Why I’ve Been Hesitant to Try Cat Fountains So Far

While I know that fountains for cats to drink from are incredibly useful, and so many people use them to help their cats drink more water, I’ve been hesitant to try them for years for a number of reasons.

I don’t know if these are common reasons why people avoid using them, or if those who do use them can shed light on whether my concerns are valid or if they’re no problem at all in reality, but I’d love for you to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments whether you’ve tried a cat fountain yourself or not.

First I’ll really quickly go over the reasons why people like using cat fountains – their benefits essentially, then I’ll explain why I feel like I’ve been avoiding them, and I’d love for you to let me know what you think at the end!

Why Cat Fountains Are Useful

The first and foremost reason to use a cat fountain is that cats prefer running water to drink from, and will typically drink far more with a running water cat fountain than they will from a bowl of still water.

The second reason I assume people might want to try a cat fountain is because they hold quite a lot of water in them, and so in case you need to be gone long hours of the day or even have a short trip or have a number of cats you need to all have enough water, they hold quite a bit so you’d be all set with the right cat fountain.

Some people don’t mind which cat fountain they use material-wise, but there are ceramic cat fountains and aluminum cat fountains for those worried about bacteria and the potential black heads they can create on cats’ chins. So there are good options out there, especially these days.

Some Reasons Why I’m Hesitant to Try Cat Fountains

1. Having to regularly clean them

I feel like regularly cleaning a bowl is not too bad. I personally bought some massive Corelle soup bowls that are made of tempered glass rather than ceramic.

Ceramic bowls are great to use for cats to drink out of, and while I could easily have found a massive ceramic bowl for my cats (I prefer them very big these days so they don’t run out of water, and so they are higher for ease of drinking out of for my cats), I opted to use a tempered glass one instead because it’s lightweight, easier for me to rinse out, which I do every day before I refill bowls, and I feel they basically last forever no matter how many times they’ve been through the dishwasher.

My current routine is to rinse out the bowls before I refill them each night, then to throw them in the dishwasher once or twice a week, depending on how much extra room my dishwasher has and how dirty the bowls have gotten.

This is a really simple, easy to keep on top of routine that I have to make sure they stay hygienic for my cats, and I worry with a water fountain, I won’t stay on top of regularly cleaning it as often as I’d like, even if I have a fully dishwasher safe fountain.

2. Multiple locations for water is somewhat problematic.

Right now, I have my bowls in multiple areas. I have one on each floor, in each bathroom where the cool tiles keep them a better temperature than our wood floors could, and I’ve at times had extra bowls where I needed them (like when I had to isolate the cats).

Easy to maintain, easy to do with regular bowls. But if I wanted to have a fountain, I’d probably have to buy two and keep them where they are, not moving them around.

Not much of a problem besides initial expense, but what happens if I want to wash one? Then we’re down one cat bowl for some time in a location the cats are used to drinking out of.

And if my cats don’t find water on that floor, I don’t really expect them to go to another location to drink until they really need to. Slackers they are.

I could put a regular bowl out until the fountain is done with the dishwasher and done drying, but that brings me to my third problem…

3. My cats drink a lot right now, and I’m worried if they get used to drinking from a cat fountain, they won’t want to drink still water anymore.

I’m not sure if this concern is valid, but my worry is that if my cats get used to drinking from a cat fountain, they won’t want regular, still water out of a bowl anymore. And will drink less if for some reason that is the only option available to them at the moment.

This would happen when the cat fountain is being cleaned, but also if it stops working for a while and needs to be replaced.

Again, maybe this is not a problem. Maybe my cats would go right on drinking the same amount when the cat fountain is no longer there, but if they drink the same amount with a cat fountain and without one, what benefit exactly is there for me to have had the cat fountain?

4. Filters & rinsing out debris may be an issue for hygiene, too.

Then there’s the issue about the filter, which I honestly don’t know if I’m the type who will slack on replacing. I wouldn’t want to be, so this would be an added task to maintain hygiene, but if I forget, which I am known to do if I don’t schedule things on my calendar (I likely would, but it’s possible I’d still forget), this concerns me as filters being clean are very important for making sure the water is clean and hygienic for kitty use.

Then there’s the debris. My cats stick their paws into their bowls to clean them off often, and there’s always fur floating around in the bowls that I rinse off each night. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough that I feel better rinsing it off every night before I refill the cat bowls, to prevent them having to ingest even more fur that will turn into a hairball eventually.

I don’t think this will be as convenient and easy to do every night if I have a water fountain, so I can see myself slacking on this front. Thus I’m less inclined to switch over.

How I Keep My Cats Hydrated Better With Water Bowls Rather Than Switching to a Cat Fountain

So currently I feed my cats a small amount of food twice a day by hand – in bowls, where I mix water with kibble, to help make sure they drink enough water. Then I have a cat feeder go off 3 other times a day with a small amount of food to top them off when they’re at their hungriest.

I have two water bowls out in the bathrooms, which are cooler and have ceramic tiles that help keep the water cool.

If I need my cats to drink more water throughout the day, I’ve found having more conveniently placed bowls encourages them to do this. If I place one in a room they hang out in, they’re more inclined to go drink as they pass the bowl, so having more water bowls more dispersed makes more sense to me than switching to a singular cat fountain, or even two cat fountains.

I definitely would not stop feeding them water mixed with kibble, even if I did switch to a water fountain, as I like to know they’re at least getting a specific amount of water in their systems each day at minimum.

And I do see them use the water bowls quite frequently on their own. If I saw they weren’t using them as often, I’d try adding more bowls where they happen to be frequenting more often in the house.

Your Turn: Thoughts on Cat Bowls VS Cat Fountains

What do you think about the cat bowl vs cat fountain situation? Have you ever tried fountains? Do you feel any of my hesitations are valid? Do you like your fountain a lot and would you recommend it?

If you’ve never tried fountains for cats – have you been thinking about it? Would you try one? What keeps you from trying it? Expense, hygiene, convenience? Something else?

Love to hear your thoughts in the comments down below!