! thank you! thank you!     On: 2007-03-08

Our cat would only drink out of running faucets. As a result contstantly drinking out of bathroom or kitchen sinks. As soon as we got this, he started to drink from the water that flows down to where any normal cat would drink. The machine is quiet, easy to assemble and maintain.
Petmate     On: 2007-03-08

This has been one of the best purchases I have made for my pets. My cat just loves it and will even let our dog drink every now and then! Anyone that has a cat that is picky about what they eat or drink needs to get one of the Petmate 24960.
Our Kitties Love Them!     On: 2007-03-08

Our cats would not drink from standard water bowls and would continually jump up on the bathroom vanities wanting a drink of water from the faucets. We would turn the water on for them and then forget to turn off sometimes! They love the Petmate fountains. We have two of them, one upstairs, one downstairs. They are constantly drinking water. The only downside, the pumps go bad pretty quickly if you have hard water.
My cats love it     On: 2007-03-08

but you have to watch out for the filter. It can cause the leaking problem.
much better than catit fountain     On: 2007-03-08

I thought the catit fountain would work but it bit the dust after a few months. This was the logical replacement and its quiet and works great!
my cats love this!     On: 2007-03-04

if you need your cats to drink more water, or even if they drink enough but you want to make them happy, this is the ticket. they love the running water.

i have only 2 complaints:
1. it gets dirty really quickly (is this a flaw of the filters? i dont know) and its a pain to clean! its not like a regular water bowl that you can wash in 5 seconds. you must disassemble it and wash each part carefully.

2. you need to buy filters. i guess these are supposed to help keep it clean? i assume also to provide filtered water, but i think thats a little silly, since even people drink tap.

but, since my little darlings are so happy, i like this product despite the cons.
The cats love it!     On: 2007-02-26

I bought this three months ago for my two cats. It was reasonably easy to assemble. You have it keep the reservoir filled up daily, or it will be noisy. If thats a problem for you, then buy the larger capacity one. Its also good to clean the water intake area as cat hair will collect there.
Overall, a good value.
great for hydration     On: 2007-02-24

This product does everything that it claims to do. It was easy to assemble, and seems dependable. The constantly circulating water has increased my pets hydration, and health noticably.
a good low-cost pet accessory     On: 2007-02-19

First of all, this product is virtually silent; only if one stands very closely can one hear a soft gurgling of water. The loud motor noises others have reported are due to low water levels as indicated in the instruction book. Mine started out with that noise; as soon as I brought the water to the proper level, the noise stopped immediately.
I found this model a bit difficult to assemble--the diagram wasnt that helpful to me for the smaller parts. That may be my own limitation. This is clearly a low-budget model, but I wanted to make sure my cat would use it. I dont have expectations of it lasting a very long time, but so far I really cant see that a higher-priced model would do a better job. I did crack one small piece (a strainer thingy) during assembly, but I was still able to use the part and the mechanism is working fine.
My cat took to this immediately, and now I no longer have to wastefully leave a bathroom tap dripping in order to encourage her to drink.
You can purchase replacement filters at the same time you buy this unit.
Product Pros and Cons     On: 2007-02-11

Here is a short list of things to consider before purchasing this product.

Pros:
1. Vet recommended - my cat has a history of urinary tract infections and this product has definitely encouraged her to drink more, which in turn has lead to the overall better health for my pet.
2. Prevents stale water - When water is allowed to sit for long periods of time, air cannot circulate in it. Thus, the water no longer has air in it, which makes it taste fresh. This product allows for the constant flowing of water thus preventing it from going stale in the bowl.
3. Silent - this product is virtually silent, the only time you will hear it make noise is when the water supply is low, a good reminder to add fresh water.
4. Attractive product - This is a small, compact unit that is simple and sleek.

Cons:
1. This is not a one time cost. Filters have to be purchased and replaced every 60-90 days. They cost about $2 each.
2. If the water flow does not appear to have the power it once did, check the pump. Cat hair and food has a tendency to collect and clog it. I would recommend checking this once to twice a month dependent on the number of cats you own and their shedding habits.
3. General upkeep: water changes, filter changes, and the periodic wipe down of the entire dish (material tends to accumulate in the bowl section after a while).


As with every product, this is not perfect. However, if you are a pet lover you will quickly agree that the pros of this item greatly outweigh the cons.
A great investment for my four-legged friend.     On: 2007-02-09

Over the years my cat has used every source of drinking water available (from the dripping sink/tub to a still-water dish and more recently the Le Bistro Waterer for $7.99 at Petsmart). While these are all very affordable ways to keep your pet hydrated, I have found that they never quite compare in my cats taste to the satisfaction of me turning the sink faucet on in the bathroom just a little so he can jump up and get a drink.

My cat refused to use his new fountain for a few days mainly because he is a big baby and Im guessing the sound of the pump and trickling water freaked him out a little. But I was presistent and didnt switch back to his old waterer because I knew this was for the better. He has now adapted to it just fine and Im not real sure if he cares one way or the other but Im content in knowing that this source of water is the best thing for him.

The fountain was easy to install and the directions were very clear. The water stays cold and clean. I dont find the pump/flowing water noisy or bothersome at all. It is comparable to the sound of a fish tank. The fountain comes with 1 filter and more are available online for under $4. (If you order some replacements, like I did, you will be eligible for free shipping from Amazon!) Amazon has the best price I could find anywhere. (Petsmart charges $39.99 for the same thing in white.)

The Petmate Fresh Flow Water Fountain is perfect for my kitty and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

*If you have more than 2 cats or 1 dog, I would probably recommend getting the next size up.*
Loved it for about 6 months - then it went south     On: 2007-02-06

I bought the Petmat Fresh Flow on sale at my local pet store for only $19.99. At such a low price, I thought it was a good deal, and both of my cats love to drink from the faucet. Theyll meow for hours on end for us to turn on the water. The first six months we had this fountain, it worked wonderfully. The cats loved it, it filtered well, and it ran quietly. The water did need to be refilled frequently, as I dont think 50 oz is sufficient, but overall, it worked well.

Then, after six months or so, it started to become very loud. The sound could only be ameliorated by filling the fountain REALLY full - within millimeters of the brim, and even then, it would take 30 minutes to fully quiet/settle down. It also started to collect a lot of dust and general dirt. I would attempt to wash it, but it never seemed to get clean. Eventually, we just got rid of it - the noise was getting too troublesome.

Recently, Ive purchased a Drinkwell Platinum Fountain (with 168 oz capacity), and I hope that it will be more durable than the Petmate was.
Great Product As Long As It Is Maintained     On: 2007-02-02

Like most other products on the market with moving parts, this fountain works well as long as a few simple steps are followed. I have three cats, all drink out of the fountain regularly. Ive had this product for almost three years, and so far it has operated flawlessly. I refill the water reservoir daily - even if there is water left in the reservoir I empty it and refill it with fresh water. The entire unit gets taken apart and washed out probably once every 6 weeks to 2 months, and I replace the charcoal filter three or four times a year. The most important thing with this fountain is to keep it clean of fur - the loose fur tends to clump at the inlet of the submersible pump, starving it of water. Rather than taking the pump completely out every month to clean the hair out of it, I used an old pair of my wifes panty-hose to make a bunch of little pre-filters. I put put a small hole near the top of the piece of material, slide the hole over the speed control, and anchor the bottom in place with the removable housing. The home-made screen catches the pet hair and other debris before it enters the pump chamber, and I just scoop it away every couple of days with my fingers (sometimes I use the tines of a fork).
Noisy but still good     On: 2007-02-01

Great my cats love this but it makes this horrid sound that freaks them out so you have to replace it frequently, however if you just remember to fill it with water every frequently and replace the filter after like 4 months (if you have multiple cats i have 2 so yea) but they love and i recommend it
Petmate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain - 50 oz. capacity     On: 2007-01-21

Have tried several other models and makes, but this model is the best, most reliable drinking fountain I have ever used and am still using. Easy to keep clean and the cat loves it. Only one cat is using the fountain, and I set it at about half speed, which seems to work well for me.

I highly recommend this model and make to any one who wants the best for their feline.. The price is well placed and the filters are also rather inexpensive compared to other models
My cat enjoyed this but read on...     On: 2007-01-21

My cat really dug his kitty fountain but my overall experience with this thing was kind of bad. Yes it recycles the water a bit and keeps it fresher than say a stagnant water filled bowl but it seemed to collect lots of crud and hair that never makes it through the tiny hole to the filter. The reserve tank was useless...the water level never went down when the water was circulating so it was a pretty big waste of water. Also, the thing makes terrible noise when not completely full (but the reserve tank never worked) so you have to dump water in it all the time or else listen to this loud grinding sound. After, 7 or 8 months the pump conked out completely and so I went and bought a Drinkwell for my boy today. The Drinkwell is superior in every way and kitty is happier with it.
Did not last long at all!     On: 2007-01-21

I bought this fountain because my cat loves drinking running water and for the first couple of months I loved it. It would have to be refilled constantly but I didnt mind because my cat was deliriously happy with it.

Then the leaking started. Just a small dribble out the side so I cleaned it (which I did every week anyway) to no avail. The leak kept worse and worse and made my kitchen floor a mess. I had only had it four months and was pissed!

My story is by no means the only one. My friend had the same thing happen to her after about 6 months. Just dont waste your money.
works but needs maintanance     On: 2007-01-20

cats love it but you do have to clean it and clear hair and debris from pump intake. mine also died but all you have to do us pull off the front of the pump and clean the inside, also pull out the impeller (its just held in place by magnets). started right up
Purifying Pet Fountain     On: 2007-01-18

I have 3 small dogs and they love, love, love, this product! I have never seen them drink so much water! Its like a game for them. Makes me feel good knowing that they are drinking purified water. Love this item!!!
Fresh flow fountain -- Worked well for a couple of days....     On: 2007-01-16

then it got really loud and within 2 weeks stopped working altogether. I havent had time to return it.
Petmate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain     On: 2007-01-15

This was a major disappointment. I dont know how they call it a "fountain" when all it does is drizzle out of a lame little hole. There is NOTHING "flowing" about it. Dont waste your time on this hunk of junk!
Not so great     On: 2007-01-15

The fountain worked well for the first couple of months, but then it started leaking. I took it apart several times and still couldnt figure out where the water was leaking from. The motor is also somewhat noisy and that bothers my cat.
Would be great if it didn't leak     On: 2007-01-12

The cats like the fountain, but it leaks unless the water level is very low. Since many people dont have this problem I suspect that it depends on how tight the joints between the various parts are. Sealing the joints wont work because the device needs to be taken apart for cleaning.

If you get one, be prepared to send it back if it leaks.

Edit: While the bottom of the fountain appears to be cast as a single piece, there is a small square plate on the bottom of the unit where the pump fits. Over time the glue loosens and this leaks where it is attached. This can be fixed by a bit of epoxy around the seam.
Doesn't work for long     On: 2007-01-12

I purchased one of these fountains in December 2005, and loved it at first - I recommended it to a family member who also purchased one the following month. Despite regular cleanings and making sure that water level did not get too low so as to prevent damage, both fountains had stopped working by March 2006. I was very disappointed that they both broke within 3 months.
Works as expected     On: 2007-01-11

Small and only good for one pet really, unless you want to fill the reservoir every other day. Virtually silent.
So Far, So Good     On: 2007-01-09

Ive had my fountain for a few months now, and everything seems to be working fine. My cat has stopped drinking out of the sink and seems to enjoy the fountain. I like to give the fountain a good cleaning once a month to get the filtered bits out and to scrub out the dish, but beyond that, just like my cat, its pretty low maintence.
My one complaint is that the resivoir just isnt big enough. It holds 2 days water tops, 3 if you push it, so for those rare weekend trips it has to be unplugged. I would recommend the larger resivoir for anyone with multiple cats.
Petmate; Fresh Flow Cat Fountain (50 oz. capacity     On: 2007-01-09

Worked well for the first 3 weeks or so, then the pump stopped pumping. Fountain stopped working. I do not recommend this product
My cats love the fresh water     On: 2007-01-09

I really like this product. The reason I only gave it 4 stars is that occasionally you have to take it apart and clean the air intake on the motor because it gets clogged with cat hair. Other than that it works fine.
Good stuff.     On: 2007-01-09

My cats took a few days to get used to it but leaving it unplugged for that time period made it easier. Now they love it!
Pump problem easily fixed     On: 2007-01-08

I bought the Petmate Deluxe Freshflow a little more than a year ago. I ran it 24/7 without problems until a couple weeks ago. After my usual cleaning, which I do one to three times a month, I reassembled, filled it, plugged it in and flipped the in line switch to turn it on. But, it dint come on. I flipped the switch multiple times and it finally came on. This happened on several occasions until finally I replaced the in line switch. To my dissappointment, and my cats who patiently waits for her fresh water to resume flowing, it still wouldnt turn on. So I searched the internet for a replacement pump, I wasnt going to replace the whole bowl if I didnt have to. To my delight I found a site [...] that showed step by step illustrated instructions for taking the pump apart to check for clogs in the water intake. I didnt think it was going to work but since I hate to waste anything (money or a perfectly good bowl)I gave it a shot. It was simple....I took the pump apart, removed a wad of cat hair from the intake, put it back together and its working like new.
as advertised, most of my cats love them     On: 2007-01-04

This fountain does exactly what it says it will. I ordered the Drinkwell fountain at the same time as the Petmate fountain. I foster cats/kittens and wanted to see if either was better. I believe they are comparable. The Petmate one has removable backup reservoir (hold more slightly more water), where the Drinkwell has a built-in area that holds a bit of extra water (easier to clean). The Drinkwell creates the water flowing sound, where the Petmate is virtually silent. Cats preferences are individual, some like the sound, some dont. Im happy with the fountain.
Really good product     On: 2007-01-03

I got the petmate drinking fountain because my kitten wouldnt drink water that wasnt moving, She now drinks more water. I like the fact that the fountain is silent. the only time I hear anything is if I let it run to low of water and the pump is sucking air. I eventually want to get the one that you can hook up a water supply to it and so I wont have to worry about filling it. But over all I am very happy with it and glad I got it for my little baby kitty.
My cats l,ove it     On: 2007-01-03

My cats will only drink fresh water. This becomes a hassle when youa re constantly changing the water in their bowl. I bought the pet mate fresh flow fountain with the hope that it would eliminate the need to constantly chnge the water. My cats love it. They will drink fromthe stream of filtered water without problems. The only drawback is that the pump clogs easily with cat hair and flow is decreased over time and requires dismantling and cleaning.
Lasted one year.     On: 2006-12-15

The pump completely died on me after one year of use. I wish there was a better pump as these type of devices are clearly healthier than a standing water bowl, but without an effective pump they become useless.

Someone also ought to make a better design such that water doesnt slosh all over the floor when moving or picking the unit up. As I have to frequently clean the entire unit (due to the weak pump!) this is a major issue.

Excellent     On: 2006-12-11

I bought this fountain 5 months ago and have been extremely pleased with is so far. I have 5 cats, and of course cat hair gets in it, like it gets in everything else, but that doesnt stop it from running and the filter catches most of it quite well. I used to get a lot of food pieces in there, but all I had to do was move the food farther away from it and that solved the problem. Cleaning it is really easy (takes about 5 minutes), I just wash it with warm water and dish detergent like any other dish, and I dont have to do it more than once a week. And I just love how quiet it is. I also recommended it to a few of my friends who have multiple cats and they all love it. Just make sure you change the filters as recommended. Its first of all healthier for your pets but also better for the fountain.
Excellent     On: 2006-12-10

I bought this fountain 5 months ago and have been extremely pleased with is so far. I have 5 cats, and of course cat hair gets in it, like it gets in everything else, but that doesnt stop it from running and the filter catches most of it quite well. I used to get a lot of food pieces in there, but all I had to do was move the food farther away from it and that solved the problem. Cleaning it is really easy (takes about 5 minutes), I just wash it with warm water and dish detergent like any other dish, and I dont have to do it more than once a week. And I just love how quiet it is. I also recommended it to a few of my friends who have multiple cats and they all love it. Just make sure you change the filters as recommended. Its first of all healthier for your pets but also better for the fountain.
Good concept..... not such a great product.     On: 2006-12-09

Its great to have flowing water for cats. My cats love running water from the faucet. The water in this fountain is not running, though, but flows down a slope, so its difficult for the cats to even see the water running. My cats didnt drink from the part where the water was running. I later bought a different flowing water pet fountain that runs more like a faucet, but we no longer use that one either because it is plastic and our vet recommended that cats should only eat and drink out of glass bowls, not plastic. Apparently the plastic containers can cause irritations. One of my cats had a swollen lip and the vet suspected the plastic water dish as the culprit. Too bad no one has made a glass flowing water fountain!
Meow     On: 2006-12-08

Maybe it is just my cats, but for some reason they like to drink from running water instead of just a water dish. My cats will try to drink from anything I have for decoration that involves running water. I dont know about all the filtering the water and stuff, but they seem to like the fact that the water moves. I thought cats hated water. I asked the cats for a comment to post here and all they said was "meow meow".
Leaks like crazy--poor design     On: 2006-12-07

Weve had a terrible time with this fountain. The water is pumped into a chamber that goes up over the seam where the top of the fountain joins with the bottom, and this seam often leaks. Poor design.
Great fountain     On: 2006-12-07

My cats love this fountain because it keeps the water fresh. I love this fountain because its quiet and easy to clean. I usually clean it once a week and change the filter twice a week. To clean it I usually soak it in a bleach/water solution for ten or fifteen minutes, and then use dishsoap and water and a baby bottle brush to clean it. I have owned this fountain for about eight years, and at first, the filter stopped working after just a couple of months. Iwas dissapointed and almost threw it in the trash, but I figure it might just need a good cleaning and took it apart to see if I could clean it with vinegar. It worked!! Now, I keep the pump in perfect condition by once a month filling a bowl with vinegar and submerging the pump in it, then I plug in the pump and let it run for 1/2 an hr or so to get rid of any mineral build up. Once this is done, I unplug the pump, rinse it, and put it back in the fountain. My fountain works like new. The only reason I gave this product a four star is because this unit doesnt hold as much water as the Drinkwell fountain. I wish they would redesing it with a larger water capacity.
Pump malfunction     On: 2006-12-02

We had one of these for about six years and finally it started to leak. I may have been at fault since we had to use "lime away" twice a year to get the scale out of it. I performed that maintenance for four years without a problem. Since the cat always loved this device, I thought Id buy a new one. Well it worked great for a month then started to make noise after a few hours like it was out of water. Something wrong with the pump apparently, I havent had the time to disect it. My resourceful wife put the pump from the old unit in and its been fine ever since.
Cat approved!     On: 2006-11-30

We bought this for our cat a couple weeks ago and it has been great. I really wasnt too sure of what to expect, but figured wed give it a shot. Its less than $30 so why not right? It was slightly confusing putting everything where it belonged because the directions in the box are for the one youre getting as well as their deluxe kit, which you are to skip over. After it was all done and running, our cat couldnt wait to check it out! Right away he was drinking the water and sometimes at night I catch him trying to play/fish in it! It really doesnt make much noise at all. The sound of the water stream is actually pretty soothing. If it makes any noise then you need to fill up the water reservoir. I have no problems with this and I love the fact that its filtering his water. We all love it!
Only if you really take the time to clean it     On: 2006-11-17

Own a couple of these cat fountains and they arent worth it. It is affordable and very quiet, but that is the only thing going for it. The resevoir, as has already been stated in previous reviews, is a horror to clean. It gets filled with scum frequently and therefore needs to be cleaned often. The filters are a waste too. I would give it a NO STARS if allowed. Unless you are going to really thoroughly clean it every 2 or 3 days your cat is going to be drinking disgusting water.
Poor Design     On: 2006-11-15

I have a cat that splashes water all over the kitchen even when the water is refreshed several times a day. Out of desperation I tried this fountain for her. It stopped the splashing, thank goodness, but now I had new problems.

The reservoir is too small and if you dont check it constantly it will go dry and that ruins the motor--not to mention it is impossible to see the water level through the blue plastic unless you crouch down on the floor right next to it!

Hardwater scale builds up and is difficult to remove. It is very difficult to clean. I hated the fuss of cleaning it all the time and trying to watch it to make sure it didnt go dry. You cant even put it in the dishwasher! I had a hard time finding replacement filters for it too. After only 3 months it stopped working. I went out and found a gravity fed water bowl that uses an air pump (like for a fish tank) to oxygenate the water and keep it moving/bubbling around. No fountain, but the cat doesnt seem to mind and the splashing is still under control. Also I can put this one in the dishwasher and it is just so much easier to clean even by hand. I think it even cost a little bit less than this fountain. It holds tons more water too--and it wont die if it should happen to go dry. Keep this in mind when you are looking for this type of product for your cats.

By the way, my dogs have NEVER drank from either one--they dont even seem to know it is there, right under their nose, so the marketing to dogs is just plain silly. I only had one cat at the time the fountain died by the way. Just not a good design, not a good product.
Petmate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain     On: 2006-11-09

Excellent product. Just wish there were a way to replace the pump when it dies. If there is a way, Id surely like to know how.
Petmate     On: 2006-11-09

This product is extremely quiet. My cat loves it and its great because it encourages her to drink more.
just waterfull     On: 2006-11-09

my cat would not drink from a regular bowl and she just loves to drink from the fountain it keeps the water fresh and cleen
I didn't think I had scardy cats . . .     On: 2006-11-09

After operating the Petmate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain for a month my 2 cats wont go anywhere near it. Very disappointing!!
Cat Fountain was an excellent purchase I made.     On: 2006-11-09

Petmate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain works perfectly with my cat. Keeps water cool and fresh. My cat loves it.
Excellent, easy to use product     On: 2006-11-06

After using the Fresh Flow Cat Fountain for a few months, my cats have adjusted to it well and it seems to be working perfectly. My vet recommended a fountain for one of my cats due to a slight kidney problem and this really seemed to do the trick to get her to drink more water from her bowl instead of from the sink faucets. The entire fountain comes apart easily for cleaning with soap and water (about once a week will keep it running smoothly without clogs) and the adjustable pump works great.
Good cleaning; big noise     On: 2006-11-05

I really like the fountain. Its pretty easy to clean and I like its white color. However, as time goes by, I find the motor is getting louder. I have cleaned the motor thoroughly but the noise continues. In the meantime, it keeps the water circulating and my cat drinks from it so I like it. I just wish I could figure out how to quiet it down like it was when I first got it.
2 thumbs up!     On: 2006-11-05

It works really well, my friend uses one for her 2 cats, I have one for my llhasa apso, and all three animals love it. The only problem is you have to take the unit apart when you want to clean the motor. Other than that, its fantastic!
Cat flowing fountain water dish     On: 2006-11-03

I bought this cat water bowl not expecting a huge change in my two cats drinking habits. But, after an initial stage of ignoring the bowl, both cats now use it, and drink very enthusiastically. One of my cats is 15. I know its important to keep older cats drinking water frequently, so this purchase has been quite sucessful.

Camille Hopkins
Running Water     On: 2006-11-02

My three cats only drank water from my bathtub but now will only drink from this cat fountain. They love it and I love saving money on my water bill each month. A real hit at my house!
I would recommend this product     On: 2006-11-02

I purchased the Fresh Flow Fountain because one of my cats is very picky about the water he drinks. He was refusing to drink the water I put out for him in a bowl, and would try to drink out of my husbands and my cups when we put them down. We have 2 cats and 2 small dogs, and they all love drinking the water from the fountain. They were all a little nervous about using it at first, but it didnt take long for them to adjust. My only complaint is that with 4 animals drinking from the same fountain, the pump becomes clogged pretty quickly and the filters need to be replaced frequently. It is very easy to clean and maintain.
clogged     On: 2006-10-20

If you do not take this apart and clean everday cat hair seems to clog up the pump. if I was to design this product you would think the filter would go before the pump to keep trash or cat hair from entering the pump. Would be a great product without that one problem.
The Bubbler is better     On: 2006-10-19

I once had a Fresh Flow and it quickly got dirty mostly with cat hair. The other reviews are correct in saying it is very difficult to clean.

I just received a fountain called The Bubbler which was recommended by another reader at Amazon. Fantastic product and I would highly recommend getting this instead of the Fresh Flow or the Drinkwell.

It does NOT have water filtration, which is fine with me. I think the other two fountains have to have filters to help with all the cat hair that gets stuck in it.

Instead, The Bubbler has a base, a one-gallon reservoir, an external pump, and a hose. Those are all the parts! The reservoir is cleverly designed so I DIDNT SPILL A DROP while placing the reservoir on the base. It looks like both main parts are heavy plastic and dishwasher-safe. Im sure the small hose can be run under hot water with soap and that does it for cleaning. Since the pump is external and doesnt actually come into contact with the water...it doesnt clog and NEVER NEEDS TO BE CLEANED.

The pump simply pushes air to two hoses that emerge from the bottom of the base. This creates bubbling action in the bowl. Its very quiet from fifteen feet away while I type this, I can barely hear it. It sounds like a far-off hum from here, and something bubbling up close. The pump doesnt make any noise that I can hear AT ALL!.

I needed a fountain because my kitties dont drink enough water. I dont care if its filtered water or not, I dont mind cleaning the bowl. The Bubbler creates the movement that is already attracting them to drink more. So far Im very pleased.

Unlike the other reader who commented, I was not able to find The Bubbler at the grocery store for $15. I paid about $32 including shipping and Im very happy with the results.
Slimy, nasty and hard to clean     On: 2006-10-11

My cats like the fountain, when it is first cleaned and refilled. Within a couple of hours, though, they are back at the sink drinking out of the faucet again. The reason is that the pump builds up slime in any crack or crevice and the pump is not strong enough to filter out any debris other than hair. The slime is difficult to remove, requiring daily cleaning, and there are parts of the pump that are almost inaccessible using ordinary cleaning methods. The tube leading from the pump up to the filter is so narrow at the lower end, the only thing I could find to get in there was a q-tip. It needs refilling, even with the attached resevoir full, within 24 hours. And to clean it it has to be totally disassembled. If you use bottled water in it, the slime builds up slower, but it still needs refilling every 24 hours. Overall, it takes too much maintenance for my time schedule.
Cat loves it; too much trouble     On: 2006-10-05

My cat really enjoys this item; I do not. The flow lever broke off completely soon after I purchased it. It makes a lot of noise sometimes, especially if the water level gets too low. The pump is often full of cat fur. Still, if youre willing to put up with maintaining the fountain, your cat may love it as much as mine does. The filters are hard to find. (I dont use them anymore.) Wendell DOES drink from the slide and really loves his fountain, so I guess its worth it.
Great for a while but then it falters     On: 2006-09-04

I loved this item for a long time. It is quiet and not unattractive. But, I have had it for a year or so, and now it is not working. The pump seems to be broken, because when I add water to the resevoir it stops flowing and sometimes days later it will suddenly turn back on. It is also difficult to clean in certain parts that are hard to access for scrubbing, but good at trapping orange mold. I also bought one for my neighbor a while back and her cats refused to use it.
Fresh Flow Cat Fountain     On: 2006-08-30

One of my 2 cats always drinks out of the fountain so I thought this would be a great alternative to turning on the sink every time Im in the bathroom. Well, I still have to turn on the sink but I do know that he enjoys drinking from the PetMate much more than the old plain bowl I had before. The water is constantly refreshed and you dont have to refill the water nearly as often. I would recommend this product to all cat lovers.
Great     On: 2006-08-28

My cats love this. The moving water actually helps cool it off which my cats prefer. Since buying it 8 months ago, both of my cats have ceased drinking from the toilet bowl after I flush it (they love that cool, moving water). Yes, it accumlates fur, but as long as you clean it thoroughly once a week (takes 5-10 minutes), everything is fine. The motor is incredibly quiet if you have the item assembled properly . After taking it apart and putting it back together, sometimes you have to do it again if it is noisy. Not a big deal since THE CATS LOVE IT!

The only complaint I have is that the charcoal filter is AFTER the motor... so it doesnt filter out any fur or other gunk from the motor.... which is why you have to disassemble the motor (VERY easy) in your cleaning process once a week.
Wow!     On: 2006-08-27

I am pleased to say that I love this cat fountain. The drinking water where I live is not so great, so I have been buying Publix drinking water for my cat to drink so the regular water gives her the scoots. I tried this petflow product with the regular water and it really does purify!! I am so thankful that I bought this product!
Great     On: 2006-08-27

My cats love this. The moving water actually helps cool it off which my cats prefer. Since buying it 8 months ago, both of my cats have ceased drinking from the toilet bowl after I flush it (they love that cool, moving water). Yes, it accumlates fur, but as long as you clean it thoroughly once a week (takes 5-10 minutes), everything is fine. The motor is incredibly quiet if you have the item assembled properly . After taking it apart and putting it back together, sometimes you have to do it again if it is noisy. Not a big deal since THE CATS LOVE IT!

The only complaint I have is that the charcoal filter is AFTER the motor... so it doesnt filter out any fur or other gunk from the motor.... which is why you have to disassemble the motor (VERY easy) in your cleaning process once a week.
Broke down right away     On: 2006-08-25

My cat loved to fountain but it broke down after just a month. We cleaned it out but it has never worked again although I have seen advice on soaking it in vinegar.
Disappointed     On: 2006-08-15

Good for a few weeks. Now it starts to make loud girdling noises. Now the water seems to SLOWLY leak. Water ran well when I first got it but after a few weeks (3 weeks) the water seems to stop running (now only leaking drip by drip). The girdling sound is so loud that it scares my cat. I put enough water in this thing but I really do not know why the machine is not pump smoothly and powerfully even at max setting. Waste of money.
Healthier Pets     On: 2006-08-12

My cats started drinking a lot more water after I bought this. The intention of this product is to mimic flowing water. Cats love water movement,they are attracted to it and want to drink it. The more water they drink, the healthier they are. Try it, your cats will love it too.
Recommended by our vet, and definitely helped!     On: 2006-08-11

We got a kitten from the pound that was very malnourished. A few weeks passed, but he still seemed really lethargic and skinny. I finally took Peko into the vet, who said he was really dehydrated. She suggested that we get a pet water fountain, where the water is running, and I swear to you, Pekos all happily-hydrated. I never wouldve thought that it would appeal so much to a cat, but both our cats are hooked on it. So, its worked great. And yeah, its on sale now, but we paid a good $40 for it (still worth it at that price).
Willow seems to like her new cat fountain.     On: 2006-08-10

Im thinking the water would be even tastier if she washed her feet somewhere else. But it is easy enough to care for.
Petmate Purchase     On: 2006-08-07

Product was received quickly and works great! My cats love their new water dish! Thanks!
Very good product     On: 2006-08-04

I have been fairly happy with this bowl for my five cats and they seem to like it. It has lasted at least a few years and is still working fine. At one point, I thought the switch or the pump was dying when it wouldnt always start after cleaning. However, I discovered (and it might even be in the manual) that the turbine can be pulled out of the pump housing with fingernails or lifted with a small screwdriver and should be examined for build-up every few months or so and cleaned, if necessary. Mine has never leaked. The clear water reservoir has a slight build-up of algae that is visible, but nothing serious. I always run it with the valve completely open for maximum circulation. Cleaning it is obviously a little more involved than a simple bowl, but that is sort of a necessary evil considering this isnt a simple bowl. Cat hair will get sucked into the pump inlet and need to be removed. I generally clean mine every two weeks. It requires filter replacement about every month. My only negatives would be the extra work cleaning it and the cost of the replacement filters, but overall, it has been well worth it for my kids.
Dependable Product     On: 2006-08-02

Weve owned this cat water fountain for 3 years and it is still working properly. It does require a thorough cleaning twice a week, including taking the pump apart to remove cat hair. Our kitties love it and we dont worry about them drinking enough water when we leave home overnight.
Even though im a kid, I know more about theese things than you may think: This product is great!!     On: 2006-07-27

My cat has a problem with drinking water. He has to have it straight fomr the sink. He didnt get enough water becuase we couldnt leave the sink running. My mom brought this home, i set it up, and he thought it was fresh water all day long straight from the sink. He drinks much more water now and he is very healthy. This product is very good.
Dissapointed     On: 2006-07-26

I purchased this item and from the beginning I could not prevent it from leaking all over my hardwood floor. Even though I clean the filter often and adjusted the pump per other peoples suggestions, it still seems to leak around the back of the unit. The only way to use it is to apply tape on the back to seal up where the water container sits on top of the housing for the pump. I would not recommend this unit. I ended up throwing mine away and went back to the bowl.
UPDATE - Fountain doing much better     On: 2006-07-24

I reviewed this fountain a while back, when I was having a great deal of trouble keeping the pump going. The filter clogged easily and it was always noisy. What I later found out, purely by accident, is that by adjusting the lever that extends through from the pump, you can control the water flow. With stronger water flow, the fountain works much more efficiently. This is odd, because the directions never mention this; in fact, they suggest you set up the fountain with the lever in almost a closed position.

After several months using increased water flow, the fountain has been trouble free. The water stays fresh and theres no noise at all. And with four cats, anything that only has to be cleaned once a week is a pleasure.
not impressed     On: 2006-07-22

I have two long-haired cats, and within a week the pump was completely clogged. The little grate that keeps hair out of the pump is almost useless. Taking it completely apart and cleaning did restore flow for a bit, but now, after a couple of months, even that doesnt work anymore. The waterfall has slowed to a trickle, and I suspect the pump is just about dead. Also, the bottle only holds a day or so of water, so for longer trips, I have to break out my old gravity-feed bottle anyway.
Extremely disappointed     On: 2006-07-21

This unit was very disappointing in that the pump is inadequate to keep the water flowing and requires constant attention. I would not recommend this to anyone.
Suggestion for improment     On: 2006-07-20

The product is great for the cats. Make it better for the cat owners by eliminating all the sharp angles from the plastic pieces. They cut!
Disposable pump, grows slime     On: 2006-07-19

When this fountain is freshly cleaned, the cats love it. The water does stay cool. But cat hair -- lots of THAT around here -- clogs the pump, and if the whole thing is not taken apart and completely cleaned with a toothbrush weekly, it grows slime. Eeeeuuuw. The first pump lasted about three months, then the replacement lasted about a month. Not really worth it, because the picky fussy cat would really rather drink from the toilet anyway.
VERY Satisfied with waterer     On: 2006-07-16

GREAT FEATURES:
~ Adjustable flow ... NOT noisy, esp. on lowest setting; barely hear it.
~ Both my cats love flowing, oxygenated water. Healthier too.
~ Sturdy unit comes apart completely and can be cleaned thoroughly.
~ Filters can be reused [if not let go too long]: Rinse well, soak in mild bleach solution, then in purified water. Let dry thoroughly.
~ Waterer has never run dry on me as it gets noisier when water is low.
~ Well worth the $$ (sometimes found on sale).
~ TIP: Stays cleaner longer when placed in low traffic area and floor kept reasonably swept.

OTHER ELEMENTS, but I DONT MIND THEM:
~ Needs to be topped off w/ water periodically due to evaporation (esp. with A/C going)-- pour directly into bowl and/or refill side receptacle (I like to refresh it anyway).
~ TIP: To extend time between thorough cleanings: Empty unit water, wipe clean w/ plain paper towel, rinse & shake filter, Refill. (Pump and housing do need to be periodically taken apart and thoroughly cleaned).
~ Proper cleaning takes a little patience, but I dont mind as my cats deserve a healthy clean source of water (we use R/O filter water).
~ If the disconnect piece in the cord had been made closer to the unit the cord would not need to be rehidden after cleaning.

The person who complained about the waterer may have been using tap water, which is questionable for cat health anyway.
Clean Water, but.......     On: 2006-07-02

Does the job but makes noise, cats were a little freaked out at first but got used to it.
Petmate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain     On: 2006-06-30

This product is awesome! My cat loves the fresh water and constant running water. She used to beg me to turn on the sink for her, but now she has her own running water. This is great!
PET FOUNTAIN REVIEW     On: 2006-06-30

REALLY LIKE THE PRODUCT, QUIET, EASY TO SET UP, MY CAT LIKED IT IMMEDIATELY, AND NOT TOO FIDDLY TO CLEAN OCCASIONALLY. ALSO PRETTY STURDY.
petmate fresh flow cat fountain     On: 2006-06-29

Excellent product. Fast shipping. Am not disappointed at all.
Work well so far     On: 2006-06-27

* Purchased at PetSmart
* Seems to work well
* Very quiet when operating properly
* Took our cats a little over a week to get used to it
* The flow isnt very good when the setting is low. We keep it at medium.
* I clean it out about once a week. Cat hair from our medium-haired cat builds up and can clog the motor and scum forms on the sides of the drinking well.
Back to the drawing board / The emporer wears no clothes     On: 2006-06-21

If the idea was to keep the water cleaner longer, I applaud that and encourage further development. But this thing requires daily water changing and maintenance --much more than an ordinary bowl requires-- so whats the point?

I know everyone is going to jump all over me for this review, but at no time is the water in this fountain any cleaner than that in an ordinary bowl. The flow is barely enough to filter out a few hairs, but not most food particles, which are heavy enough to sink to the bottom. And unlike a bowl, it has to be disassembled to get all the old water and junk out of it! It uses electrity, to boot.

Except for immediately after cleaning, the walls of the filter chamber are coated with some kind of smelly transparent slime, and its gross. The cheap, uncleanable filter replenishes the culture, which is nourished by food particles. This things a water slide for pathogenic microbes. I would not wish this on anybody or any cat. This product "isnt there yet."
Takes some maintenance, but nice for the cats     On: 2006-06-13

Cats like moving water. So do birds. The water is fresher and they appreciate a good, tasty drink. We started with an inverted reservoir bubbler but the passive flow led to algae growth. This device, as long as you keep it full, is a lot nicer for the cats and keeps them amused. They seem to appreciate it; were still waiting for a thank-you note, but our cats have etiquette issues still not fully resolved. Meanwhile, we think it was a good thing for them.
Water fountain     On: 2006-06-02

This fountain is cool! I like it because a cat or a dog can use it. It is nice because I dont have to fill it up that much and that it makes an awsome fountain for my house. I like it a lot!! :)
Perfect, but make sure you clean it regularly     On: 2006-05-26

I got this to encourage my cat to stay hydrated. My cat doesnt particularly have an affinity for water (never drinks out of the toilet, doesnt play in the sink faucets), but he really liked this. At first, he drank from the pool at the bottom. Now he prefers the water spilling down the slide. Make sure you take the product apart to clean it at least weekly, especially if you find yourself fishing out cat food from the pump entrance occasionally - the first time I pulled the pump out for cleaning, I found food debris trapped there.
Love/Hate     On: 2006-05-24

I have had mine for about 4 years. I do notice that my cats drink more with a fountain versus a bowl of water and that one of the cats likes to look at it. However, this thing is a royal pain! I take it apart every 3-4 weeks and clean the extremely tight spots with a childrens toothbrush. There always seems to be brownish crude in it. Not sure what that is. I also take the pump apart, per the directions given to me by a customer service rep at Petmate. I soak the pump assembly in hot water and white vinegar. Do not use commercial cleaning products because they are toxic to animals. There is always hair in the pump that causes clogs and contributes to this horrible dry sucking noise. I get really nervous when I walk in the house after a long day at work and hear the dry sucking noise. This means that the water in no longer in the tank but rather all over my kitchen floor. Not sure if its one of my 2 cats that spills the water or something else. But it does happen at night when I know that the cats are not smashing into it. I do know that if for some reason the unit is not entirely making contacts at all of the points, it will leak. Also, if the filter is not in just so, it will leak. This means more dry sucking. Dry sucking will burn the motor out and possibly short causing a fire? I am at the point now of looking for another brand because I am truly afraid of coming home to a fire. Again, I am a neat freak and clean this thing regularly. I thought about getting another one, but after reading other reviews, I may try the Drinkwell. Be careful.
Pump is disposable     On: 2006-05-20

This unit looks nice, and at first the pump was barely audible. Although my cat wouldnt go near it, I thought in time she would learn. Then the pump got loud enough that she was afraid to go near her food as well. There was enough water in the bowl but the pump struggled, and after a few minutes, failed to move the water at all. Im not sure of the price of pumps, but Im not about to buy a new one every 24 hours to keep this fountain running.

Reading reviews of comparably priced fountains, it seems that quality is hit or miss -- mine missed. Take your chances and maybe youll have better luck.
Diabetic Cat Drinks Exclusively From This     On: 2006-05-03

Asking my 3 cats: One rejects this for regular bowl, another goes either way, but my diabetic cat ONLY DRINKS FROM THIS FOUNTAIN--so for that reason alone, Im thankful for this fountain. In the last 1-2 years Ive had 3, maybe 4, of these fountains because past pumps stopped working after 3 or 4 months, but this present fountains lasted 6 months so far. Low maintenance: filters work well and are easy to change and fountains easy to clean. We have not tried the alternative Drinkwell fountain, whose water freefalls, however the cats have tried and unanimousely rejected those bubbler water reservoir contraptions. (update: see customer image of BooBoo bypassing waterbowl for the Petmate Fountain)
My kitten loves it...Too much!     On: 2006-04-10

My kitten just adores this Fresh Flow fountain. I noticed that she kept drinking out of the sink and bathtub, so I figured that shed really like a fountain. However, many of the models I looked at were quite expensive. When I looked at this one I figured it sounded like a bargain, and I am actually quite impressed with the quality for the price. On the lowest setting you can barely even hear it. The higher settings were a little too fun looking to my cat, so she just played in it instead of actually drinking it, so I wouldnt recommend those. The one thing that I dont like about this fountain is that it is quite lightweight, therefore my kitten pushes it around on the floor. Suction cups or something sticky on the bototm would have been a good idea. After quite a few messes on my tile floor, I moved it to the carpet where it cant slide as easily. If you have an active kitten/cat I definitely recommend putting it somewhere where it wont slide. Otherwise, this is a great product, and my kitten certainly loves it!
kitty tested mommy approved     On: 2006-04-10

My three feline children love their water fountains. They have two fountains at my house.

PROS:
1. The cats drink more water because they seem to be attracted to the flowing aspect of the water. Additional water consumption is good for cats and people.
2. Since the water is filtered it is fresher and cleaner than a bowl of water.

CONS:
1. There are little crevices that are very difficult to clean. I have resorted to using a steam cleaner to thoroughly clean the fountain once a week. On a daily basis I use a small brush and mild dish soap. Then I allow the fountain to thoroughly dry to eliminate any bacteria that were not removed with soap and water before refilling with water.
2. Because the sides are low one of my felines manages to splash significant quantities of water out of the bowl as he drinks leaving a little river on the floor. I have found that placing the fountain in a half sheet pan solves this problem but gives me something else to clean.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS:
1. I have not had any difficulty with algae in the bowl or feline acne. This may to due to my fastidious cleaning routine.
2. I have also not had any problems with pumps malfunctioning. But I do take the fountains apart completely every day and clean them, including the pump intakes.
3. I change the filter every month, just as I do for our household water filter. No sense in risking bacterial growth for a less than $2 a filter.

In summation I enjoy this product, because the felines enjoy it. It is not maintenance free, but does result in kittys that consume more fresh water. If you dont mind 5 minutes of additional work a day I would recommend the product.

Most important, the cats love it     On: 2006-04-02

I bought this for my 3 cats, Harley, Jazzie, and Sinbad almost two years ago and they love it. Sinbad was hyperthyroid and he needed to drink more water and this seemed to help. Also, when I went looking for the filters I found them on the amazon.com website and bought a box of 10. It is a great feeling knowing my kitties are getting fresh water and I clean it about once a week. I find it easy to clean and sterilize in the bathroom tub. Whenever you have more than one cat, this is a great item.
Great, but potential for feline acne     On: 2006-03-31

I loved this fountain in the time I was able to use it. It functions well and isnt too hard to clean or deal with if you are committed to helping your animals get filtered, aerated water, which most animals prefer.
The problem is that the plastic breaks down over time and gets into the water and they drink it, which can lead to bacterial infections IN SOME CATS, most commonly "kitty zits" or feline acne. (NOTE: "Fastidious cleaning" -- mentioned in the review above -- wont prevent eventual breakdown of plastic. The particle breakdown here, which took about eight months, has nothing to do with "clean.") Three of our four cats ended up with various degrees of the acne on their chins, and despite a topical cream to help aleviate the symptoms, the acne didnt go away until we got rid of the fountain. The acne can come from food allergies and a few other things youll probably never be able to pinpoint, but my vet said it was likely the fountains breakdown of plastics that was the culprit.
So... while it works great and our cats loved it, the eventual breakdown of materials forced us to replace it. Unfortunately, all the fountains out there are made of plastic. So, until they make one of ceramic or something else, well be buying a new one every 6-12 months from now on to avoid getting our cats sick.
Fresh Flow. Yay? Or Nay?     On: 2006-03-30

When I got this product I paid nearly $40 for it. It came with 2 charcoal filters to clean the water that your cat drinks. The pump inside the unit takes up one plug and also keeps the water cool. Now, if your cat spills some food in it or a bug falls in it, it wont filter. ( -1 Four Stars) It will stay in the dish on the bottom and you have to take it out. Also there is a compartment that is blue and stores water, however it hold a very small amount. When I fill it up in about a day it needs more water. You know when it needs more water when you hear the gurgling sound it makes. (-1 Three Stars)It is very quiet when it is filled with water though. Ive noticed that the charcoal filters only last about a month. ( I think they are $6 if you go out and buy a replacement. Dont worry the filters are very small. Overall I would give it a yay. Try it to see if you like it. If you dont you can return it.
fresh flow countain     On: 2006-03-23

this product is a good concept, but does require the owner to maintain it on a daily basis. Foor, hair and general debris will collect in the filter area, and the area where the pump connects to the water channeling control lever. If this is not maintained and the entire product cleaned on a regular basis (for one pet, as often as every 3 days; for more than one pet user, every day is essential, to keep the water fresh. The resevoir has a limited capacity for fresh water, so keeping a supply of new filters on hand is also strongly recommended. It has been helpful to us and our pets, because the water is fresh, and there is usually no problem with overflow or leakage. All in all, for what you get, its a fair price and a decent enough product.
not so quiet     On: 2006-03-21

i want to give this a higher rating as it is reasonably priced and fulfills a niche that is necessary. my particular machine at least is not so "ultra quiet". i read the manual and tried their suggestions about how to make it less noisy. i think the noticeable noise is just part of the design. it is definitely noticeable when the living room gets quiet. i know they could have designed this to be truly "ultra quiet". too bad. i probably end up junking this machine when the annoyance of the machine grows to be too much. i bought it so cheap at $16.99, that it is not worth the hassle to package and ship it back.
Money Wasted on Kitty     On: 2006-03-21

This product does not displace the cats desire to drink out of the kitchen faucet. The unit makes enough noise to be distracting in a quiet room (not a "fountain" noise, but rather a "motor" noise.) We used a large pyrex measuring cup to fill the fountain . . . the cat was more interested in drinking the remaining water out of the pyrex cup afterwards. Clever idea, but Id recommend against it.
Love it! My cat is drinking more water than ever!     On: 2006-03-21

I really like the Fresh Flow Cat Fountain - it is was easy to put together and it is quiet. My cat is definitely drinking a lot more water!
Great product     On: 2006-03-21

My two cats love this. Not only is it more hygenic, it saves me time from constantly changing dirty water dishes. Everyone wins and its fairly priced. Very happy with purchase.
Great at First - But Lasted Only Four Months     On: 2006-03-21

I received the PetMate FreshFlow in November, 2005, and put it to work right away. My wife and I have six cats, ranging from longhair to shorthair to haireverywhere, and I am pretty sure they all drank from it. They became accustomed to it very quickly, the youngest being absolutely fascinated by it. The entire time, I also had a high-capacity gravity-fed waterer in another room, so it wasnt the only source of water being used.

Most noticible is that the FreshFlow is almost silent when the water is topped off, but if the water level falls, there is a very discernable motorized-gurgling noise. This goes away as soon as you refill the reservoir tank by removing the lid, pulling out the tank (which reminds me a bit of a gerbil waterer on steroids), unscrewing the cap, filling it up, then doing all this in reverse; a 30-second process.

The gurgling happens every day, and I would rinse the unit every couple/few days, and completely wash the unit out once every two weeks. I also changed the filter regularly, at least once a month. Beyond this, I made a point of pulling cat hair away from the little plastic screen in the water bowl, well, all the time. In short, I thought I did a pretty good job in maintaining the equipment. Any more than what I did, and honestly, I would rather buy surgical steel dishes and rotate them on a daily basis for the cats use.

Still, after taking the machine apart completely every few weeks to clean as instructed, the submersible pump failed after exactly 19 weeks and three days of use. I liked the machine... when it was working.

I just purchased a pet fountain from a different company (I cant recall the make offhand... I should be receiving it soon) that ran in the $40 neighborhood, and I think it will be worth the extra money, but time will tell.

All in all, I dont think this purchase was worth it. Maybe its because of all the cats and cat hair, but for those of us at least who do have a multiple cat household, I think its wise to consider buying a higher-scale unit.
Kitties Love This     On: 2006-03-18

Weve had ours for about two years now with no problems whatsoever. I wash it by hand once a week. Once a month I dismantle the entire unit and put the parts (minus the pump) in the dishwasher for a good cleaning. If you do this make sure the dishwasher is set to air-dry. I also remove the slotted part of the pump that controls the water flow and pull out the magnetic impeller from time to time to clean the gunk out of there. This might help prolong the life of the pump.
Perfect for the working person with a pet     On: 2006-03-10

I bought one of the Petmate Fountains for myself & one for my mother. My cat really loves it & adapted quite well very quickly. The pump does make a small humming noise. I am not sure if it is because it is in my kitchen & on ceramic tile but my mothers also does the same thing.

My mothers cats (she has three) getting used to it was a different story. None of them drank from it for days (they were afraid of it). However, now all of them use it & it really is better for them health wise.

My best advice to anyone wanting to buy it is to make sure it has enough water (covering the hole to the pump completely) all of the time. The pump is considerably louder when not enough water is in it so that is a big indicator to add water. Also, to make sure it is clean & that no excess cat hair or food gets in it without cleaning it out right away.

I check on it every other day & add water at that time, too. I would say that the reservoir is not very large to hold a substantial amount of water & that is a downside to this fountain. I also work allot & this allows for my cat to get enough water daily. All in all, a good find & I am glad I made the purchase.
Good little cat fountain     On: 2006-03-09

I bought this because one of my male cats almost died from an emergency urinary blockage a couple of years ago. I thought this fountain might encourage him to drink more. It took my cats a few weeks to really get used to it, but now they seem to drink from it regularly (I left a regular bowl out just in case). The unit is almost silent in its operation, and is relatively easy to refill. I havent cleaned the motor yet, which is recommended regularly. Otherwise, it seems to do the trick. Its not too big, and was fairly inexpensive. Im not sure how long the little motor lasts, I guess even if it only lasts a year it would be worth the $19.99 price.
Yay! Fresh Cat Breath!     On: 2006-03-08

Ever since I got my pet mate my cats breath has been fresh as the water she drinks. Good product, But I wonder how long the water pump will last.
BSVSS Enterprises LOVES this thing!     On: 2006-03-03

My human bought this for the 4 of us 5 years ago and we LOVE it. My big sister thinks that it is the most awesome thing on earth (besides Wisker Likins). Anytime one of us goes to drink from it there is a stampeed because the others get jealous, so we all tend to crowd around it, similar to water cooler talk at our Moms office. Mom says that its easy to clean and had to replace the pump once, because I chewed through the cord, now it is bundled up and covered in bubble wrap so if I try to chew it the bubbles pop and remind me not to do it. I have a urinary problem and it is much better because I can drink fresh flowing distilled water anytime of day. Mom cleans it once a week and even found a special tray for it in case my sisters spill, which they do often. I hope that other humans buy this for their cats too! Trust me, they will feel like you are giving them the royal treatment... fresh water all the time! Sincerely, Prince Salemm Arthur
Watch your Cats     On: 2006-02-25

I really cant say the product was bad as much as my cat didnt like it. In fact, he disliked it so much that he stopped drinking water altogether and made himself very sick. Make sure when you change products to something new that you observe your pets - I didnt realize my cat wasnt drinking the water because he didnt like how it tasted through this new system.
I'm very happy with this fountain.     On: 2006-02-09

Ive had a very good experience with this fountain. My long-haired cat got used to quickly and Ive been impressed with how little maintenance it requires. Its also very, very quiet. It sits next to my bed and I dont even think about it. Only when the water level starts to bottom out in the bowl does the pump start to spout some air bubbles, but that can serve as a subtle reminder that its time to refill.

Though the resevoir is slightly small, I find I can easily go 4-5 days before needing to refill it. The bowl itself does not seem to collect a lot of crud. Or if it does, its getting swept into the filter somehow.

I purchased this and the Petmate Fresh Flow Ramp Feeder on the same night. The feeder is a great product as well.
Petmate cat fountain     On: 2006-02-01

Wonderful product- I thought my cats would take some time to get used to it, but no problem there. They drink more water than they used to-thats got to be a good thing healthwise. One likes to drink from the top-shes a faucet drinker- the others like the pool area. Id recommend this product highly-the price was very reasonable too.
NOW it is five stars     On: 2006-01-31

Update: Now that Ive been using this for almost a month, I gotta say the "kids" and I love it. They are drinking much more water, and the pump is fine since it was replaced. I saw on another review (but I think it may have been for the drinkwell) that if you sit it on a towel, it makes it quieter. I found no problems with the one I have on a placemat on the kitchen floor, but the one on carpet in the basement would make a little noise. I had a friend cut an old piece of paneling I had for it to sit on and its been fine ever since. I actually think it was making noise because it wasnt on a solid surface. Now both are extremely quiet. By the way, it took over two weeks for Petmate to send the new pump, but it did arrive.


At $19.99, I purchased 3 of these, one for upstairs, downstairs and one for my sister. I hooked the first one up and it worked great. Within 5 minutes my male cat was "checking it out" and actually drank from it. Works perfectly and absolutely silent.

Now that the one has been running for a few days, I decided to hook up the 2nd. No matter what I did, the pump made a humming sound. If I put pressure on it, it would stop, but even though it was in securely, it was humming. I called customer service before trying to return it. I told her it was brand new and apparently was the pump and she is sending me a new pump. When I got home, I took the pump from the 3rd one (havent given it to my sister yet) and swapped it out. The unit is working purrfectly!

Still too new to say the cats are drinking more water, but I gotta say that Petmate has great customer service!
Ok product, nice to have extra water for the cats     On: 2006-01-26

We have two cats and they drink a ton of water. If we go away for a day or two, it is nice to know that they wont run out of water while were away.

Im not that impressed with the filtering part of the product. The fountain filters the water that comes out of the resevoir, and I thought that it would refilter the water that was in the basin at the bottom too, but it doesnt. One of my cats likes to dip his paw in the water, so his hair gets all over in there. Theyre also sort of sloppy eaters, so bits of food get in the water too. Which is fine, thats what happens with normal water dishes, but I just thought this was going to pull that water back into the filtering system and put out "fresh" water. I have to clean the basin once every three days or so to get the gunk out, which isnt awful. Its kind of cool how the water from the resevoir runs down the slop into the basin.

Since we basically use it to have extra water for the cats, next time I would just buy one of the water dishes with the extra water reservoir attached so I dont feel so let down when Im cleaning the basin.
My cats love it!!     On: 2006-01-22

My three cats; Max, Smokey and Charlie just love my new pet waterer. I was a little hesitant to buy it because Max just loves to play in the water and I didnt want a mess. The first day I had it; he sat and kept putting his paw in it but after that he hasnt played in it at all. He loves to drink right from the water slide and hell just sit and watch the water come down the slide. Smokey and Charlie have adjusted to it as well and I think all three of them are drinking more water. Ive had it for 2wks now and today I cleaned it for the first time. It was very easy to take apart, clean and reassemble. It is so nice to not have to worry about my cats having fresh water. I would highly recommend this product to any cat lover.
My cats love it!!     On: 2006-01-21

My three cats; Max, Smokey and Charlie just love my new pet waterer. I was a little hesitant to buy it because Max just loves to play in the water and I didnt want a mess. The first day I had it; he sat and kept putting his paw in it but after that he hasnt played in it at all. He loves to drink right from the water slide and hell just sit and watch the water come down the slide. Smokey and Charlie have adjusted to it as well and I think all three of them are drinking more water. Ive had it for 2wks now and today I cleaned it for the first time. It was very easy to take apart, clean and reassemble. It is so nice to not have to worry about my cats having fresh water. I would highly recommend this product to any cat lover.
Great fountain - happy cats!     On: 2006-01-19

My cats love the Petmate fountain! I purchased the fountain elsewhere and actually paid $30 for it. I think its a bargain even at the price I paid! Assembly was simple. As long as you dont let the tank run out of water it is almost completely silent. Refilling and cleaning are simple. Ive found replacement filters to be inexpensive and easy to find. Basically, Im as thrilled as my felines!

My cats love to drink from the "waterfall" - and sometimes love to splash around in it, too. The fountain big enough for both of them to drink at once, so the less aggressive cat doesnt get shoved aside so the bully can have a sip.

There is only one thing I would change in my fountain - I would have purchased one with a larger capacity. Living in Hawaii, I think the water evaporates quickly because I have to refill the tank every day. Since its easy to refill that really isnt much of a problem, but I will keep it in mind if this one ever conks out on me...
Petmate Cat Fountain is cat's meow.     On: 2006-01-17

My cat insists on fresh water...fresh from the tap right now! No sitting around in a bowl for this fellow. He wasnt getting enough water because he wouldnt drink unless he saw the bowl filled right then. Hard to do when you are at work all day. He used to drink from a decor fountain that we used during the holidays so I thought his own fountain would work for Mr Fussy.

This fountain has saved my sanity. My cat thinks the water is magically appearing on command. I dont have any sound problems like our table-top decor fountain. I make sure to keep the reservoir full and the filter clean. (with my cat I refill the reservoir 2-3 times a week)

The variable speed pump is great. It comes with an extra filter. The power cord was long enough to plug in behind the fridge and still make it over to the cats dining area. With a handy toggle switch on the cord I dont have to climb behind appliances to turn it off for filling and cleaning.

It is the best gift I have given my pet.
Not bad for the price.     On: 2006-01-09

Ive only had this product for a month, but so far, I like it. My cats were very bad about drinking from the toilet and faucets instead of out of a bowl of water set out for them, and this was a great solution. They both drink from this.

The only complaint I have is how noisy it gets- on the plus side, it lets me know when the water is getting low, but if it runs low in the middle of the night, its loud enough to wake me.
At $20, Why Not!     On: 2006-01-07

I got sooo tired of filling the water bowls for my 4 cats & they were always slimy. After my two 18 yr old females began developing health problems requiring them to drink more water, one with a thyroid condition and the other with kidney problems, I knew it was time to get one of the fountains. The pet store rep said this one is quieter so I went with it. I am very pleased. I fill it every few days depending on the weather,the cats health, etc. I clean it thoroughly weekly-including the pump as I have 2 long-haired cats, one cat who drinks with her paw, and one cat that somehow gets food in the waterbowl sometimes. One cat was a little anxious about the running water, but he came around that day. The others didnt care as the water was so tasty. They do drink so much more I broke down and ended up buying a Littermaid automatic litterbox for the 2 housebound cats! So much more water equals so much more urine! Dont think twice, your cats will benefit greatly. Do be diligent in cleaning the unit just as you were in keeping the old water bowl fresh. Meow, Meow!
Very good, but could be better. (Pump dissassembly and cleaning)     On: 2005-12-28

I have had this product for about 3 years, with virtually no problems what so ever. We have 3 shorthairs who love this. It is much more of a pain than a regular bowl, but they seem to like the water better, and I dont have to leave any sinks dripping. ;-)
My pump continues to be strong, but I do clean the entire unit at least every 2 weeks. My pump actually stopped working yesterday, but after a quick internet search I found out how to disassemble and clean the pump itself. See http://petmate.com/FreshFlowFAQ.htm for info on how to do this. This should probably be done every 6 months or so.
I gave it only 4 stars as I think it could be better. They should put the filter before the pump, so all the cat hair wont reach the pump and cause stress to the unit. Otherwise, great stuff. I have not used the drinkwell fountain, and bought this one primarly based on cost, but the cats seems to think it is ok, and that is what matters.
my cats love this!     On: 2005-12-22

one was put off by the noise at first, but now she loves it too ... cleans easily--all the parts except for the motor are dishwasher safe. the motor snaps apart for cleaning too ... am now getting another since there are occasionally lines at the fountain ...

getting one as a gift? make sure to get some filters, too.
My 4 cats love it! (216 oz size)     On: 2005-12-20

I was concerned from other reviews that it might be too noisy-after the pump fills and starts the waterfall, it is very quiet, almost inaudible. All of my cats love drinking out of it. I clean it weekly, which admittedly isnt as easy as cleaning a plain water bowl, but I think its worth the extra 10 minutes. Its funny as now they wait for me to put the fountain back vs. drinking out of a plain bowl. I use the filtered water from my refrigerator and the charcoal filters that came w/ it. The customer service from Entirely [...] was wonderful and this item arrived in a few days. I now shop directly at their web store since they carry CNET dental cat chews that really clean their teeth-Greenies get gobbled too quickly w/o any dental effect.
Has lasted years of abuse!     On: 2005-12-13

I have had this thing for over two years, and my dad had it before that. It has worked great for me and my two cats and I have never had to replace a thing on it. Every so often, maybe every other week, I have to take the entire thing apart and clean it (bottle brushes work really good for the small spots) sometimes the motor gets clogged with food and hair, but just a quick rinse takes care of that.

Overall I just love this thing. My cats are really picky with their water, they cry and bug me if they cant have fresh running water, and this is more practical than leaving the sink running :)

It has really held up well, and has been through a lot!! I highly recommend this.
Great!     On: 2005-12-05

My cats really like this fountain and it was recommended by my vet (he didnt even sell them!) I have 2 older cats and had taken one to the vet and they said he was dehydrated. While that was because of a thyroid condition, I figured this would encourge them both to drink more and it has! They both like to drink from the fountain slide and rarely have I seen them drink from the bowl. The only thing I wish for with this is a bigger resevoir. Between natural evaporation and 2 cats drinking from this, it seems like I have to fill it alot. It is keeping them out of the toilet too!
A huge hit with the cats     On: 2005-11-26

I got this as a gift and didnt know what to expect but all three of my cats love it. Though one of them will periodically bring her ping pong balls into the well to play with them in the water, all three drink from it (passing up their drinking bowls) and are drinking more water which is good news for everyone. Ours still has to be cleaned out b/c it will collect some hair and cat nip, but that is certainly not the products fault.
Nice product.     On: 2005-11-23

I like this thing. It may look like a urinal, but it is actually very nice. My cat likes it as well. Drinks from it all the time. No, he has not peed in it yet.
A rare great find     On: 2005-11-17

Ive had this freshflow fountain for 3 years now, and have never had to replace anything. I have 2 cats who love the fountain, and drink alot of water (I scoop the box, so I know.) The pump requires some mainenance, you have to unclog it when you see the water flow slowing. One time, unclogging the pump didnt solve the problem. I went to the fresh flow website to order a new pump, and they actually recommended that I try cleaning the pump internally before paying for a replacement. They gave directions right there on the site. It worked, and Im still on that same pump after 3 years. It is a rare product that impresses me, but for the low price tag, Ive got alot of use out of this little thing. I wish I could buy another, but Im still waiting this one out!
Sporko Grainger Really Likes the Fresh Flow Cat Fountain     On: 2005-11-09

Sporko was one of those cats who loved drinking from the bathtub faucet. With the purchase of the fountain, he has basically stopped going into the bathtub and begging for water. He started out drinking from the bottom of the slide and has now moved to drinking water from the top, where the water flows out. I am told that this flow of water keeps the water oxygenated, which makes sense; I can definitely attest to the fact that the fountain has kept the water colder. All this has resulted in Sporko drinking much more water than before, something everyone can agree is very important for all cats, particulary one who eats only dry food for his sensitive stomach.

I have never had a problem with noise from the fountain; it is very, very quiet. From what I understand, the pump will only make noise if there is no water in the pump, and that is easily prevented when you can see the water level in the reservoir. I usually fill the reservoir every two days, but it can probably go for about a week before it needs to be filled. Refilling the reservoir simply involves taking of a little cap on top of the fountain, lifting the reservoir itself out, and filling it with water -- you do not even have to turn off the machine, especially if there is enough water already in the fountain.

I have never had a problem with the pump or anything else clogging, and Sporko is a very hairy cat who likes to drop his toys in his water from time to time. (He is also a messy eater but it has not been a problem since a moved the food dish a little bit farther than before from the fountain.) It is probably a good idea to clean it once a week, though I have gone over a couple of weeks without cleaning. You can take apart the fountain, including the water pump, and it is a bit of a pain to clean, but not as hard as one may think. I am not sure if the built-in filter does anything, but I think it is probably a good idea to fill the fountain with filtered water anyway. Sporko the Cat recommends this product.
My cats LOVE this fountain.     On: 2005-11-07

I first started looking for a fountain when my older cat was diagnosed with urinary "stones." The vet recommended I get a fountain because Dewey needed to drink more water. I first got a competitors model, and after 2 returns, we all hated it. It was noisy, messy, and just plain didnt work right. I didnt give up, though. I finally bought the Petmate fountain. After an initial adjustment period (not frightened, just a little wary) both of my cats loved it. My cats now drink at least twice as much water as they did before I got the fountain. My cats loved it so much that I bought one for my moms cat. She loves it too.
Cheap knock-off of an innovative product. To be avoided.     On: 2005-10-31

I bought one of these several months ago. It was great for about two weeks, and since then its been nothing but trouble.

To begin with, the filter is essentially worthless. It has a few small, loosely packed granules of activated charcoal in a big bag made of white fuzzy filter material that doesnt even reliably collect the algae that inevitably form in the thing. The filters dont last months, as the instructions claim -- more like a week or two until theyre hopelessly contaminated with algae and have to be discarded lest they cause the whole bowl to gunk up.

Oh, did I mention the algae? This thing is just full of nooks and crannies that get splashed with water -- but dont stay wet or have continual flow over them -- perfect for breeding the icky green stuff. Its nearly impossible to clean it well enough to stop the growth once it starts; all you can really do is slow it down enough that -- if youre lucky -- it wont make the water taste bad or (worse) make your pets sick. In fact, we thought wed sanitized the entire thing using bleach (no easy feat, and *not* something that should be necessary) only to see the algae regrow twice before we figured out that it was even inside the pump, which we had to disassemble into 3 pieces to clean -- well, clean, more or less. Im not going to dump bleach into the pump, it has metal parts.

I pin the blame for this one on the crummy filter, first and foremost, and on the product design that creates dark, damp, hard-to-clean surfaces everywhere. Oh, and did I mention that the filters are hard to find? Big chain pet stores are happy to sell you this water bowl (I assume they make more margin than on the Drinkwell, which was the original product in this category) but cant be bothered to stock the filters. There are aquarium filters in similar sizes -- those would actually even do some good, unlike the Petmate filters -- but the cheap pump wont generate enough pressure to give a decent flow rate through them. Nice.

Dont make the mistake I did. Buy a Drinkwell, not the house-brand knockoff (this product) even if its on sale.
Kitty Highly Approves     On: 2005-10-07

We bought the Petmate thinking it sounded like a good idea for supplying fresher water to our cat. I was concerned that he would play with it. And he did, but only for the first hour or so. Now he loves it. And I feel hes drinking more which we all know is important to his health.
Pump Broke - week 2     On: 2005-10-03

My cats finally started using this fountain, and then within about a two week time frame, the pump broke and I have to return it. :( But Amazon was amazing, they credited me. Once again the customer service goes above and beyond!
Breif review of the Petmate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain     On: 2005-10-02

While not the best design, the Petmate Fresh Flow Cat Fountain functions fairly well. The pump is also surprisingly quiet, even when its partially clogged. Initially my cat liked it a lot, but over time it became nearly impossible to clean thoroughly, which did not make the cat happy. Several times I resorted to soaking it in a bleach solution, which was all I could do to make the cat use it again. The tight spaces with severe angles made it difficult at best to get a sponge in. Using the dishwasher didnt help much either. After a year I replaced the unit with a Hagen Catit Drinking Fountain which seems to be much easier to clean.

Pros:
- Quite pump
- Charcoal filter system
- Water ramp (which my cat loves)

Cons:
- Filter is after the pump making it easily clogged by fur
- Must be cleaned weekly, if not more
- Reservoir can not be quickly filled, and impossible to clean
- Hard to throughly clean by hand or in the dishwasher
- Potential for bacteria buildup.
There are much better products out there     On: 2005-09-23

I had a Drinkwell fountain for awhile, for my two cats at home. I also have two cats at work and decided to bring the Drinkwell in for them and I got one of these Fresh Flow fountains for home. I switched at home because I thought the Drinkwell was a pain to clean. The first time I changed out the Fresh Flow I was wishing I had just gotten another Drinkwell. The two main components of the Fresh Flow are easier to clean than the Drinkwell but the benefits stop there. The reservoir is very small and impossible to clean. The water in the bowl gets full of crud the very first day and it all just sits in the bottom (Fur, bits of food, dirt from one cats paw who likes to dip his paw into the bowl). It needs to be cleaned constantly. The bowl part is too shallow and the water doesnt seem to move out of the reservoir correctly, and the water level in the bowl gets too low and the pump makes sucking noises. The pump itself gets coated in slimy goo.

My cats also prefer the actual waterfall the Drinkwell provides. Ive never seen them lap water from the plastic slide in the Fresh Flow. I gave it to a friend and bought another Drinkwell for home. Drinkwell filters are cheaper and easier to find, so even though its more expensive initially it turns out to be the better deal.

Fabulous Fountain     On: 2005-09-21

I bought this fountain to replace a waterer much like the giant bottles you fill and turn upside down. I was concerned my cat would not like it, as he is very skittish around motorized devices (the LitterMaid was a bad purchase - scared him so bad he didnt want to use the litter box anymore). My cat loves this fountain! He now drinks much more than he did before and is not bothered at all by the pump, which is very quiet.

Assembly: Easy. Just follow the instructions and make sure you thoroughly rinse the carbon filter before putting it in the fountain. If not, you will get little black pieces of carbon on the ramp and in the filter chamber. Also make sure you fill up the tub and reservoir appropriately so you dont burn out the pump.

Cleaning: I have had my fountain 2 weeks and had to clean minor pieces of fur from and bits of food out of the tub. Cleaning is easy. The most difficult part is just getting any stray particles of things that have wandered into tight corners. Bunching up a paper towel works well :)

Usage: Great! Once you fill the initial tub and reservoir, it takes about a minute or so for the water to start flowing down the ramp. This is because the pump has to put enough water into the upper right hand chamber (where the filter is - not the blue chamber) to fill it and have it run down the ramp. During this time you can hear the pump, but once it starts flowing, the pump becomes extremely quiet.

Overall, I am very happy with this purchase!
Did anyone mention this thing is quiet? :-) One great buy!     On: 2005-09-13

Having recently adopted two very large cats to join our one Himalayan, we quickly realized that just putting water in a dish wasnt going to cut it anymore, and neither was refilling it several times a day going to work either. Well, we quickly came across this unit and decided to give it a try. Are we ever glad we did! This thing is so quiet that you have to look at it closely just to make sure its working.

The assembly directions arent real clear, but its pretty intuative as to what to do to get it working. I had water running through it in just a matter of minutes.

Being committed to drinking filtered water ourselves, we wanted the same option for our cats, and were pleased to realize that this unit includes at least a charcoal filter through which all the water passes. Very nice inclusion, if you ask me.

Buy it, you wont be sorry you did.
Exactly what I had hoped for!     On: 2005-09-12

Even after reading several reviews, I was still skeptical that my cats (both of them sink drinkers for 3 years) would switch over. My husband and I were worried about the amount of water they were getting, since we were not home during the day to give them fresh water and they would *not* drink from their bowl. One week after purchasing the waterer, both cats were drinking from the fountain like they had their entire lives. Training was relatively easy as well, we would just pick them up from the sink and take them to the waterer each time they jumped up on the counter. The unit is very quiet and simple to assemble, also seems easy to clean so far. Well worth the money, plus it is cheaper on Amazon.com than some other sites I found.
Worth every penny     On: 2005-09-06

I bought this pet fountain for my cat because he has FLUTD and needs to drink plenty of water. This product far exceeded my expectations. My cat is drinking 3 or 4 times more than he ususally does and now turns his nose up at the toilet bowl. the fountain is very easy to assemble and take apart for cleaning. I fill it with purified water and put it away from his food bowl so theres very little food residue as far as I can see (and no algae, at least not for me). The bowl does make a humming noise, but I dont find it distracting and my cat apparently does not mind it either. He usually camps out next to the fountain and naps or just lounges. Overall, a terrific product.
Recommended, but it could be better.     On: 2005-08-26

This is a nice product; the cats took a few days to get used to it, but once they lost their initial fear of the unknown, they quickly began to drink from it to the exclusion of the other water dishes in the house.

The problems with it are as follows:
1 In order to clean it (and it definitely requires regular cleaning), you need to remove a top section. The resulting plastic pieces are rather sharp and pointy. Its not comfortable sticking your fingers in the (somewhat small) holes to clean it. It could just as easily have been cast with rounded edges instead of knife edges.

2 The filter is located AFTER the pump, instead of before it where it might actually do some good. As a consequence, the pump becomes clogged with any bits of stray hair or food that finds its way into the water. Aside from the activated carbon, which is of dubious value, the filter is meaningless.

3 The power cord has a nice jack that allows you to pull the cord apart during cleaning without removing the transformer/plug from the wall. This would be great if the jack was located near the fountain itself. Unfortunately, the jack is a mere 4-5 inches from the plug. Whats the point of locating it at that end of the power cord? I can just unplug the cord instead of pulling the jack apart.

Everything else is fine. It is virtually tip-proof, the reservoir works as expected, the pump has lasted me for more than 2 years and is completely quiet and unobtrusive, and its a conversation-piece (people always ask what it is).
THE Worst piece of ....     On: 2005-08-12

Ive owned this fountain for 6 months... not only does it need constant attention and pampering to get the tender little pump to pump water (it gets clogged because the filter appears further down the line so crap get stuck in its little grill) it is damn near IMPOSSIBLE to clean. If you must buy it, plan to take a day off work or maybe a long weekend to get the cleaning job done. Furthermore, go out and purchase baby bottle brushes in every size... YOUll need all the help you can get. It makes me crazy!
My cats love it!     On: 2005-08-09

My 2 cats used to stand in front of my bathroom and cry all the time, waiting for me to turn on the tap so that they could drink from it. I got this of this, and decided to try out the Petmate water fountain. It is great! My cats love it, they drink much more than they used to, and best of all, they dont cry for taps to be turned on any more! I highly recommend this fountain to anyone who has cats!
Can Four Cats be Wrong?     On: 2005-08-02

We have four cats andthey all love this fountain. Each has their own funny way of drinking from it. One only drinks from the top where the water begins its fall down the slope. One only drinks from the point where the water slope meets the resevoir. The third must first flip water around with his paws (not sure why) and only then will he drink. The fourth only drinks from the point where the intake flow is managed. Of course this is the long-haired cat so it means their caretaker (me) has to clear the in-flow hole of cat hair every couple days.
Maintenence is pretty easy. The unit comes apart very easily and is a breeze to clean. It is a must to clean it at least once a week with all the cats. I dont have to clean as often when it is just one cat.
In summary, cats and caretaker love the fresh water and easy maintenece.
First 4 days were great!     On: 2005-08-01

My cats were fascinated by this water bowl even though i thought it looked like a baby toilet (maybe thats why they liked it??) They played in it more than drank from it for the first few days and made a mess! But, eventually they began to trust it and drank from it. By the 4th day, the cat hair they dropped (I have two cats) was constantly clogging the water intake at the bottom of the dish. This meant that not only was the water not circulating correctly, the water level would get very low even though the "tank" in back was full. It would make loud sucking noises that scared my cats and actually were loud enough to wake me up at night! So, this product probably works great for hairless cats, but for the rest of them...its a lot of maintenance for a water dish.
Cat destroyed the fountain!     On: 2005-06-02

The idea of a recirculating fountain is great, but in practice it didnt work out so well. One of my cats was able to push the fountain so water spilled leaving just barely enough for the pump to work. Also, hes able to gets his mouth on the carbon filter and started pulling at it. If your cat doesnt attack the water fountain, you might be OK.
Cats love it, human has a few problems with it     On: 2005-05-29

I got one for my three cats for Christmas 2004. They wanted me to keep a tap dripping for them but unfortunately I now pay for water, plus the water conservation thing is a biggie so this was the alternative. I was cleaning it out totally once every 10 days, have moved that up to once every seven days. I strip it down entirely and soak it in a chlorine bath and soak the pump parts in vinegar. I rince the filter weekly and change it over once every 30 days. So, life is good, but every once in awhile out of the blue it dumps the water all over the floor. I assume it has been leaking out of the seams. Perhaps I dont seal it up right when I re-assemble it, I dont know!! Its quite annoying to walk into a mess of water when you come home. Ill keep it till it gives out, after that I may consider one of those Drinkwell fountains or perhaps a "touchless" faucet. Just to see if they work better.
The cats took to it immediately. But even if you clean weekly I still find it a bit slimy on the bottom. I use reverse osmosis spring water (bottled) in the device. I guess that means I should be cleaning it out more often, every seven days is not enough. Ok, fine, live and learn.
Works great, kitty drinks more     On: 2005-05-23

Ive had this product for about a month now and its been working great. Set-up was easy, and after the pump ran for a few minutes its really quiet. Sometimes the pump will start to gurgle some but a quick on/off or flow adjustment quiets it down again. The reservoir is also really easy to fill.

It took a little while for my kitty to start drinking, but now he likes it fine. He drinks alot more and no longer demands water in the sink. So far I have cleaned the bowl out once, more because I dropped stuff into it. It didnt seem to be getting the slimy film or anything, and I could see what the filter had pulled out of the water.

Overall a great product, especially for the price, I got the medium size for about 20.
Works good, gets my kitty to drink     On: 2005-05-23

Ive had this product for about a month now and its been working great. Set-up was easy, and after the pump ran for a few minutes its really quiet. Sometimes the pump will start to gurgle some but a quick on/off or flow adjustment quiets it down again. The reservoir is also really easy to fill.

It took a little while for my kitty to start drinking, but now he likes it fine. He drinks alot more and no longer demands water in the sink. So far I have cleaned the bowl out once, more because I dropped stuff into it. It didnt seem to be getting the slimy film or anything, and I could see what the filter had pulled out of the water.

Overall a great product, especially for the price, I got the medium size for about 20.
Better than the Drinkwell     On: 2005-04-11

I had the Petmate for over 4 years, and when the pump finally died, I figured it had a good run. When shopping for a replacement, I narrowed it down to another Petmate, or the Drinkwell.

Although I was pleased overall with the Petmate product (and my cats were in love with it), I fell for the "if its more expensive it has to be better" trick- and bought the Drinkwell system, which was $20.00 more at my local pet store. Big mistake. The major problem with the Drinkwell is that it is a lot LOUDER than this product. As in, the sound of splashing water AND the hum of the pump. (I live in a small NYC apartment, so this was annoying). I had to unplug it to hear the TV. The cats didnt seem to mind the noise (and they really liked the spout), but I couldnt take it. Also, it didnt seem to filter the water as well, because there was a lot of grit resting at the bottom of the bowl. Regardless, the NOISE alone was enough to send me back to the store!

I returned the Drinkwell and went back to the Petmate (this time upgrading to the extra large "deluxe" model.) My cats didnt even seem to notice the change (observant little fellas), and I can finally watch TV in peace. All is well.

I would recommend this product.
kitty not interested     On: 2005-03-21

my cat was having urinary tract problems, so i did everything i could think of to encourage him to drink more. this fountain did absolutely NOTHING to encourage him to drink. in fact, he was more scared by the sound the reservoir made when he drank the water down to where it needed refilling than anything.

i found the fountain to be difficult to place on the ground once full. i always made a mess! also, there are so many pieces to take apart and clean that it required a good ten minutes to accomplish. if your cats are like mine and love to get food, litter, or some other foreign objects in their water on a daily basis, you dont have time for this. i decided to go back to a plain old bowl so that i can pick it up and rinse it out on a daily basis. if kitty isnt committed to keeping objects out of his water bowl, this fountain isnt going to do anything to keep the water cleaner, despite the filter! stuff settles in the basin, and you still have to clean!
Buy the Drinkwell Fountain instead     On: 2005-02-27

Pet fountains are a great way to keep my cat from trying to drink out of the faucets. I bought the Fresh Flow a few years ago and thought it was great, but the plastic it is made of is not the best quality and the filter clogs up constantly. I finally threw the Fresh Flow out today after several successful months with the Drinkwell Pet Fountain. The Drinkwell Pet Fountain is definitely a better quality product and hasnt clogged up once! The Drinkwell Pet Fountain also holds more water (even without the extra resevior) than the Petmate Fresh Flow. If I could go back in time, I would have paid the extra $10 for the Drinkwell instead of paying for both in the long run.
Super quiet but the flow is hardly a cascading waterfall...     On: 2005-02-05

I used to have a similar item which my 3 cats loved because the water flowed out in a thick stream which made a rather soothing, bubbling sound effect as it hit the dish below. I unfortunately lost some of the fountains parts, so I bought this item to replace it because the price was very reasonable.

The best thing about this new pet fountain is that it is VERY quiet! I actually wasnt sure if it even made any noise at all because my home heater was blowing air when I turned the water on, and I couldnt hear the fountain motor in comparison -- so thats pretty quiet. My old fountain was louder and tended to startle my one skiddish and nervous cat. This new one doesnt bother any of them.

I bought a pet fountain to encourage my cats to drink more water, because one of my three tends to get crystals in his urine which caused infection and led to surgery (!!!). However, with Urinary Tract Health formula for his food and this fountain for his water, there have been no more problems!

My only complaint about this fountain is a mild one. My last pet fountain had a wider, faster stream of water that was more of an attention-grabber for the felines. This one has a smaller, thinner -- although nearly silent -- flow of water. They arent nearly as fascinated with this one, by comparison. But they do drink from it.
Save your kitties kidneys!     On: 2005-01-26

I found out the hard way that house cats d