Do You Have An Easy to Clean Cat Fountain?

No one wants to slave over keeping their cat fountain clean – & shouldn’t have to.

When it comes to purchasing cat fountains one of the first questions people ask–especially people who have owned one of the more common, and difficult to clean brands of cat fountains–is, ‘is it an easy to clean cat fountain?‘ Most of them are not easy to clean. This article addresses this specific question and provides information on what to look for before you buy; so you can consider ease of cleaning when you decide to purchase your next fountain.

If a fountain comes with a cleaning kit like this brush set, be assured, the fountain is not easy to clean. It will have many nooks and crevices into which those brushes are meant to get and it will likely be made of plastic, which will scratch and harbor bacteria that causes cat chin acne, requiring yet more scrubbing with bleach or something similar, and often.

Since the fountain may well be offered on its own, without the cleaning kit mentioned, search for the fountain brand name followed by ‘cleaning kit’ or simply ‘cleaning’. You’ll find what you need to know about cleaning it.

Other brands of pet fountains

This fountain to the left is another not easy to clean cat water cat fountain. You can put it in a dishwasher on a low setting, but there are a lot of sources which recommend against that. And  notice all the crevices and corners. The fountain is 100% plastic, meaning it will become scratched and in those scratches disease-causing bacteria will grow which can cause chin acne so those areas will need regular cleaning with bleach.

This model to the right is much easier to clean and is largely of metal though there is a good deal of plastic which is mostly where the water flows out (and where the cats lick). Those black rings you see are different flow option controls. You use only one at a time. The taller black pieces hold the inner part to the outer part and are necessary. They are of plastic and it is likely bacteria will live between the plastic and the metal to which they firmly attach, as well as accumulate on the plastic itself.

This fountain to the left is another 100% plastic pet fountain and again, not easy to clean due to all the surfaces exposed to water. See the spokes on the larger green piece, the tube of the white ‘flower’ and the indent in the smaller green piece? These will all need regular scrubbing and frequent cleaning with bleach due to scratches that will occur.

This next model is mostly stainless steel and does not have many corners or nooks. The filter housing and filter housing cover are plastic. The filtration is, in our estimation, not very robust so the pump will need regular cleaning but that is no hardship. All pumps need some degree of cleaning.

ThirstyCat Fountains: Smooth, Easy-to-Clean, Ceramic Fountains

Which still leaves the question; which pet fountain is easiest to clean? If it has no crevices or corners, it will easier clean. If it has smooth surfaces that don’t scratch, it will be easier to clean.  A ceramic fountain, such as a ThirstyCat fountain gives you this.  Our fountains are made of high-fire stoneware, glazed with food safe glazes and come with a robust filtration system. A ThirstyCat fountain is the easiest of all fountains to clean, as the video below demonstrates.

Another consideration is how easy it is to clean the pump?  Nearly all pet fountains have a pump and all pumps need cleaning. But how often? That depends on the filtration the pump receives. A robust filter which prevents cat hair and other debris from entering the pump is, naturally, better than a flimsy filter. Do your research, look at the cleaning suggestions for any particular brand of pet fountain, check out their cleaning kits and filters and make an educated evaluation of which is the easiest to clean. We think you’ll agree, you can’t beat a ThirstyCat Fountain for ease of cleaning and for beauty.