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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / May 2004Drinkwell,,,,buy online to save $?
Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? Any opinion? Where is a good place to buy those online and save from the $50 there are at Petsmart? Thank you > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I > think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Thank you You might look at the Petmate water fountain. It is about 30$. Karen I got a Drinkwell so my cats would stop drinking out of the toilet or lapping up water left on the kitchen counter. They love it, and it's the only water they drink anymore. Jon > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I > think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Thank you muffin <muffin@aol.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like > Drinkwell.? I think there is another brand too. a smaller one [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Thank you Kami has the Petmate. She might have liked the Drinkwell better--I don't know--but she definitely drinks more water with the Petmate, and that's all that matters.  SignatureBrandy??Alexandre http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? --- Why are people with closed minds first to open their mouths? >Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I >think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Thank you Be sure to get one that won't overflow if the power goes off. The first one I had did that. I got the new one at Petco/ MLB > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I > think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Thank you There is the PetMate one. Main difference between Petmate and Drinkwell... Petmate... water flows down a ramp. Drinkwell... water pours out of the spout. Signature"Its the bugs that keep it running." -Joe Canuck > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? Yes. The Freshflow one, not the Drinkwell. > Any opinion? Of course! Lots of opinions. Regarding the Freshflow, it works and my (2) cats like it, but I think it's pretty poor design: 1. It needs very frequent cleaning otherwise it ends up being a cat hair fountain. There is no (external) filter to prevent cat hair getting in to the pump, so said pump needs to be disassembled whenever it starts sounding like a small army of Trabants. This happens all too often. 2. It's not all that easy to clean, given that it has various sticky out bits wot are tricky to maneuver your cleaning apparatus round. Ooooer. 3. The (plastic) water slide gets gradually eroded if your cat likes to lick the water from that part of the fountain. 4. The water pump itself seems to have a limited lifetime. After less than a year, the pump on my fountain now sounds like it's attempting to tunnel to freedom, or possibly pump whole brazil nuts through a sieve. The Drinkwell may be a better design. If I knew this was so, I'd buy one and dump the Freshflow. > Where is a good place to buy those online and save from the $50 there are at > Petsmart? Dunno. www.reallycheappetdrinkingfountainsrus.com? Steve. >>Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > 1. It needs very frequent cleaning otherwise it ends up being a cat > hair fountain. I suspect most of the drinking fountains are like this... particularly with long haired cats in the house. > There is no (external) filter to prevent cat hair > getting in to the pump, so said pump needs to be disassembled whenever [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > 3. The (plastic) water slide gets gradually eroded if your cat likes > to lick the water from that part of the fountain. Ewww, this means the cat is ingesting plastic. > 4. The water pump itself seems to have a limited lifetime. After less > than a year, the pump on my fountain now sounds like it's attempting [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > The Drinkwell may be a better design. If I knew this was so, I'd buy > one and dump the Freshflow. Drinkwell also difficult to clean with many nooks n' crannies. It only makes significant noise when the water level gets low such that the intake is partial unsubmerged. With the Drinkwell the water flows out and lands in the pool of water rather than running down a ramp. >>Where is a good place to buy those online and save from the $50 there are at >>Petsmart? > > Dunno. www.reallycheappetdrinkingfountainsrus.com? > > Steve. Signature"Its the bugs that keep it running." -Joe Canuck I have had a drinkwell for several years. It seems like a good design and works well. The downside is that I rarely see my cats using it. Also, after a few weeks, a foamy suds forms on the water and the surface of the plastic gets slimy. I use spring water. I plan to stop using it when I run out of filters. -MIKE twinmountain@webtv.net (MIKE) dumped this in news:26259-4097CC02-400 @storefull-3256.bay.webtv.net on 04 May 2004: > I have had a drinkwell for several years. It seems like a good design > and works well. The downside is that I rarely see my cats using it. > Also, after a few weeks, a foamy suds forms on the water and the surface > of the plastic gets slimy. I use spring water. I plan to stop using it > when I run out of filters. Mike, mine does that too, but way before a couple of weeks. I clean it every few days (just hot water and rub it out with a paper towel in between serious cleanings) and even in that time its enough for the foamy suds to form. I guess its just from the constant aeration. I noticed it was worse with the filter so I just don't use one (spring water, also). My cats do drink from it, though. SignatureCheryl > I have had a drinkwell for several years. It seems like a good design > and works well. The downside is that I rarely see my cats using it. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > -MIKE I have a drinkwell and change the water every two days or so. If you do that it does not need to be cleaned all that frequently. Foam means the water is dirty and needs to be changed. Adam >> I have had a drinkwell for several years. It seems like a good design >> and works well. The downside is that I rarely see my cats using it. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Adam Or perhaps that you didn't "de-soap" it. eq equalizer <> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: >>> I have had a drinkwell for several years. It seems like a good >>> design and works well. The downside is that I rarely see my [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > eq I've never seen foam for cleaning, but I put bottled water in it. I rine out the filter at one week and clean the unit at two. Seems to keep everything running smoothly. Kami lets me know if there's something she's unhappy about. Same with the litterbox. SignatureBrandy??Alexandre http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? --- Why are people with closed minds first to open their mouths? Adam Helberg <sendspamhere@yahoo.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: >> I have had a drinkwell for several years. It seems like a good >> design and works well. The downside is that I rarely see my cats [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Adam I bought a bulb syringe and snipped a little of the end off to make the opening bigger, and I suction out food particles whenever I see them in there. It slows down the dirtying of the water. SignatureBrandy??Alexandre http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? --- Why are people with closed minds first to open their mouths? > Adam Helberg <sendspamhere@yahoo.com> wrote in > rec.pets.cats.health+behav: [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > opening bigger, and I suction out food particles whenever I see them in > there. It slows down the dirtying of the water. That's a good idea. But it's little effort to just change the water every 2-3 days that I don't know why they don't suggest that in the instructions. Adam Adam Helberg <sendspamhere@yahoo.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > That's a good idea. But it's little effort to just change the > water every 2-3 days that I don't know why they don't suggest that > in the instructions. Well, call me cheap, but I use bottled water in it and there IS a filter. I think it's a waste to change it out that frequently. I add to it and take out the fluff, and I only give it a complete do-over every two weeks. SignatureBrandy??Alexandre http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? --- Why are people with closed minds first to open their mouths? Can't tell from the pictures what the difference in sizes really are, and whether to get one with a reservoir or not...can anyone give advice? Kirsten > > Adam Helberg <sendspamhere@yahoo.com> wrote in > > rec.pets.cats.health+behav: [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Adam (...) > > 1. It needs very frequent cleaning otherwise it ends up being a cat > > hair fountain. > > I suspect most of the drinking fountains are like this... particularly > with long haired cats in the house. Probably. But the Freshflow is especially poor because the hair gets right into the pump intake. Ironically, this is probably more of a problem with the 'deluxe' Freshflow. The el-cheapo version has a magical external hair trap (tm) that should keep a lot of the wandering hair away from the filter. In the deluxe version, this filter has been replaced by a lever to allow different flow rates. Hair flows freeeeely past. (...) > > 3. The (plastic) water slide gets gradually eroded if your cat likes > > to lick the water from that part of the fountain. > > Ewww, this means the cat is ingesting plastic. Aye. Not a lot, but certainly some. The slide needs to be stainless or similar. Sounds like the Drinkwell might avoid this problem given that there's no slide down which water poetically cascades (aka dribbles hairily) and so no slide for the cat to lick. (...) > Drinkwell also difficult to clean with many nooks n' crannies. It only > makes significant noise when the water level gets low such that the > intake is partial unsubmerged. This was orginally true of the pump in my Freshflow. Now the crunching brazil nut sounds are 24/7, which is a tad annoying. I might dismantle the whole pump, though I suspect this needs a ball pein hammer and a subsequent trip to the local aquarium emporium to buy a replacement. Steve. >(...) >> > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >(...) I missed this in my previous post, sorry -- I have the cheepy with the screen -- no such problem as you have, but it does need to be cleaned at least weekly. eq >> > 3. The (plastic) water slide gets gradually eroded if your cat likes >> > to lick the water from that part of the fountain. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > >Steve. (...) > This was orginally true of the pump in my Freshflow. Now the crunching > brazil nut sounds are 24/7, which is a tad annoying. I might dismantle > the whole pump, though I suspect this needs a ball pein hammer and a > subsequent trip to the local aquarium emporium to buy a replacement. As a side note, the pump failed totally yesterday. Time to head to the amazing aquarium emporium. S. Joe Canuck <Joe_Canuck@Canada.ca> dumped this in news:AlOlc.22083 $3Q4.541021@news20.bellglobal.com on 04 May 2004: > Drinkwell also difficult to clean with many nooks n' crannies. It only > makes significant noise when the water level gets low such that the > intake is partial unsubmerged. The whole thing easily comes apart to clean those nooks n' crannies. But I agree, there are some hard to reach spots where the pieces connect. Especially in the back right above the pump. SignatureCheryl >Joe Canuck <Joe_Canuck@Canada.ca> dumped this in news:AlOlc.22083 >$3Q4.541021@news20.bellglobal.com on 04 May 2004: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >agree, there are some hard to reach spots where the pieces connect. >Especially in the back right above the pump. Agreed. However, remember to dry it properly inside (the hollow portion that does NOT come in contact water). I do a strip down washing of the whole unit every two weeks. One time I discovered some mold had started to form because the previous time I didn't dry it properly before re-assembling. Cheers! Mike http://ca.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mdsf_1/album?.dir=/My+Photos&.src=ph&store=& prodid=&.done=http%3a//ca.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/mdsf_1 I disagree. I have the Petmate now, for about 6 months now, after owning the Drinkwell for several years. Both were used by 4 cats. The Drinkwell is the poor design -- the designer obviously never took into consideration the need to clean it. There's just too many nooks and cranny's for slime to form. The Petmate is WAY easier to maintain. BOTH units need to be broken down at least weekly and cleaned. You let your go too long without a cleaning. The Petmate also comes standard with a reservoir -- an accessory on the Drinkwell. eq >> Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? > [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > >Steve. equalizer <> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > I disagree. I have the Petmate now, for about 6 months now, after > owning the Drinkwell for several years. Both were used by 4 cats. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > eq I find a slime issue with PetMate as well, but I clean the unit with white vinegar, which is good at breaking it down or at least killing whatever was living there, and it rinses away easily and is non-toxic. I clean it every two weeks. SignatureBrandy??Alexandre http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? --- Why are people with closed minds first to open their mouths? On Wed, 05 May 2004 02:42:32 GMT, "Brandy Alexandre" <brandy@kamikaze.orgy> wrote: >equalizer <> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > >I clean it every two weeks. I'll give that a try next time. equalizer <> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: >>equalizer <> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: >> [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > I'll give that a try next time. I actually use vinegar for almost everything from cleaning to killing spiders to fabric softener. A gallon of store brand is about two bucks! SignatureBrandy??Alexandre http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? --- Why are people with closed minds first to open their mouths? > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I > think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? > Any opinion? > Where is a good place to buy those online and save from the $50 there are at > Petsmart? I've tried both the Drinkwell and Freshflow fountains, and I like the Drinkwell much more. The cats like that the water flows out in a stream, rather than down the ramp. The Drinkwell has bigger reservoirs. I have the smaller (50 oz?) one on both Drinkwells (one at work, one at home) and when I fill it up, it will last for about 6 days. There are 2 cats at home and 2 at work. Every 6-7 days I take it apart and clean it out and refill it with spring water. The Freshflow pump got clogged with hair and slimy muck from food being dropped in. I had to clean it every 2-3 days. The *only* think I liked about the Freshflow was that the pump is submersible and very easy to get in/out of the fountain. You should check eBay for the Drinkwell. There are some sellers who have good deals on brand new units & the accessories. I got some small brushes from one seller that makes cleaning parts of the Drinwell much easier. Of course I checked eBay after I ordered my second Drinkwell from Drs Foster & Smith. I could have saved about $10 going through eBay. Liz circa Mon, 3 May 2004 19:10:19 -0700, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, muffin (muffin@aol.com) said, > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I > think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Thank you I'd be happy to tell you where I got mine, except you keep posting in rec.pets.cats that I'm a troll and that my sig line is offensive and that I'm posting crap in groups I don't even read. So, figure it out for yourself. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. I just got the one with the Ramp...not sure which brand that is......but its silent when working at full speed. Bowl might be a bit high for little kittens but that is easily fixed with a improvised ramp. It was only like $21 at Petsguy.com and came with a bonus feeding bowl. Thats about $19 less then at Petsmart. And shipping was quick, ordered on Sunday and got on Thursday. > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I > think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Thank you > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I > think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Thank you I don't know if you're in an area with Tuesday Morning stores, but I picked up a kitty fountain at a DFW-area Tuesday Morning for $19.00 (same type they sell at Petsmart). Most Tuesday Morning stores have a pet supplies section with reasonable discounts. >Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I >think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Thank you Greetings! Ambra has been using the Drinkwell I bought at Litterboy for close to 2 years now and loves it. http://www.webhostconnection.com/~litterbo/Results.cfm?category=10&shopcat=Fount ain%27s I highly recommend it. Cheers! http://ca.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mdsf_1/album?.dir=/My+Photos&.src=ph&store=& prodid=&.done=http%3a//ca.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/mdsf_1 > Have you used some of those filtered water dispensers like Drinkwell.? I > think there is another brand too. a smaller one for $37? > Any opinion? > Where is a good place to buy those online and save from the $50 there are at > Petsmart? We've had a Drinkwell for almost 10 years. The cat loves it, and she's pretty picky about water. At first I used the reservoir, but I found that really the unit needed to be emptied and cleaned before the reservoir was empty. For the nooks and crannies, I just use an old toothbrush, works great. I do make sure to rinse it VERY thoroughly after each washing. The filter makes a difference in how quickly the water gets dirty. Also the pump inlet / pressure control mechanism provides a small amount of filtering for larger solid bits. Lisa |
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