Cat Mate Pet Water Fountain for Cats and Small Dogs, 2 Litre Fountain
Cat Mate Pet Fountain
Vets tell us that it is vital for your pets’ health and vitality to keep them well hydrated, and the Cat Mate drinking fountain has been carefully designed to encourage your cat or small dog to drink. Your pets will love the clean, fresh flowing water the Cat Mate Fountain provides.
The Cat Mate Fountain is exceptionally quiet in operation and maximises the appeal of drinking with its multi-height drinking levels.
Need a larger fountain? Try the Dog Mate Large Pet Fountain
– Suitable for dogs and cats of all sizes
– Large 6 Litre capacity
– Isolated pump for very quiet operation
– Water ramp eliminates splashing
– Safe low voltage power supply
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Replaceable polymer/activated carbon filter cartridgeThe replaceable polymer/activated carbon filter cartridge (one included) keeps the water clear, fresh and free from odours, just the way your pet likes it. Pet Mate recommend that the cartridge should be replaced monthly, or sooner if required. | PumpThe pump’s output is easily adjustable and the gentle flow is directed down an inclined water ramp to eliminate splashing and reduce water loss. The pump has a low voltage power supply for safety and is provided with a 3 metre power cord for ease of placement. And with a low power consumption of just 2 Watts, you won’t even notice it on your electricity bill. | MaintenanceMaintenance is simple as the bowls are dishwasher safe and the replacement cartridge easily slides into position. Only use Cat Mate branded filter cartridges to prolong the life of your pump. The pump should also be disassembled (no tools required) and cleaned every few weeks (or more frequently in hard water areas) to prevent limescale build-up. Full easy to follow instructions on how to do this are included with the fountain. |
| Weight: | 1 kg |
| Size: | 2 Litre |
| Dimensions: | 21 x 16 x 24 cm; 1 Kilograms |
| Model: | 335W |
| Colour: | White |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Colour: | White |
| Quantity: | 1 |
| Size: | 2 Litre |
My cat hates it, I turned it off because he won’t go anywhere near it, however I still think it’s fabulous and if my cat were not a Diva, I’d be so into this item.
I just had to write a review for this, I’ve had it for over 5 years and it’s still going strong with no issues.
My cats love it and they drink from the top and bottom part. It stopped them trying to drink from the taps and the filters are easy to buy and i find it easy to clean and that’s why i would recommend it.
his a second one boughtneeded to buy a new motor..two together plus postage was almost the same price as a new onehence second order!
they are very good though cats love them
This was a direct replacement for our previous cat mate. Our cats love drinking from it. I’d bought replacement filters for the previous model. Although the new filters are a different shape, the old filters fit!
However the plug does get quite hot, so we turn it off at night.
I know it said its a silent fountain I was a bit dubious at first,
Well let me say I am impressed I had to keep checking to see if it was working my kitty Chester has never used one before once he figured not to submerged his face he taken to it very well , I would recommend this fountain fast delivery and a great price.
It’s predecessor ended up with limescale deposits I couldn’t shift. So I kept the original’s motor and put the plastic shell in the recycling bin.
With these, monthly cleaning is essential to keep it in good condition.
The original’s motor is whisper quiet, as is this one, only when filled to the max.
The less water, the louder it gets.
The replaceable filters are the same price as the unit for a year’s supply. Alternatively, aquarium supplies sell activated carbon and filter floss for half the price of a year’s worth of filter contents and will probably last a decade.
Kitty loves it! Was recommended to me and it’s great! My cat has long whiskers so would get whisker fatigue and it doesn’t seem to affect him like his old bowl did. Also can stay overnight and he’s got fresh water still.. Love this!
I didn’t see my three cats drink a lot of water so was sceptical this would help. The one who does, took to it right away. The others now use it all the time. It has a low hum, nothing too intrusive and makes a more annoying noise when it’s running low. I have to clean it more regularly than than I’d like due to the fur and limescale from hard water. I now use filtered tap water from the jug and that seems to reduce the need to scrub
I had been using this fountain for years, my cats loved it so it made sense to replace with the same – my girlies do not appreciate change. Knew it was reliable and easy to set up and use. Please it came with the brush this time but also purchased the cleaning kit.
When the fountain arrived, the plug was split open and insides falling out. We were too lazy to send it back so we glued it back together and it works. It’s been quite easy to use and clean, not tried to clean the filter yet. The cats took a while to warm to it but now are fine. Some days it’s louder and some days it’s quieter, the more water is in there the quieter it is but sometimes it’s not clear what factors impact it.
It’s been better than a normal drinking bowl as the cats can’t spill it and there’s quite a lot of water at all times so they don’t run out. So overall it seems to be a step up.
This is my second purchase of this product. The first I bought in Pets at home and it lasted a long time til the motor began having problems. So I purchased this one from Amazon. This one is a hell of a lot noisier than the other one but it still does the job at hand and it didn’t come with the red writing like in the picture. The previous one had blue filters so I assumed that they’d work with this one but they don’t. This one uses the grey filters instead even though it’s the exact same model and size.
However, there’s a design flaw where the cable runs into the body of the fountain, it is much too tight to get the wire in and out, causing it to rip the insulation and expose the wire making it unsafe to use. I’ve had to buy a replacement pump and I’ll be filing down the plastic on the fountain.
It took a couple of days before my cat would use this fountain but now he drinks from it all the time. My toy poodle also prefers to drink from this rather than from her bowl and it is an ample size for both of them to use. Very pleased with this purchase.
This is a great fountain and the cat loves it. The only downsides are 1. the nooks and cranies that are really hard to clean. However, I must state that it came with a pipe cleaner to fit in the tunnel parts of the fountain. 2. The new filter type that came with it did not last as long as the standard blue cat mate filters. I had high hopes for the new filter as it was much bigger and looked as if it would last a long time….it didn’t. 3. The hole where the cable fits through was far too tight and it took a long time to pull it back out, if this had too be done too often it would almost certainly damage the cable. We were lucky enough to have already purchased older version of this fountain for which we used that top part with the new pump and base. Other than the above points the water fountain is loved by my cat and therefore is a good purchase.
After reading lots of reviews we decided on this one and the cat likes it, so no more jumping in the bath.
The only issue we found was that after a day or so of putting clean filtered water in, we were getting murky water which was leaving grey scummy rings round the bowl and the overflow parts where the water runs down.
We gave the fountain a good clean, having to use cotton buds to get into the corners that were grey and quite dirty.
We then removed the charcoal filter and filled the fountain up again with filtered water and left it to see how it went. Absolutely no grey scum appeared so we deduced that the charcaol in the filter was causing the problem.
Several weeks later we still haven’t put the filter back, in fact it’s in the bin.
Every two days we empty the water out, rinse the pump under cold running water, give the fountain a wipe out and refill it with clean filtered water. It takes only a few minutes and the fountain is staying nice and clean and the water remains nice and clear.
Plus we are not having to buy expensive replacement filters for it so it’s a winner all round.
Our cat went to the vet for unrelated issues and our vet noticed some of her blood work was at the higher end than she’d like for kidney function so recommended we look at ways to increase the cat’s water intake. The cat’s always been fussy — avoiding her water bowl if she thinks there’s a chance she can get a drink from the bathroom tap for example.
We purchased the CatMate fountain and we’re very pleased with it — be aware that it takes a filter that needs replacing periodically so there is an ongoing cost. We keep ours by the back door and I have noticed that quite a lot of dirt seems to end up in it so I wash it out completely every day and then take it apart and scrub the insides at least once a week but there aren’t many nooks or crannies so it’s easy to clean.
Given that it is a water pump, I found the noise to be minimal and I’ve only thought to mention it in the review as other reviewers seem very concerned about whether there’s a noise, I can honestly say day to day I don’t notice it.
The power lead has a connection part way along the lead so you can leave the plug in the wall and just disconnect the fountain to take it to the sink to clean it so you’ve not got a dangling plug to stand on in bare feet/scratch your kitchen units to contend with — a nifty feature I thought!
Our cat also has arthritis so the vet recommended something with a higher up level for drinking so she doesn’t have to bend so far — the CatMate has three different levels for pets to drink out of. Typically, the cat’s ignored this and chooses to drink out of the lowest level!
Overall it seems to be good value for money, easy to clean and most importantly the cat actually uses it!
This product is both a blessing and a curse. It keeps the water quite clean and moving which is a good thing. You don’t hear any real sound of water flowing but the pump does give off a hum even if filled to maximum capacity. Though if it’s filled closer to the minimum line the noise is quite loud.
It does come apart quite easily and is dishwasher safe which sounds compelling but it’s got a lot of nooks and crannies, unless you intend to run it through the dishwasher every day it’s going to gather some undesirable visitors. Washing it by hand is an exercise in frustration
Good luck cleaning the pump. It doesn’t seem to have any way of prising it apart to get in and clean the internals outside of running it through some cleaning solution I don’t see any way of cleaning it.
The filter is quite overpriced for its function. Fortunately you can pry it open, remove the spent activated charcoal and replace it. You can buy either loose small pellets like those included or you can buy filter pads that have them in already. I would advise the latter they work a tad better in my opinion and are easier to deal with. You can get them really cheap, it clips back together quite easily.
All in all I like it but it can be much more upkeep than just a standard copper bowl which in itself has some antibacterial properties and is far easier to clean than this is.
I would advise for cleaning. Run it through the dishwasher as often as you can, other days wash it by hand (you must wash it every day with a soft sponge as plastic scratches easily and can hold a lot of dangerous bacteria!) fully empty it of water. Detach and rinse both the pump and filter then reassemble and refill you are good to go. If you need to deep clean the filter I wouldn’t advise trying to pry it apart, just run it in a small bowl of some disinfectant and be very sure to flush with a lot of water after so it’s pet safe again.
If you notice bubbles or any green stuff on the filter as I did it’s probably fairly non-dangerous algae. Swap out the filter material, and move it someplace darker with less sunlight or artificial light hitting it.
I change the water every few days but you do start to get lime build up on the plastic which can be a pain to get off sometimes. I did put it in the dishwasher once, but the dirty water just collects in the back of the unit. You need to get right into the hole where the pump pushes the water up as well otherwise a green slime starts to build up. Not a problem though once you realise its there.
Now onto the pump. A lot of people have said the pump fails too easily. Mine failed just recently but as I had it running 24/7 for over a year I though ok I’ll get another one from Amazon. After getting this new one I decided to look at the old pump only to realise you just take it apart (really easy) and clean it. The impeller runs using a floating magnet. The label on the power cord does say “pump stopped ?” take apart and clean the parts to get rid of lime build up. Needless to say I didn’t look at this before buying a new unit! When I looked at the impeller the magnet was coated in limescale. I then realised this would reduce the magnetic efficiency of the motor. I cleaned the parts which took all of 5min. Put back together and plugged it in to the mains. Hey Presto the pump worked fine again. Wish I had read the label first. Not to worry though as now I have a spare pump if I need one.
So this may not be everyone’s problem who has complained about pump failure, but its worth checking before throwing it in the bin.
I am delighted to say my problems have been resolved by this Cat Mate water fountain. It’s brilliant. I set it up, remembering to remove the plastic covering from the filter before assembling. (The filters should be replaced monthly. Amazon sell them.) I placed the fountain in the utility room where we have a stone floor. A good test for the motor noise. I filled it with water to the max line and plugged it in. The cord is long, so no worries there. Inside the unit is a dial for the motor speed. Our’s came set to half way. We left it set there.
I switched the unit on in the presence of both cats. They sat starring at it as though a mouse might come running out from the top! The motor really is very quiet. I have good hearing and if I bend down and get close enough to the motor, I can just hear a very faint hum. Make sure it does not touch other objects because they will carry the sound.
I left the china water bowl in the utility room next to the Cat Mate water fountain. After about 2 hours, both cats were drinking from their new fountain, ignoring their old bowl. It has been a complete success. No more splashing about in the water to make it move, no more wet floor and no more dirty water. Just fresh, clean water all the time. I just need to top up the water every day, wash the plastic parts once a week and replace the filter monthly. Easy!
The cats love it and I’m happy!
Since writing this review I have made a useful discovery with the filters. I went on eBay and bought 500g of loose charcoal pellets that are identical to the 20g of wet charcoal in the filters. If you prize open the lid, wash the filter fabric, replace the 20g of wet charcoal and carefully replace the filter lid, you will have an all singing and dancing filter for the cost of about 15p in total.
I wondered how necessary it is to change the filter every 4 weeks, so did a bit of research. I learnt that carbon is a medium for bacteria as well as removing chlorine. The carbon breaks down the bacteria and removes it. After 4 weeks the carbon no longer works and can hold onto the bacteria. Having discovered this and not wanting to risk my cats’ health, I have decided to keep changing the carbon every 4 weeks. Just to be on the safe side. Nothing lost but a bit of time and 15p with my eBay purchased charcoal!
Remember also that the pump cannot function properly with a dirty, clogged filter. The filter will restrict water flow towards the pump and you may be under the false impression that your pump is packing up – when actually all is needed is a new/clean filter.
Some reviewers have commented on the unit becoming noisey. I have noticed this happens when cat hair gets stuck against the inlet part of the pump. Just remove it and it will be virtually silent again.
In August 2019 the unit suddenly stopped working! I removed the end cover of the pump where the propeller is located. The propeller was motionless. I turned it ever so slightly and it fired into action! Not sure why it stopped, everything was clean inside the pump. Needless to say, all good again now.
If your pump does pack up, you can purchase another one separately from Amazon. They cost about 10.
It’s August 2023 and with the afore mentioned maintenance, the unit is still as good as new.
Hope this helps. It is a great product.
The filter under the two higher tiers of the fountain just slides into place in the grooves and the pump clips in and is held in place by a little turn key. The fountain holds two litres of water and the pump has an adjustable flow rate to suit each cat. I operate mine at a quarter of the highest flow rate which keeps the water nice and cool, my kitchen is not the warmest place so if your kitchen or wherever you keep your cats water is fairly warm you may need to use a higher flow setting.
The filter, so far at least, traps the stay cat hairs that inevitably find their way into my cats water. It has also done a marvellous job of keeping out soggy chunks of biscuit that my one year old son seems to like dunking inn the cats water. Perhaps because of this my cat will only drink from the middle level of the fountain. Most particularly she seems to like drinking from the little ‘waterfall’ or waterslide where all the nice fresh filtered water is.
Cleaning this fountain is really easy too. Just unplug near the fountain allow the water to drain out of the top layers and lift up. Remove the filter and rinse under a tap.The rest of the fountain is easy to clean with a cloth and then reassemble. I’ve not had to do the monthly maintenance yet but from the instructions it shouldn’t be much more difficult than the routine cleaning.
As I bought the fountain to keep my cat supplied with clean fresh water while I was away for a few days I tested the fountain out before hand to make sure my cat would drink from it and to ensure that the flow rate I had selected wouldn’t allow the the pump to run dry when I wasn’t about. With the flow rate at a quarter after a week of constant use the water level still hadn’t dropped below the minimum mark but with my kitchen not being very warm that has probably helped reduced water evaporation.
I have read a few reviews saying that the pump was quite noisy but I haven’t found that to be an issue. As far as the pump goes you can barely hear it. The hum of my fridge is louder than the sound of the pump and you can even hear the trickling of the water as it runs down the waterslide. When you first start up the fountain after initial set up or after cleaning the pump makes an audible sound as it pumps the water up to the top level but once that has filled up the noise of the pump drops dramatically to being barely audible.
Overall I’m very pleased with the quality of this fountain especially for the price I paid which was very reasonable
I’ve had this drinking fountain for over 2 years now. I was a little worried he will not drink from it because he is an extremely jumpy character, just this morning he pushed open the bathroom door then got in front of it and as it gently tapped his behind he jumped a meter high and then ran a mile. But the pump though audible is not noisy and does not scare him away from drinking from the fountain.
TIP= situate the fountain in a different room from where your cat eats. Cats like their sources of water and food to be quite separate.
FILTER= Some change the filter as often as every 4 weeks i only change mine every 6 months or so and even then it seems too often. Though I do pour Brita filtered water in there to begin with as the water in my area is extremely hard so I wouldn’t want my cat drinking it.
CLEANING THE BOWL = The fountain is made out of two pieces, a filter and a pump. Both the filter and the pump are very easy to remove and the other two pieces are dishwasher safe.
CLEANING THE PUMP = Eventually the pump will have muck over it and I doubt it would survive a dishwasher cycle, what I do is remove the filter and replace the water with vinegar then let it pump overnight out of cat’s reach (not that he is likely to drink vinegar anyway) You’ll be amazed how much dirt will suddenly be pumped to the surface from within the pump itself plus the vinegar is an excellent de-scaler. Once you finished with the process just replace the vinegar with water and let it pump for another hour or so, then put the filter back in, replace with drinking water and the fountain will be as good as the day it arrived!
WHAT I LIKED
-The capacity is quite decent so it not only helps your cat stay hydrated it also frees you up from having to replace your cat’s water supply every day.
-The cable is very generous and has a quick plug near the fountain meaning that if you have it plugged in behind a sofa or something else that obstructs easy access to the wall socket you can still remove the fountain easily for regular cleaning or maintenance.
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
-The pump although quiet isn’t that quiet.
-The min/max water level markings could be painted a different colour rather than embossed in the bowl, which makes it nigh impossible to see even with my 20/20 vision.
I bought this product from Amazon after seeing a couple in use and then researching different models online. After one of my cats had a recurrence of FLUTD, my vet advised me to get a drinking fountain, and while my other three cats do love their water (and one even seems to get so much pleasure from just drinking and drinking) the cat who should be drinking most, doesn’t. He sometimes drinks water from the bath tap if you turn it on to a trickle, so I thought getting a fountain would be perfect solution, since cats do seem to prefer running or trickling water.
After deciding on this particular model over others, mainly due to the brilliant reviews and the fact most people seemed to think it was quiet, and also the design which would allow several cats to drink at the same time from the different areas, I ordered it – and also a pack of filters from a different supplier on Amazon. I received the fountain and the separate filters within 48 hours of my order, which impressed me. I set the fountain up (after washing all the parts). It is extremely easy to set up, but you must put the filter in the right way round. Incidently, a word about filters: I’ve read reviews saying people just run these under the tap, but while this may get rid of pet hairs etc. the reason for the filters is that they absorb impurities, and washing a filter under the tap will not wash these away.
After setting it up, I was really impressed by the lack of noise it makes. The only noise is the soft sound of trickling as the water runs down the chute from the top level to the bottom. You need to make sure you fill it to the right level or it won’t work properly. Once filled, it starts running immediately. My cats were not immediately drawn to it, as some adverts suggest, and didn’t notice it at first. however, they all came for a look and while they were all initially quite curious, only two of them have used it for its intended purpose, and then the novelty wore off. The cat it was originally bought for hasn’t drunk from it at all to my knowledge. One cat just played with it, dipping his paw in and out and trying to catch the water!
I am going to have one last attempt to get them to use it by removing all but one of their water bowls, the idea being if they are thirsty they will use the fountain. However, as I work long shifts and don’t get home until 10pm three days out of six, I can’t risk leaving them without a source of water that they will actually use, particularly in this warm weather. I’ll give it another week then pass it onto a friend who is thinking of getting one!
My verdict: great product but my cats might just be too fussy! I would definitely still recommend it as the idea is ingenious, and it really is unobtrusive and quiet. It’s also a lot smaller than you might expect, but in my view this is a plus, as it means you can put it pretty much anywhere you want. Cats apparently prefer their water away from their food, so the small size of this product means it doesn’t really take up much more room than a couple of water bowls.