How long does it take them to drink from a water fountain?

[Condo commando]

My 8 year old girl had a few struvite crystals in her pee at her last checkup. She only eats raw so go figure. Anyway I went and got a drinking fountain. But after 6 days I haven't seen any of the cats use it. I put it where the water bowl used to be. Are these things just hype?

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Is the fountain where the water bowl was? If so, you might need to unplug it until they get used to it. Also, many cats do no like their water close to their food source so you might need to move it. Ours love their fountain.

 

[Condo commando]

Is the fountain where the water bowl was? If so, you might need to unplug it until they get used to it. Also, many cats do no like their water close to their food source so you might need to move it. Ours love their fountain.

Yes I put it in the same spot where the water bowl used to be. I didn't think about leaving it unplugged for a while....I'm going to try that - thanks!

 

[Yoda mom]

@Condo commando
Agree with placing fountain away from their regular food dishes
My brats would only drink from it on the counter !
Which I discovered when I cleaned it amd fit,Ed it amd they jumped up to try it

To be honest it was a PIA
It was the drinkwell platinium fountain

Had to take it apart every few days , take the motor apart at least once a week soak parts in white vinegar amd take the magnetic motor shaft out and clean with a tiny brush -
Fountains get slimey on thr plastic you can’t see
So they really need s good cleaning often

Wish I took mine bsck but oh well

My boy had strivite crystals amd had to get meds

Did vet give her meds? Amd say she needed a retest in 10 days?

I actually got them to drink more water using a double raised stainless dog dish -
I fill both bowls eoth eater and place it across the room from food dishes -
Every morning they ru to it when I fill it amd drink like a sphynx watering hole!
The little bowls are near empty by night time when I refill .

My boy refused all the vet c/d Urinary type food -
I found a similar phosphorus% food he would it -
Not crazy about it but they share a can everymornimg amd it’s only $21 a case
Proplan Urinary focus canned food -

I Got to the point I had to try something he would eat that works

For treats I give them Urinary hairball formula kibble -
I know you feed raw but wanted to share just in case her crystals do not resolve

Which fountain did you get ?
I did the same as Patti mentioned trying it unplugged at first

My crews review of the drinkwell fountain is that they preferred the raised little dog dish bowls filled with water
Placed away from their food dishes .

Many members have success with fountains
The small plastic fountain with flower had been shared here

If I were to try a fountain again ..it would be small , easy to refill everyday with fresh water clean
And d easy to take apart to clean !

I don’t think my crew like the fountain perhaps bcz it was not as fresh as coming from the refirgerator water or sink jut my 2 cents
Lol who knows how these sphynx think! They have us trained !

Keep us updated !

 

[kauna]

I tried getting Agnes one of those fountains and she hardly ever drank out of it. I think I spent more time cleaning the thing. She loves drinking water out of the large raised dog bowl. Go figure!

The picture is of her and our American Bulldog, Sampson. She was getting a drink while he was eating.

 

[StacyD]

Ace uses his flower fountain occasionally but much prefers drinking from the bathroom sink faucet.

 

[Condo commando]

@Yoda mom - her urinalysis came back "occasional ammonium Mg Phosphate (0-1)/HPF" - as I understand it this is very low so she doesn't need meds at this point.

The vet asked me if I was feeding any greens and coincidentally I started using a probiotic that also includes "supergreen foods." I didn't realize that when I ordered it and wasn't planning to buy this brand again but I figured I would just use what I had. The vet said to get rid of it because greens are high in magnesium (Mg) which is what's causing her crystals. Then we're going to retest her in 30 days.

As far as the location of the water fountain, I have a kitchen cart and it's on top of that. The kitchen cart belongs to the cats; it was the deal I made to keep them off the kitchen counter.

There are no food bowls near the water or anywhere for that matter because I feed raw; they eat as soon as I put the food down and I pick everything up.

@kauna and @Yoda mom - thanks for the pictures of the raised bowls. Dog bowls....smh, how's a mere mortal supposed to know?

 

[Condo commando]

Ace uses his flower fountain occasionally but much prefers drinking from the bathroom sink faucet.

So far:
In favor of fountain 0
In favor of something else 3

 

[Toa and Ross]

Dealing with the same thing here. Bought a water fountain two weeks ago. Toa started to use it right away...to play with the water and wash his feet!
Ross and Jade don't even look at it.
Great idea to first unplug it before giving up;-).

 

[Bailey21]

I have the Catit water fountain. I don't know how often my guys drink out of it but I do see them drinking from it on occasion. I do have glass cups placed around the house as well, since I've noticed they love to drink out of a regular glass like little humans. I'm sure if I took away the cups, they'd drink out of the fountain more

 

[Duglynukem]

We also have a Catit fountain, Cleo loves it.

Now that our cat is eating mostly wet food we have noticed she seems to drink less.

 

[Beckinboots]

We had a fountain years ago for our moggies. They used it but it was such a hassle to keep clean we gave up in the end. They're happy enough drinking from normal bowls so we stick with that.

 

[Condo commando]

I have the Catit water fountain. I don't know how often my guys drink out of it but I do see them drinking from it on occasion. I do have glass cups placed around the house as well, since I've noticed they love to drink out of a regular glass like little humans. I'm sure if I took away the cups, they'd drink out of the fountain more

My Siamese cats used to drink out of a glass. I would put it by the bed for me and next thing I knew a cat was drinking out of it. I assigned them a couple of glasses of their own after that

 

[Staceyxxx]

My Binky will only drink from the fountain or A glass of water! I have a crematic water fountain which doesn’t make a lot of noise n it’s easy to clean!

 

[Anansi]

Orpheus prefers to drink out of a glass as well so he has a water glass onthe desk that he gets most of his water from I usually have to refill it Dailey. He also has two other regular bowls around the house he can drink from.

 

[Staceyxxx]

Bless, I put a bowl of water out sometimes as Binky like to wash her paws and splash it all over the place!

 

[Condo commando]

Hey @Toa and Ross , any progress on your side? For me it looks like the cat fountain was a waste of money ....BUT I'm thinking I'm gonna double down. Well technically it won't be a drinking fountain; these are zen fountains. So if the cats don't drink from it, at least I have peace and tranquility. And I mean, who doesn't need that?

 

[Toa and Ross]

The Zen fountains are beautiful! Great idea to get one!
No progress here. Toa loves to bath his paws in it. Jade and Ross ignore it!

 

[Condo commando]

The Zen fountains are beautiful! Great idea to get one!
No progress here. Toa loves to bath his paws in it. Jade and Ross ignore it!

Crazy Toa but at least he's using it for something

 

[Yoda mom]

@Condo commando plastic fountains were a miss here and I hated hove slimey to the naked eye the plastic got and having to take them apart every few days , motor pieces and all soaked in white vinegar so just as well for me lol

You brought back memories
In Seattle I had the coolest zen bamboo marble fountain on a marble table
It turned into the watering hole! No one knew it was “their fountain”
Wish I took it with me!

 

[Yoda mom]

@Staceyxxx i have seen that fountain ! What brand ?

 

[Condo commando]

@Yoda mom all the reviews on zen fountains say they splash water so that's not for me. I also wasn't sure how I was going to clean it assuming the cats actually did drink out of it. So it's back to a water bowl. Of course, they hardly ever use it. Since I make their food, I'm making it with more water. That's the best I could do.

 

[alandsim]

So I actually have something to share about this! Doesn't really answer @Condo commando's question but others might find it helpful!

I made Sim a DIY fountain out of an (unused) pump for a fish tank and a normal ceramic dish.

I can't speak to training her to drink out of it because I just had it plugged in when we came home with her and she just did right away, but if anyone wants a fountain and is concerned about cost or ease of cleaning I think this is a great way to go. I wanted mine to be cute and easy to clean, and I try not to buy too much plastic stuff so my only ceramic, glass and steel options on amazon were around $60 and some had reviews complaining about maintenance.

I'll have to take a picture of it later, but I have a little white ceramic dish that is just deep enough for the pump. The pump was brand new but to be safe I ran it in some water with a few tbs of vinegar for a little before using it and I plan to do that from time to time to clean it. I also only use brita water in the fountain as an added precaution. The pump suctions to the bottom of the dish to stay in place, cover with a half inch of water or so, and you're ready to plug it in!

I'll link to the youtube video I got the idea from:



The video description links to this pump:

50 GPH Aquarium Fish Tank Submersible Water Pump Powerhead Fountain Hydroponic | eBay

So your total cost is $6.25 plus the cost of your container and you might have one laying around you can use.

I checked ahead of time with the breeder to know that Sim is not a cord chewer but the voltage is so low and it's used for aquariums so totally safe to have in the water. You can also adjust the flow rate of the water. The speed I have it on makes it totally silent, but the water bubbles up which she appears to like.

 

[Yoda mom]

@alandsim thankyou for sharing !
It’s the same pump type that come with fountains
I thought you could even DIY a cord keeper protector cut to fit over the cord ?

Head smooches to Sim!