Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain

My Petmate Drinking Fountain died on me recently. I had had the thing for several years and the pump stopped working. I'm debating whether to try and replace the pump or get a new Pet Fountain altogether. After several years of using the Petmate Fountain, I've made several observations. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good -

1. I love the fact that the Petmate Fountain recycles the water through a charcoal filter. It may not do a lot of good as far as reducing bacteria but at least the water gets filtered. For a long while, I would just go get fish tank filters from the pet store and modify them to fit the designated filter spot in the Petmate Fountain. I later discovered that pet stores carry filter replacements. Heck, my grocery store even started carrying the filter replacements as well at half the cost of the pet stores.

2. The white plastic of the Petmate Fountain also made it easy to determine when the unit needed cleaning.

3. My cats enjoy drinking out of it. The older cat drinks out of the pool of water while the younger one would drink right from the water "chute".

The bad -

1. You can't unplug the power cord from the device. Being able to do so would help immensely with cleaning the unit. Frankly, it would have been nice to have been able to stick the whole thing in the dishwasher, but I'm sure dishwasher soap can't be too good for the pump.

2. The Petmate Fountain had some narrow slots that were difficult to clean, and it was impossible to thoroughly clean where the pump is located.

3. It didn't hold much water. I would have loved to have had at least twice the capacity. The resevoir tank didn't always work right either.

4. It would be great if the fountain had some means of indicating the amount of water your pet consumed. My older cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes. It would be nice to glance at the unit and be able to tell how much water had been consumed.

The ugly -

1. The pump and the overall design. If you get low on water or debris, hair or other particles get in the pump, the pump can be very noisy. As a result, the unit requires frequent cleaning to avoid annoying pump noise.

2. Made of plastic. Stainless steel seems to be the latest hype in pet dishes in order to decrease bacteria. It would be great to have a completely stainless steel Petmate Fountain.

Although significantly more expensive, I'm considering the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain as the new drinking bowl for my cat. It has a one gallon plus capacity, a true falling water design, and a better filtration system that allegedly prevents dirt, debris, and other particles from entering the pump. I'll report more once I get one.

Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain