Cat Mate 3-Level, 70 fl. oz. Pet Fountain - BPA and BHT Free with 3-Stage Filter and Low Voltage Pump

Written after four months of ownership....We had three water bowls spread out around our house for our six cats. Typical ceramic and stainless steel bowls which required cleaning and filling every day. I've long thought about getting a water fountain but most of the designs I saw would prevent the cats from accessing the water if ever the power went out or the transformer or pump would fail.Looking around Amazon I saw one which looked like it would work (Kenepet). Upon receiving it, I saw that the width of the reservoir at the bottom (between the outside edge and center fountain) was a bit too small. While it would have been okay for kittens, I've got a couple of large cats that may have had a hard time getting their heads in there. Looking some more I found this fountain and it seemed like it would be fine so I ordered one. There's no physical restrictions from getting to any places to drink from when the fountain is operating normally. In the event of any electrical or pump failure, all of the water settles down into the large pool at the bottom so the cats could drink from it, probably for a couple of days.Assembling the fountain was easy. The only change I thought I needed to make was opening the hole a bit more where the wire from the water pump exits the back of the fountain since I had a hard time removing it once it was pushed into place (a small round file did the trick).After a brief bit of hesitation, the cats accepted the fountain. They each have a particular place to drink; my 16 year old loves drinking from the waterfall, a couple of others like the top pools. As we try to clean out the five cat litter boxes immediately after they have been used, I know that each of them are drinking plenty of water. The fountain is easy to clean, with the exception of some tight corners (a firm bristle toothbrush works great). I clean the fountains every 10 days or so and change out the filter after 3 weeks (using the Cat Mate 3-stage filter cartridges). Once I realized they were all drinking from it, I ordered a second fountain and removed all of the old bowls. I now also have a third backup unit and an extra pump in case anything goes wrong. Both fountains are filled with a couple of glasses of water when the level get to minimum (or the pump starts making noise). This is done each night before bedtime and maybe once during the day.I have only hand-washed them so far. It takes about 10 minutes to disassemble and clean each one, the hardest part is removing the cover from the water pump (it takes a bit of force to snap off). The small plastic part that covers the pump's blades can be pried up using the round wire handle of the included round brush. We use reverse osmosis water but after 10 days of usage, there's a slight hint of slime on the surface of the fountain. This is better then the old water bowls which were stagnant all of the time and felt slimy after just one day.There is basically no noise from the fountain, except when the water level gets too low or there is hair/gunk impeding the flow of water. I have one next to the refrigerator in the kitchen and the frig is louder than the water fountain. The second one is in a bedroom and, likewise, it can't be heard above my snoring :) . As I have at least one cat that likes to "paw drink" I have placed each fountain inside a large plastic tray (Rubbermaid FG330700CLR) in case she splashes water around, as the fountains are located on carpeted and hardwood floors.The only "con" part of the fountain has to do with the included AC adapter. After a couple of hours I noticed it got fairly hot. Looking at the specs, it outputs 12V AC, not DC, and provides a maximum of 200mA of current. Knowing that, I looked around for an adapter that outputs at least 1A. Couldn't find one on Amazon so I went to DigiKey.com and found part number 2882-77DA-12-12-ND. About $20 including shipping for one and it works just great. Never gets warm and has the proper jack at the end (5.5mm x 2.1mm). As this fountain is going to be operating 24/7/365, to me it was good insurance to upgrade the adapter on both fountains (and a third one for the backup set).

I ordered my first Cat Mate Pet Fountain in March of 2011 and have ordered more since then. I have been very happy with this product.OUT OF THE BOX: The Cat Mate Pet Fountain is easy to put together. There are essentially 4 parts; the bottom "bowl", the "waterfall" piece, the pump and a the charcoal filter. I washed all the parts prior to assembling the fountain and filling it with water for my cats.CATS' REACTION: At first some of my cats were a little stand-offish, never having had a water fountain before. The motor does make a slight noise but I think it's really quite quiet. Sure, in the middle of the night, if you're in the same small room with it, you might hear it. The cats were intrigued by the running water. One of my cats wasted no time and immediately started drinking. It took the rest of my cats less than a day to drink from the fountain. Some of my cats prefer to drink from the top well, some prefer the bottom well.MAINTENANCE: I top off with a little water about every other day (I have a few cats). I keep my pet fountain on a tray, which makes it easier to carry to the sink for cleaning. I take it apart and clean it about once a week. Cleaning it is very easy. I'm not very good about changing the filter and probably only do that about once every few months.Hair does collect in the fountain and needs to be pulled off the pump. There is also now a little hard water deposit forming in certain areas of the fountain. A little vinegar soak will take it off, just haven't done it yet. You'll want to get a little brush, like a skinny bottle brush to clean the water spout coming up from the pump.PROBLEMS: Yesterday I cleaned my original fountain, the one purchased in March of 2011. I could see there was a little debris in the water intact hole on the pump so I used a small brush to try to clean it. I did get a small amount of stuff out. I reassembled my fountain, plugged it in, and the pump did not come on. I read some other reviews about the pump and one person said that the pump might need to "reset" so I disassembled my fountain and left the pump out to reset. Unfortunately, this morning, the pump still did not work. It seems there have been some issues with the pumps. It's also possible I might have damaged it while trying to clean it.Because my cats loved the fountain so much, I had actually ordered a second one in May of 2011. That fountain has been running fine ever since then and I have had no issues with the pump on this one.In December of 2011, I ordered another one as a backup and one as a gift for a friend. My friend's cat has been quite happy with the fountain and my friend has had no issues with it.OVERALL: Despite the recent failure of the pump on my first fountain, I have been very happy with this pet fountain. My cats like it. It's easy to clean. It's quiet. And I think it is reasonably priced compared to other pet fountains.