Cat water fountains

[DefinitelyOdd]

I took my Big Girl to the vets today for her booster jabs and while interrogating me about why I do not feed them a certain brand of food (conveniently the brand that is only available in the vets), the vet suggested that I need to buy a water fountain as cats like them.

Big Girl has had cystitis twice over her five years, once when we moved house and once when my OH dared to get the wrong litter for her tray (also when we were fostering another cat). She drinks well from her bowl and shows no interest in taps and running water. Little Boy would be interested but would probably be frightened of the pump.

So my question is are they worth it? Has anyone got one which they could recommend to me or is it going to be similar to all the other cat things i have bought the ungrateful gits which get ignored?

My ferals have a water fountain and it is brilliant, it was from Zooplus only about £20 but I would really recommend it. The pump is very quiet and they seem to drink much more than when they just had a normal bowl. I would certainly try it and as for the food it honestly depends on what you are currently feeding them as to whether or not the vet had a good point.

I bought one and gave it to a friend as Harry refused to go in the kitchen when it was on! A complete waste of money.

I got a Catit one and only one out of four drinks from it. I also have foster kittens and they have a little play but don't drink out of it.

I wish I had got this Cat Mate one as it's more fountain like and I think they would be more likely to use it.

Bought one for my cat, he gets dehydrated in the heat. He couldn't have been less interested!

I bought one for about £20 from Amazon a few years ago on a vet's recommendation. The bloody cats wouldn't use it preferring muddy puddles, bedside drinks, the shower tray and a plastic, rectangular takeaway container.

I haven't had cats for over a year now so it's up in the attic waiting for a new kitty I may have in the future.

It is a Cat Mate I've got.

Heads up. The food thing is a non starter for me. Everytime I take my two I get told how glossy their coats are, how healthy their teeth are and how good their weight is (total stealth boast here). Then they ask the food brand and get all huffy when thry find out it is whiskas wet food and go cat biscuits.

I would love to get them the expensive food but I can't afford it. But if a water fountain is a good thing, I will buy one. But I probably will just watch them ignore it. Lol

Leroy is a bugger for not seeming to drink enough, but he does drink more now he's got a fountain. He's got the CatMate one.

I did have two cats. Cat One used to relax in the sink. He'd drink water from the tap. Cat Two doesn't entertain cat items. I bought a water fountain because I thought Cat One would like it...he loved it and drank from it all the cat. Cat Two pretended it wasn't there and that his bro wasn't so uncool.

Sadly, Cat One isn't with us anymore, so I got rid of the fountain.

So, I'd say if your cat likes to drink from the tap, go for it.

I agree re: the tap thing. Mine loves her fountain, also used to sleep in the sink and sit and cry until you turned the tap on for her

I got one for my cat, he loves to drink from the tap, and he had to be hospitalised recently with a urinary blockage.
He does drink from it.
The dog does too, although I try to encourage him to drink from his own bowl.
The cat will also drink from the dog bowl occasionally. He's been a lot better since he returned from the vets. He's out most of the day though at the minute, so he doesn't use it much.

Our old cat had kidney failure and we bought the cat mate one to try encourage her to drink more, she would not use it at all (but she was very nervy) but our other cats and the dog love it and does seem to make them drink more

I'm onto my second one - the first was used for a bit then ignored (although that was a bit of a territorial dispute) so I gave it away.

Bought this one in May: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LPFP31A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=mumsnetforum-21 as the eldest cat is a prolific drinker and had taken to sitting and licking from the kitchen tap and I wanted to wean her off and have been unsuccessful

All four cats use it, to varying degrees. Keep it topped up and I find it makes less noise.

Ernie has always been a good drinker but likes to drink off surfaces so I bought him one. He loves it

I was recommended to get one of these but it made no difference. I just had to make sure her water bowl was far away from her food and she drinks plenty.

I've got the catmate one and she loves it

My cat is more interested in water, if I specifically got and get a pint of water for myself and have just sat down to relax and start watching TV.

We have a cat mate one now and both my girls use it. Bowls of water don't get touched any more. They did also like the flower fountain but one of my cats has a real problem with sponges and the filter was too similar, she could reach in and pull it apart.

We have the cat mate one and poochcat loves it. I have to say I was really sceptical because before we bought she never appeared to drink any water but now drinks a lot more.

Can you get a new vet.

My cat ignored the fountain. Natch.
Make sure the water bowl is away from the food. There is some sort of instinct thing that makes them distrust water near food. If the food is bad (in the wild) the water is bad. Our cat's water bowl is in the bathroom. Nearish to her litter tray which doesn't seem to bother her as much.

I'm with Sleight on this - the only times either of your cats has had any issues has clearly been stress related. Both drink well, seem to be in good health otherwise as you say, so I'm really not sure why your vet seems so concerned.

BTW my vet, who also sees my DSis's cats and tends to really be into cats, sells a couple of premium brands of cat food but didn't even bother to ask me what I fed mine. I think he did ask DSis when one of hers was unwell, but never tried to push the premium brand he stocked.

I feed my furballs a mix of cheap (Felix AGAIL) wet food, and premium (Royal Canin) dry. I order them both online at Zooplus in large amounts as that works out cheaper than anywhere else.

Cookie and Biscuit love theirs! About €25.