I bought one of these several months ago for my mom's cat, who has congenital kidney problems. Her cat liked it so much I got a second one for my cat. (Amazon sealed the deal when they offered it to me in my lightning picks.)
The second one arrived, I washed it out, assembled it, and it worked fine. Until I noticed it leaked. I had the unit in a shallow pan, and if I didn't, it would have done a number on the rug the Petmate was on, and probably the wall-to-wall carpet under that. In effect, the fountain seemed to leak at random. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't. At first I thought the water came from me spilling it, but on third day the entire reservoir leaked out, which caused air to get into the pump, essentially ruining the pump.
I took the unit apart, and there was a small hole, about 1/8", *right* at the water line. If you looked close, it was a manufacturing defect where the plastic didn't fill the mold completely. (I have a picture, but there isn't a way to post it.)
Amazon, of course, was stellar in the replacement, overnighting a new unit to me, and paying the return postage for the defective unit.
So I put the new unit together, and it's working fine. My cat still prefers to drink from the bathtub drain (if there's water there) or his old dish. Cats are evil... (He *might* be drinking from it, he just won't do it in front of me.)
On a different note, my mom's unit started making noise, so I took it apart, and found cat hair plugging the intake of the pump. (She has a DMH.) After removing the hair, the pump is quiet again, but it makes me think that the unit was designed wrong. The filter should be on the intake side of the pump, not the output side. I can understand why they did it that way (a larger area will allow higher flow), but then they should have made the pump more accessible to clean the intake.
Other comments:
My mom has to fill her reservoir every day. I'm still running mine, and I think it would last 3 or 4 days, but I still fill it every day. I think how often you have to fill the reservoir depends on the relative humidity of the house, maybe the number of cats you have.
The unit itself is very quiet. Not intrusive at all.
You still have to clean the fountain about once a week. Maybe two. Stuff gets in it. Sometimes litter, sometimes food, depends on how messy your cat is. :-)
So if your cat likes it, this is a great product. I'd give it 5 stars, except for the problems I've had. If your cat doesn't like it, you have another doorstop on your hands. I'm one for two.
Oh, and five stars for Amazon's response to my problem. That's why I buy here.
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tl;dr Not a PetMate Fresh Flow. The definition of "off brand."
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2016
The product description calls this a PetMate Fresh Flow. It is not. Even the assembly and care instructions included in the box are for a PetMate Fresh Flow (see attached picture #1). It. Is. Not.This product is a much cheaper Chinese knock-off (see attached picture #2) of a Fresh Flow. It is smaller both in size and capacity (see attached picture #3), and is generally cheap in look and feel. I am giving it two stars only because the unit seems to actually function, but I will not own it long enough to discover for how long.I have had my actual PetMate Fresh Flow for almost a decade (that's it in the size comparison picture). I love it. It requires some care, but I have only had to replace the motor once in all that time. The quality of the Fresh Flow is so high that I wanted to get a second one, now that we're in a much larger space. When I saw this listing, I mistakenly assumed that "Aspen Pet" was a re-seller, since the product is referred to as a Fresh Flow several times on the product page. And at only $25, it seemed like a real bargain! I've made a terrible mistake. Luckily, I believe that since the product is erroneously identified as a Fresh Flow right on the main product page, I shouldn't have any trouble returning it since the product is being falsely advertised.If price is a driving factor for you, or if you have only a single pet, or if you are willing to settle for the reduced quality of an off brand, then maybe this is the right product for you. But if you want a product that really lasts, with quality construction and a nicely sized reservoir for multiple cats, then get an actual Fresh Flow and skip this knock-off. I cannot return this item fast enough.
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2016
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 17, 2009
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Muy buena fuente usada por mi Gato
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