Borg Collective.....Happy Saturday

I am in need of a CORDLESS, battery rechargeable water system for my cats. I had them in a simple bowl that had a larger water "jug" on top that would fill the bowl as it got lower...like this one Link

One of my kitties got an upset stomach right before Christmas. She wasn't eating, but was drinking...and drinking and drinking...but then she would vomit her water within 10-15 minutes of drinking. Off to the Animal ER we went on Christmas Eve morning.

The vet said it was a touch of Gastroenteritis and could POSSIBLY be Pancreatitis, which I don't think is the case. She is alright 100% now after giving meds at home for 3 days after I picked her up Christmas night.

$X,XXX.XX

To that end, I started looking at what might have caused this, as their feeding/watering area stays clean and the food dishes get rinsed/washed with each feeding. This led me to the water system. I've kept the inside of the drinking part clean, but upon close inspection, found some gunk on the outside of the plastic bowl part in the seam where the upper and lower halves are attached...it's two pieces. I'm just wondering if it was enough gunk to have somehow seeped into the water and caused a little bacterial growth that disagreed with my kitty's intestinal system.

I have summarily removed that water container from the equation and began putting water in a regular ol' plastic bowl that I wash/rinse at least weekly. But I'd like to get something that has a filtration system and circulates.

So, Collective...what say you on water systems that are CORDLESS, rechargeable, and filtered?

Looking at something like this:

Link

Thanks!!

Over the years with many foster cats we have tried various circulating waterers. First, some cats love to play in the moving water and end up splashing water everywhere. Second, the compartment that houses the pump and filter will grow gunk and has many nooks and crannies that are a bitch to clean.

Now we just just use a couple on stainless bowls which we clean and refill on a two day rotation. Simple, cheap and works for us.

Fresh water in a clean bowl (ceramic or stainless), twice a day. Cats IME, will tend to use the water bowl as a 'foot bath', so regularly changing out the water and cleaning the bowl makes sense.

If you don't find a cordless 'running water system' and are considering an AC powered unit, you might give this one a try...

https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer...indrop/dp/B0037NKDSG

We had two cats at the time when we got it, Luna and Loki (still have two, though we lost Luna to cancer and rescued another cat since). At the time both cats seemed to take to it right away, and liked it. It's stainless steel and provided a 'stream' of running water, rather than a fountain/waterfall. It was easy to clean, quiet (think aquarium pump) and has a replaceable charcoal filter. It gives two options for drinking, either directly from the stream, or from the well/pool of water on the other side of the bowl.

One caution...We have one cat (Loki) that likes to put his paw(s) in the water and he was regularly knocking the cover w/ the attached pump ajar. He seems to want to test the water for some reason initially, but then uses it to clean his front paws...Weird I know! Anyway, I put a thick rubber band over the whole thing to keep that from happening, but he was still able to do it. I kinda think he was doing it on purpose, as it was happening more and more often. Maybe he didn't like his whiskers touching the cover when drinking from the well (his whiskers are kinda straight/wide), not sure, but the issue was that a couple of times, he did it just right and the stream of water was pumping onto the floor! It was caught quickly because of the noise it made when he did it, so no harm, but we had to retire it. YMMV

I had a cat live for 20 years. About age 12, she ended up getting kidney disease, and in the early stages had to do a urine collection and it was thick, crystalline, and stank way more than normal. The vet suggested a fountain drinker as some cats drink more water when it's flowing. Despite how stubborn that cat was, the fountain actually worked and she resumed normal cat urine.

About age 14 or 15, I was living in a 2-story place in Calgary and she began to get too lazy to go from her favorite napping spot in my bedroom (upstairs) to the kitchen (main floor). Water consumption declined and urine stank increased so I bought a 2nd identical fountain drinker for upstairs. Water consumption increased and once again urine stank returned to normal.

I always had mine by an electric outlet so I'm not familiar with battery versions. If you change your mind on electric, I highly recommend the Petsafe Drinkwell Platinum as they were flawless for 8 years and 5 years.

I bought one of the fountain type ones. I didn't think they were drinking enough water. I have never actually seen them drink out of it. On the other hand, I keep finding one of them constantly playing in the dog's water dish.

So no help other than to say stick with a water bowl.

Most indoor cats get the bulk of their water from soft foods and then use the water for supplemental water and play/bathe.


If the cats eat a kibble heavy diet, changing a simple water dish once or twice a day is cheap and very effective. But if you want to go with a fountain type, Amazon has cordless and rechargeable units that get very high reviews.

As far as gunk, you can buy animal safe stuff to put in a birdbath, although I'm not sure that cats would like or hate it in their water.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Fresh water in a clean bowl (ceramic or stainless), twice a day. Cats IME, will tend to use the water bowl as a 'foot bath', so regularly changing out the water and cleaning the bowl makes sense.

This is our experience, too. We use ceramic bowls (heavier). One of our two cats often drinks off his paw. Kitty litter drops in, so we change the water quite a few times a day.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
I always had mine by an electric outlet so I'm not familiar with battery versions. If you change your mind on electric, I highly recommend the Petsafe Drinkwell Platinum as they were flawless for 8 years and 5 years.

I did a thread about a year ago asking for recommendations and tatortodd recommended this one. I bought it, it's been great. My 11, now 12 year old cat drinks out of it and really likes it. The kitten we got in November absolutely loves it, he drinks straight from the pour, lapping like a dog. He even lays down and sleeps next to it.

I also can't speak to battery operated. I don't know why you're specifying cordless, but if you can see fit to drop that requirement, this one should well meet your needs.

I tried a battery fountain. Apparently they don’t circulate continuously. The one I tried would either start up when approached by a pet, or automatically kick on every 15 minutes for a bit.
My cats hated the sensor triggered start and wouldn’t go near it. The automatic cycle didn’t circulate enough water to keep the reservoir full for frequent or prolonged slurps.
It may have been sufficient if they weren’t afraid of the sensor mode.
I keep their old stainless water bowl next to our current (plugged in) constant flow fountain just in case there’s a power outage

I asked my hound Clark, and his response: Why can't those disgusting animals drink out of the toilet like sane pets do?

^^^^^^^
LMAO!!!!


For those inquiring, where I have my kitties' food/water has no electrical outlet nearby without stringing an extension cord down the hall. Not gonna do that, hence the need for a CORDLESS solution.

They drink enough water...I've seen them at the bowl...and they're good about keeping their paws out of it. I'll just stick with a plastic bowl.

Thanks for the responses!!!!! [thumbs up!]

There are a few dozen good vids on YouTube, most have some comments about them, good and bad.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bendable,

I have tried many water fountains over the years and none worked well. Scale or lime deposits would kill them and some of them required filters that you had to keep in supply. PITA to clean properly, too. I now keep a stainless steel bowl in the kitchen and in my upstairs bathroom. I change the water when I am in either room. Avoid plastic bowls as some develop a rash from contact with the plastic. Ceramic bowls are fine too.
FYI: from time to time my current cat will drink out of the crapper. And I have had cats who wanted to watch the toilet flush!

Wet food and a stainless bowl wiped out and refilled regularly.
This is my experience talking after 2 cats, the first living to 21y, the second went into kidney failure after about 8 years of age. She was determined to have a limited life span and I was to give her fluids subQ every day. Wet food solved her issues AFTER I spent months injecting her, and offering a wet diet. I’ve quit the fluids, and she’s been going strong, but I’ll never do dry cat food again.
As mentioned, the liquid cats take in is mostly through the food they eat, not the water they drink. Also, general knowledge is to stick to anything with wings for food (chicken,turkey, duck, etc).
Best of luck.

Tried a couple of fountains and although the cats used them, both devices grew crap in the crevices despite regular and complete field strip cleaning. We now have three large water bowls that get changed and rinsed daily. Both cats drink from them avidly.

They are fed exclusively on dry Purina Complete and they are quite happy.

Smokey and Bandit in their usual happy place:

I have three cats and they are purfectly happy drinking out of plastic bowls. The bowls are kept clean and the water is refreshed daily.