I previously had a Drinkwell, which was pure junk, and decided to replace it with something that wasn't loud, and didn't scare the cat. My cat never took to the Drinkwell, and after reading up on it I found several claims, supposedly by vets, that stated if you have a long hair cat or one that has a major aversion to getting wet, the Drinkwells, and any other fountain that can splash or flick water in their face, they will probably not use it. So I looked at this one because it is supposed to be completely splash-proof. And it is! The two things I like about the Petmate is that a) its motor is completely encased inside the machine, and b) the water runs down a little slide. The motor being inside the fountain, rather than on the bottom like the Drinkwells, means it is much more muffled. Late at night I can hear it pumping when all the TVs and radios are off and everyone is in bed. It is quieter than most aquarium pumps already, but being inside the fountain, then covered up by the addition of water, it is literally whisper quiet. You don't even hear water splashing much since it is actually being funneled down a little ramp, rather than just pumped out into the air to fall inside the bowl like most fountains. I can actually hear my cat drinking over the sound of this machine, which is nice because you are always wondering if your cat is using it enough. We were weening our cat of a bathtub faucet dependency. Though she is still angry about no more bathwater, she seems to really have taken to the Petmate fountain. It's kind of funny to watch because she seems to want to try and sample water from every square inch of the bowl, starting on the left side and working her way counterclockwise around the bowl. She'll even sniff at the little ramp, though she never drinks directly from that part. I think she's more interested in the bubbles. The reservoir is the genius part. Instead of wasting a ton of space, they made half the fountain a detachable reservoir that can be filled. I personally clean this fountain once a week, every Sunday, and so far I have not even had to scrub muck out of any corners or crevices. Why? Because there doesn't seem to be many corners or crevices on this machine. Very rounded at every angle. I would have no fear about letting this fountain run for a few weeks without a cleaning if I had to be out of town or soemthing. The only con I have found so far is that occasionally a gnat or other small bug will land in the water and get stuck on the side without the pump. The water circulates pretty well, but some things like bugs or food crumbs will often end up getting trapped on the side of the ramp where it can't be sucked into the pump. Personally, I think this is a good thing, but it does mean that particles like this may not get caught in the filter. Sure, you want crumbs to get trapped by the filter, but do you really want a rotting bug carcass in there too? The filters are basic charcoal filters, and personally I don't really think they do much but keep out food crumbs that do get sucked into the pump. We have run it without them, and did so for a little while just to make sure the bathtub water we filled it up with still smelled and tasted like the bathtub faucet. This is how we have been weening the cat off the tub water. Out of nowhere she just really got obsessed with the bathroom faucet after fifteen years. IF you are looking for a good, affordable pet fountain, then this is probably one of the best bets for cats. It doesn't splash their face, it is really quiet, it has a reservoir, it is very easy to clean, and maintenance and assembly are so basic and simple. It also has replacement parts, unlike most fountains, so if the pump craps out, which eventually all pumps do, you can just replace that rather than buying a whole new fountain. So far, ours has been going strong for a bout a month now and after the first few weeks, and some really bad experiences with our previous Drinkwell, the cat has really taken to this. I highly recommend this over any of the fountains I have seen offered here.
