Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me first start with the fact that pet fountains in general are much healthier for your pets than standing water. If you are like me and don't change out your pets water daily, fountains are a must since they help constantly filter water and minimize bacteria and mold from the water. Plus, I hate the taste of tap water, why shouldn't I expect my cats to also find it less than desirable. I have owned several different types of pet fountains pretty much since they came out over 10 years ago. And anyone who owns pet fountains knows one of the biggest pains is cleaning them. The major two leaders in the market the Drinkwell and Petmate Fresh Flow seem to dominate the market making finding filters easy. They are great, personally I found the Petmate's quieter than the Drinkwell, that and the cats seem to prefer drinking the water pouring down the slope design of the Petmate than the water tricking down the spout of the Drinkwell. The Drinkwell also didn't last as long as my two Petmates (both the large and regular size still work after some 3-5 year respectively). I also own the Hagen CatIt Fresh & Clear, which has water trickling down the sides of a dome bubble, which one of my cats loves. (Don't recommend attaching the side food bowl to the CatIt, it increase the amount of food that ended up in the water than just leaving it unattached and setting it a few inches off to the side). So you are probably wondering why I recently ordered the Pioneer Pet Fountain when I own three other usable fountains. The answer is maintenance. The plastic water fountains must be cleaned completely by hand. They cannot be put in the dishwasher, because dishwashing detergent (doesn't matter the kind) leaves a residue on plastic, which is porous, that can be unhealthy for pets after extended use and cause water to taste like the cleaning product. Plus it is very difficult to get water scale build-up off of plastic. Yes, the water in pet fountains constantly is being recirculated, but if you think about your bathtub or toilet which gets fresh water there still builds up a ring at the top of the water level. Well I've found our water has the same problem with the pet water filter. And attempting to get it off the plastic can be difficult since again detergents you might normally use to help will leave a residue. So, I bought (received as a present from my wish list) this Ceramic Pet Fountain. Both the stainless steel variation and the ceramic one can safely be put in the dishwasher and are safe enough to run sanitizing option without concern to the plastic breakdown or melting near the heating unit. Thus making cleaning the unit easier. However, I must note that you will still need to clean the pump and pump housing by hand since they are plastic, but a small fist size item is much easier to clean than the whole unit. -------------------------------------------------------- Pros -------------------------------------------------------- * Easier to clean * Heavy so it makes it much harder to tip over * Cleaner design, allows pets who want to drink from moving water to do so without having stretch neck the water standing water reservoir (think of it from a cat's view rather than a larger dog) * Fresh constantly filtered water for pets, without having to change out the water daily * Ceramic one is black and there is a stainless steel one which may match someone's kitchen appliance themes (yes I realize some people care about this kind of stuff). -------------------------------------------------------- Cons -------------------------------------------------------- * Reminds me of a small toilet bowl with a cover for water to run down (sounds exactly like one when you hit the two ceramic pieces together) * Much louder than the Petmate, about the same loudness of the trickling water as the Drinkwell (can be irritating to some people if their fountain is anywhere near their main living areas listening to water dripping constantly, it will be peaceful to others) * In my opinion I would not find it suitable for medium or large dogs, the fountain only holds about 36 ounces of water, and if your dog doesn't like drinking the bubbling water the area to drink from the other water is only about 6-7 inches wide. So your larger dog would constantly be licking the top piece as they drank. * No reservoir add-on available. Unlike the Petmate, you cannot just simply slide on an attachment which holds more water. * The ceramic one is black, which can make it difficult for people to see the water level to know if they put too much water in, or need to add water (easier to listen to the sound of the water). * Still have to wash some of the pieces (pump and pump housing) by hand so not completely dishwasher safe * Same as any pet water filter, the cost of the filters can add up. And unlike fish filters you cannot just add carbon and fiber to a snap together unit. I suppose one could try, but the filter housings in this unit are fused together. * The ceramic unit will be much easier to break if you drop it while cleaning it (Trust me I've dropped the others a few times when hands have gotten wet) * Unlike the Petmate variation, there is no adjustment to how fast the water is pumped (ie. Bubbles on the top). There is only one speed which is fast, this has caused one of my cats to have a harder time adjusting to the unit (he's the one that loved the PetIt which has a slower and quieter trickling over the dome than any of the units I've tried) -------------------------------------------------------- While I've only owned it for a short time over all I'm happy with the unit so far despite the cons I've listed above. I just wanted to be honest to the shortcomings, since I know they can be big issues for some people. And as we know companies are far less likely to mention them. Wouldn't you rather know what some people have experienced before spending over $40. I hope this review helps. _____________________________________________________________________________ Update: We have now owned this fountain for almost 11 years and I'm still happy with it. In all this time we have only had to replace the filters. I'm still using the original dish, pump, and casing. So in all this time what have I experienced & learned? * There have been NO cracks nor other damage to the fountain. I treat them as I would any other dish such as my Corningwear or Pyrex, neither excessively forceful nor gentle. * The softer rubber tubing gasket that connects the pump casing to the top ceramic piece is still in good condition with no sign of drying out or breaking down. I recommend that for those buying this fountain or the larger one to invest in a baby bottle brush with the nipple brush to help clean this rubber tubing as well as the pump. This can help clean out any additional slime or food buildup from items. * Recommend not placing food dish directly next to water bowl, this goes with any fountain, but I've noticed that my cats even though their food dish is on the other side of the kitchen still manage to drop uneaten dry food into their water dish. This helps lead to the need for more frequent cleanings. * Make sure your cat has access to either the top flowing part or the main dish, one of my cats only drinks from the top bubbling part of the fountain whereas the other prefers the main storage area. * Several people have complained about leakage, they are over filling their bowls. The way the fountain is designed there is an access tube that allows for the power cord to the pump to exit the dish from underneath the top part of the dish making it difficult to judge if you have put too much water in so that the water also exits this tube especially once the water starts flowing. I recommend using the bottom lip of the top piece as a guide. Fill the main part of the dish until the water level is about ¼ of an inch under this lip. If you are concerned about leaking, put a puppy pad or dish drying mat under the fountains to save your floors just in case. * Oh, and one of the cons I published previously, I was corrected and have since found the adjustment slide on the front of the pump to adjust the water flow. You can open it all the way and allow for stronger flow of water (note more noise), or slide the lever over to lower the amount of water the pump will take in at a time and thus lowering how fast the water flows and noise level.